Tyler Galleria Temple

 

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Joshua 24:15 Good News Translation

¹⁵ If you are not willing to serve him, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors worshiped in Mesopotamia or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living. As for my family and me, we will serve the Lord.”

 

When we first moved to Riverside, the greatest shopping center in the city was Tyler Mall. That was almost forty years ago. I used to say to Sylvia, “This is Riverside’s temple to the goddess of materialism.” Thousands of people converged on this temple every day of the week. Then things began to happen. Workmen got in there and added another story of shops. They renamed the Tyler Mall, the Tyler Galleria. They spent several years redoing the streets and the 91-Freeway to make it more convenient to enter the temple.

Out of curiosity I looked up the meaning of the word “galleria”. One dictionary traces the etymology of the word to a chapel at the entrance to a 15^th century church—indeed, a place of worship. A place of worship for the populace, not just for the appropriately dressed nobility who could worship inside the church.

But now, in this modern age, things have changed beyond the wildest imaginings of the designers of the Tyler Galleria. Modern technology has brought the galleria into everyone’s home and pocket. Now far more people spend their millions on their computer or phone from outlets like Amazon. People can worship the goddess of materialism from the comfort of their own home, car, or office. They can even have the product delivered to their own front door. If they don’t like what is delivered, or it breaks, they can ship it back and get their money back.

And what has happened to these “places of worship?” Many, especially since the Pandemic, have fallen totally into disuse. They lie desolate, practically abandoned, licking their wounds. We can apply Christ’s 2,000-year-old lament to our age: “And so your Temple will be abandoned. I assure you that you will not see me until the time comes when you say[2] ‘God bless Him who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

In the end, our materialism will be destroyed. For a peek into the future, just look at what is happening to our gallerias during a “snatch and grab” raid—or for their eventual destiny in the pictures from Gaza or Ukraine.

I pray that we will choose with Joshua: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!”

 

 

 

 

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[1] https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8163/7580038042_c0b7a09a90_b.jpg

[2] Luke 13: 35 GNV

 

Communal Living

 

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Acts 2:44-45 Good News Translation

⁴⁴ All the believers continued together in close fellowship and shared their belongings with one another. ⁴⁵ They would sell their property and possessions, and distribute the money among all, according to what each one needed.

 

In the late 1960s, a number of young people revolted against their materialistic, capitalistic, Christian upbringing. A large number of them joined communes across the country. They pooled their resources so that everyone was equal financially—which resulted in no one becoming rich. Many rejected violence in all its forms, so they turned vegetarian rather than slaughtering animals for food. They rejected the concept of individuals owning anything. This often included even the concept of being married to one spouse. They often wore jeans and flannel shirts.

By the early 1970s some of these communes had matured to the point that some members had become professionals in universities. At the university I had a professor of topology who was a member of a nearby commune. He had an unkempt beard, long hair, and always wore a wrinkled flannel shirt and jeans.

I took a class from him in multidimensional geometry and topology. He carried a handful of multicolored chalk to his lectures. Questions came up about how ordinary things we use in our everyday lives, such as knots and clothes, would be in the four-dimensional space. He drew a series of colored pictures that showed in sequence how any knot would become untied in this space. To my very restricted view of the three-dimensional universe that we live in, it came as a shock. But his excellent multicolored pictures made what he taught appear totally obvious. I audited several of his other classes, with his permission, mainly to see his pictures of higher dimensional realities.

The “picture” of a Klein Bottle I have included is a simple object that requires a fourth dimensions to construct. It appears that part of the bottle physically pierces the right side of the figure. However, in a four-dimensional space it doesn’t actually pierce it. I’ll let you puzzle over that concept.

Try thinking of it this way: in our experience we have three dimensions that we move in: 1. Forward and backward; 2. Left and right, 3. Up and down—it helps to own a jet-pack here. If there is a fourth spatial dimension, we have no access to it. But if we could access this elusive dimension, we could construct the Klein Bottle by moving the tube on the right out into that dimension just enough to miss piercing any part of the bottle.

As you begin to grasp something of four dimensions, you realize that a four- or higher- dimensional being can see not only your skin but also all of your insides—not a pretty sight! If, for example, a 4-D being wanted to remove an infected appendix, 4-D could grasp it without cutting open the skin and remove it.

Does what I tried, unsuccessfully I’m sure, to explain to you have anything to do with my—or your salvation? Absolutely not! Well… Just maybe… I plan to explore some of my thoughts on this in future blogs and hope we gain a greater appreciation of the magnificence of our God! But, let me repeat and emphasize, understanding this in no wise changes the fact of our salvation by God’s amazing grace through our faith in Him.

Thank You, Lord, for saving us by the marvelous sacrifice of Your Son Jesus Christ!

  

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klein_bottle#/media/File:Klein_bottle.svg

Graffiti

Graffiti read’s “IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE JESUS” [i] 

Proverbs 3:6 

King James Version (KJV)

⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

For centuries this giant, ancient rock has nestled here amongst the brittle bush or desert sunflowers. At times the drought has obliterated the bright yellow garden about it. At other times abundant rains have made it a place of beauty. Slowly, the rock has cracked and great pieces have rolled off making an even more varied rock garden.

The first week of, April 2020, in the midst of COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions, shut-ins got restless. They now had lots of time on their hands. Some had a burning love for Jesus that demanded expression, and had to stay away from crowds, and couldn’t go shopping in the malls, the great temples of materialism. Unfortunately, these also owned a spray can of paint and even knew a few verses of the Bible. They paid no heed to the punch line of the proverb. In a brief moment of misdirected zeal, they forever desecrated the natural beauty from the Creator’s hand. They cheapened a rare desert sanctuary. Shame on them!

As Christ said of show-offs, “They do this just to look good. I can assure you that they already have their reward.” Matthew 6:5 CEV

Lord, teach us appropriate ways we can honor You.

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[i] Personal Photograph April 2, 2020