The individuals and organizations of the community are keenly aware of their situation. They have adopted a very detailed view of the future of their community. The people see in this scenario the best possible life for themselves and the people around them. The people see this as the first gift of the Creator to the community.
Christ has shared with us the divine vision for our world for the life to come. He has told us what God wants and expects and works to make real. It is also what God knows to be in our best interest.
It is the nature of God to do whatever is in our best interest. Dr. Max Miller, one of my seminary instructors and a great thinker and scholar, had a key statement here. When Moses asked God "Whom shall I say is sending me?", God answered "Yahweh."
Dr. Miller says the best translation of the word "Yahweh" is the most emotionally packed. "With my own existence, I will do whatever I can to make your existence as good as possible." This divine vision is lived out in Jesus. In his mission, Jesus risks everything for the good of humans. If Jesus had not come out of the tomb, the Creation would have collapsed. Since Jesus did come out of the tomb, life for humans gets better and better.
The Book of Revelations is forward-looking nostalgia. The Reverend Eddie Fox of the United Methodist Church General Board of Discipleship calls it "Aiglatson." He says it is ‘nostalgia’ spelled backwards and looking forward. Because we look forward to it, we find ourselves drawn to help make it happen. It is not just busy work for the Disciples. It is even more than an invitation to share in the Kingdom of the Lord. Just as are the parables of the Kingdom, this vision is active. The parables build us into the kingdom in some sense whether or not we decide to enter it.
Part of this vision, as clearly seen in the Gospels, is good, responsible, ethical, successful business. That is good for everyone. Jesus does not reject business. He calls it to reflect God’s vision of the world. It seems that the vision assumes that profitable business is at least acceptable, perhaps even encouraged directly.
Of course, this does not mean that financial profit is the only end of business. It says that the Kingdom and its vision path can include financial profit.
The Book of Revelation takes the Sermon on the Mount and applies it to the future. "And I saw another world, a world not made with hands." Obviously God will be a willing participant in our creative efforts. Our Savior’s relationship with us will shape our relationships with each other.
If we live by the Sermon on the Mount, what sort of world will we have? The Beatitudes are the new Ten Commandments. These a promise of the future. They are also a call to sacred righteousness and effective faithfulness in our dealings with each other. Most specifically, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."
The Beatitudes make a powerful ethics statement for a major or minor business operation or Chamber of Commerce mission statement. Yet the world’s businesses often attempt to compete with everything short of death to the loser.
The Lord’s vision for the world, shared with us, is the primary theme of the Book of Revelations. Revelation 7:16ff says "They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat . . . and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." (NRSV)
The importance of the Gospel to the world is made clear in the Sermon on the Mount. Living that way would be the result of walking with God as if back in the Garden. The new world would be the paradise on earth that Adam and Eve abandoned. They chose not to share creation labor with God. Economic well being in the community is possible. It will require adopting the vision of God that we know from Jesus.
The community outwardly and inwardly shares the vision. Our community promotes that vision among newcomers and succeeding generations. Values that will lead to the fulfillment of that vision live in the hearts and minds of the community. We teach them to each other. We live them out in our relationships.
Questions for evaluation:
/ Does our community have a common vision for its own future and the future of the world?
/ If so, is this vision built on sacred perspectives?
/ Does the church constantly study the community vision for areas which need restructure and revision?
/ Does the church practice the vision of the community and God?
Examples of Programs that May Enhance Your Community Vision:
( Sacred vision is the same as sense of creation, but pointed in the opposite direction. We look to Genesis for guidance on creation. We look to Revelation for guidance on the sacred vision. The church could and probably should include statements from the vision in every service.
The Book of Revelations makes beautiful fodder for poetry, drama and music. Aiglatson is an easy subject for liturgies for the local congregation. The traditional forms and elements of vision work well when given a contemporary or futurist twist.
( The church at prayer can regularly speak to God about the vision of the future. Every prayer that includes an element of confession should contain an element of redemption and vision. Our understanding of our relationship with God is to be a contact with past and future. The vision of our creator includes the notion that our past does not necessarily determine our future. We can change, especially if we move in the direction of fitting more closely into our Creator’s vision.
( The church can and should actively participate in community planning and election processes. An active congregation might invite various speakers to come explain their sense of vision for the community. The congregation might make registration to vote a normal part of church membership. Without some actions of this nature, the church is entirely other-worldly. This would not be in the call from Christ. The sacred vision is not just unrealistic thinking. It is a call to action by faithful persons.
( The church might develop its own vision for the community, then present it to the planning board and the rest of the community for discussion and action. Christ calls his church is called to lead the world and also to follow him.
( The church might develop its vision for the community, then prepare various plans of action aimed at making this vision come true. This might include very specific detail, especially including actions for which the congregation must and can take responsibility.
( One outstanding sacred vision power operates in the sand paintings of Navajo sacred persons. If a person is ill, the patient or others in the family may call the sacred person to attend. That person heals by the ritual of sand painting. At the appointed time the sacred person begins the work. The ill person is present if possible, with the family and close friends around.
The healer pours sand of various colors on the ground. The healer is free to follow whatever design comes to the hand. While the healer works, the healer tells a story or relates a vision. The work may take a few hours or a few days. At a very precise moment the sand painting is announced as satisfactory to the creator, and thus complete. The healing is fulfilled.
Then the witnesses celebrate, pay the healer, and go home. Physicians and other healers have long known of the powers of prayer and vision. Most of us also have a keen awareness of the opposition of prayer and vision against self destruction and despair.
What are your own brainstorm and creative thoughts that may help build the community vision?
1. What evidence have you found to support the rating you have given your own community?
2. What evidence have you found to support the rating you have given your community?
3. What programs might work in your church and community?
4. What will be your work in this process?
5. How will you reveal these thoughts to your church and community?
Yachats Blue Link
