The Day of the Tiles. Despite what it sounds like, it is not an event that has to do with a visit to Home Depot. It's actually the day that sparked the fires of the French Revolution and it took place right here in Grenoble on June 7, 1788. Grenoble is called the cradle of the revolution because the actions of the people here on that day inspired the rest of the nation, including Paris, to have the courage to stand up to tyranny. The king had sent his troops to quell dissent in the local parliament and put down a brewing rebellion. What he didn't count on was the improbable audacity and the impeccable aim of Grenoble's citizens. Unappreciative of His Majesty's show of force, they spontaneously ascended the roofs of buildings and began hurling tiles down on the heads of the soldiers. Weapons of mass construction. It's days like that where it doesn't pay to be head and shoulders above the rest. The soldiers took that as a hint to leave, and the parliament quickly reconvened, where it drafted the rights of man that still exist today as the motto of France and which helped shape the future constitution. Later, the storming of the Bastille in Paris became the more well-known catalyst for the revolution. But resistance had already found its naissant spirit in a small alpine city in the south of France where a nation was inspired to follow suit.
Fast-forward to World War II. Just outside the city in 1940, French forces repelled the Nazi army that had previously advanced with success everywhere else. It wasn't until the French government eventually capitulated to the Germans that Grenoble was finally occupied. But by that time, most of the troops in the city had refused to collaborate and retreated into the mountains surrounding the city to fight a drawn out war of resistance until the end of the war. Such was the success and resiliency of this sabotaging underground force of former officers, students and common citizens, that General de Gaulle came to Grenoble and awarded the city.He gave Grenoble the title, Companion of the Liberation, to recognise what he called "a heroic city at the peak of the French resistance and combat for the liberation."
Revolution. Resistance. Liberty. It is what Grenoble has always stood for. It's part of its fabric and one of the reasons we believe that God has called us here. France is in need of a new revolution, but this time it is one of the Spirit. We believe that God will again lead Grenoble to play the part of catalyst for a new thing that will spread and radiate from here. There is a need for freedom from a religious spirit as well as liberation from stark individualism and militant secularism. We are here to lead a band of counter-culturists who mount a resistance of revolutionary love for all peoples, spiritual vitality in all spheres of society, and personal authenticity. It's a revolution of living the good news everywhere. Of being a real community of Christ-followers who lay down our lives for one another. A resistance against judging and controlling others as we love completely, welcome wholeheartedly, and give extravagantly. We are praying that the anointing that rests on Jesus continues to set at liberty the captives. And that He shares that anointing with us.
The revolution has started in Grenoble. Again.
