Make Light Work

     I have been intrigued lately by Jesus’ description of us, His disciples, as a city on a hill.  We have a lot of those here in Grenoble. No, I’m not necessarily talking about disciples. We could use a lot more around here. But we do have a lot of hills. And mountains. Big ones, in fact.

     One of the prettiest sights in this valley which is full of them, is to look up at night and see the dancing lights of the small communities that dot the surrounding mountainsides. It inspires valley dwellers to say from afar “I want to visit that place one day.”  True community emanating Jesus’ warm light is pretty attractive.  Hopefully, it’s what makes the courageous few non-initiated seekers decide to give our Christian groups and meetings a shot. But what do they feel and experience as they pay a visit?  I imagine if I hiked up to explore one of our hilltop communities, the same lights that attracted me would be coming from pretty houses with welcome mats in front of the door. But I would still be on the outside looking in. All the warmth and light and laughter on the inside of the house, would now only frustrate me, as I stand shut out in the cold. Appreciating the light can degenerate quickly into resenting those in the light who remain blissfully ignorant of my presence just outside the window, enjoying their meals, their bedtime stories or their Monday Night Football.

     I think this is why Jesus followed up his city metaphor by saying, “No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.” It’s that last phrase that really stuck with me. A city on a hill, Jesus-style, doesn't just radiate light. It’s not enough to catch someone's eye; we have to capture their hearts by inviting them all the way in to the house. Here the original word is better translated household, or family. Simply put, we have to try extremely hard to help people feel like they belong to what we have and who we are.  By giving them complete access to our hearths and our hearts, regardless of race, religion, or rebellious lifestyle.

    We are trying to build an authentic, non-religious community of Christ-followers here in this alpine city. What Grenoble is physically – a city on a hill – is what we purpose to be spiritually.  Grenoble historically was a place of refuge for persecuted Protestants in the 1500’s and for Jews hunted down by Nazis and their collaborators during World War II.  It continued to be a destination for displaced peoples during and after the Algerian conflict a half-century ago.  Today, immigrants still flock to this city, escaping their past in search of a real future. 

      God is also calling us to be like one of the six cities of refuge in the Old Testament which were set apart to receive those caught in crisis of their own making. These cities were the inheritance of the Levites, who were already well-versed in mediating between the harsh law and a sinful people.  Who better than they to serve as a compassionate buffer between the hapless pursued and the hell-bent pursuers? This is one of the key roles we feel called to fulfill. Grenoble, our city-of-refuge-on-a-hill, will continue to be a cross-roads for the asylum seeker and international sojourner. There are many, political, religious and economic refugees, students, laborers, and stateless immigrants who find themselves in France.  They possibly were attracted here by the lights of hope and promise they observed from a distance. But sadly, upon arriving here, they are often shut out from structures of culture, community and even church that surround them. If hospitality is an art, we can’t just offer to a world in crisis and conflict sterile replicas or shameful forgeries. We have to paint from our hearts daily, epic works of beauty and warmth that draw people into the scene, captured and inspired.

A Glowing Smile

      Many times when we tell people we live in Grenoble, we are asked, "Isn't that the place where that nuclear power plant exploded?". They take an unconscious step backward, as if we might be radio-active.  Then there are usually looks of relief when they learn we do not live in Chernobyl, (which is in the Ukraine), combined with a sheepish smile over evidently not having passed junior high geography. No, there is not radiation emanating from our city, but there is a lot of pent-up spiritual promise ready to explode and radiate outward to affect the cities, regions and nations around us.

     Why am I convinced of this? Because there is an undeniable part of this city's past that has profound repercussions for its near future.  Let me take you back to the Wars of Religion in France. From 1562-98 and again from 1685-1787, the Roman Catholic monarchy attempted to snuff out the presence of all Protestants in the country.  Many thousands fled to Switzerland and other European countries. Other less-fortunate, multiplied thousands were either systematically hunted down and executed or captured and sent to die slow, difficult deaths. Those not immediately killed ended up suffering a more drawn-out death, men condemned for life as  galley slaves on ships and women  sentenced to languish in unbelievably squalid tower prisons. Louis XIV himself proudly boasted that out of a Huguenot population of 800,000 to 900,000, only 1,000 to 1,500 had remained in France.

     The Grenoble Parliament played a particularly notorious role in terrorizing the lives of these Protestants, known as Huguenots.  Innocent families from all over France, many with young children, in attempting to flee to Geneva, were caught at the borders of the Savoie region just north of Grenoble. They were brought to this city, their children permanently stripped from them and sent to monasteries, while they themselves were thrown in the local, over-crowded prison to await condemnation to various horrible fates.  Here is just a sampling of the carnage:

          *1524 - Pierre de Sébiville, a Lutheran pastor in Grenoble, was burned at the stake for   preaching the Gospel.
          *1525 - Pastor Ginin was arrested and takren to prison at Grenoble, where his legs were bound and he was thrown into the Isere river.
          *1575 - Montbrun, leader of Prostestant resistance, was captured, shot and beheaded by the Grenoble Parliament.
          *1685 -  3 families from Bresse were brought to Grenoble. Their children were taken from them while the men's heads were cut off and put on posts in front of their houses.
          *1686 - Jaque Bouillane a new convert was strangled at Place de Breuil, thrown in the fire and his ashes scattered in the wind
          *1745 - Pastor Roger, 80 years old, was hung in Grenoble.  On his way to the scaffold he sang aloud the 51st Psalm. His body was displayed for 24 hours, and later dragged through the streets and thrown in the Isere river for preaching in Protestant assemblies

     The blood of the martyrs was sown in the soil of Grenoble. And yet, the percentage of evangelical believers rests at less than 1% of the population. Jesus' promise has always been that if a seed falls to the ground and dies, it produces many seeds. The martyrs of Revelation 6:10 will cry out from their honored place in heaven in the last days,  “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”.  We are believing for a last days avenging of the blood of the saints martyred in Grenoble and all over the south of France. Not in judgment and condemnation, but in an outpouring of His grace before Jesus returns. We envision a widespread move of God's Spirit in Grenoble that sees many miracles, conviction of sin, restoration of broken lives, and healing of communities that  results in many thousands and thousands turning to Christ. All as God honors His word and the price paid by so many thousands of faithful, innocent believers. God's memory is long and is faithfulness endures to thousands of generations

    In 1925, over a million people from around the world came to Grenoble to attend an International Exposition of Hydroelectric power. The method of harnessing power was invented in this region and the nations flocked here to learn about this new source of renewable energy.  Again in 1968, the nations converged on Grenoble, this time to see the spectacle of the Winter Olympic Games.  It is our prayer that Grenoble once again sees a great influx of nations coming to participate in something powerful, dynamic and attractive, but this time we believe it is going to be another source of power - the power of God displayed among his people, resulting in miraculous reconciliations with God and among men. A pure, true last days revival.  Maybe one day, people will ask us about Grenoble, "Hey, isn't that the place where there is an explosion of God's presence?" And this time, the smile will be ours.

Can You Resist?

     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.