Where There is No Vision, People Perish

In college seminary, I repurposed a keychain as a door decoration.  The keychain had a two-by-three-inch picture of a closeup of the head of a mouse, poking through a hole in a birch tree.  The saying read “I’m in search of myself…have you seen me anywhere?”  It was very cute, and some not into cute gave me a hard time about it! 

True Self-discovery is Christ Discovery
I still have that keychain over forty-five years after I purchased it. For, discovering who we are in Jesus ought never end.  We are made an image of Jesus in Baptism and spend the rest of our lives trying to discover and be our best selves in him as people and as parishes.

Family of Parishes Vision, Year Two of Beacons
Now that we have very successfully completed the first-year goals of Beacons of Light, I am most excited for the second-year goal of the process: What will the vision for our one parish be?  But first, what is a vision?  It’s a lot of things.

Initially, the quote from the King James translation of Proverbs 29:18, the title of this article, comes to mind.  It speaks of the dire importance of vision.  Unless we have a vision, we don’t get anywhere, especially anywhere good!  We devolve, disperse, stumble, run wild, which are words other translations of the Proverbs’ verse use.  Who is the originator of our vision and what is his vision?

The Vision and Its Originator
 The Father sent his Son in Jesus to relay a vision that was not clearly seen in the Old Testament.  Sure, the Hebrew Scriptures portray the Father as loving as a mother for the child in her womb.  The Father was depicted as merciful and just.  However, at the same time, the Father was portrayed as vengeful, jealous, insecure and perhaps somewhat of a tyrant.
Even as such negative interpretations were likely due to humanity’s skewed interpretation of God, the Father set that image aright by sending his Son…and giving him one primary duty:  proclaim a vision.
 
What is Jesus’ vision, the essence of his life and ministry?  The Kingdom of God is the essence of who Jesus is and what he proclaims.  That vision is complex and crazy.  It goes against many natural human responses.  For example, who wants to be hungry, thirsty, and persecuted like Jesus allowed himself to be?  At the same time, the Kingdom is engaging, curious, fascinating and inspiring.  Indeed, it is heaven on earth.  Truly, a vision for a five-parish family uniting into one needs to be a picture, an embodiment of the Kingdom of God.  What are two essential ingredients of creating a parish vision?

Two Dimensions of Creating a Vision
Initially, creating a vision for our parishes starts with who we are.  We have to be in search of ourselves as my keychain says.  However, discovering who we are is not easy.  For, who we are as a person or as a parish is determined by our history, by who we think we are and who others experience us to be.  This last notion, who others experience us to be, might not be easy for us to acknowledge.  This includes our weaknesses, unfairness and injustice experienced against us and inflicted by us.  It includes blind spots (which militate against vision) and our poor behavior whether intentional or not. 

As we discover who we are, humble acts of diligent work must be done.  We need to come to grips with our history.  We need to hear what others have to say about us.  We are called to do the hard work of healing from unfairness and injustice experienced.  We are called to humbly admit our weakness, poor choices and behavior and receive forgiveness.

Getting Stuck Blinds Us
To be sure, getting stuck in the first phase of visioning would be a huge mistake.  In a sense, it blinds us and prevents forward movement.  Without forgetting and after doing the awkward work of lamenting, we need to move forward with the hope that is Jesus and his Kingdom.
 
The Most Fun!
 The second part of parish visioning is the most fun!   Taking the best of who we are and looking to the Kingdom of God, we create an inspiring picture or image of what dimensions of Jesus and his kingdom we are called to live in our place and time.  It is an image that is hopeful and joyful.  It is an image that is crazy and impossible.  Just as for my rectory cats, vision inspires curiosity to the point of being irresistible!

Next Week
Next week, I’ll relay some of the logistics behind creating a parish vision.  In the meantime, begin to think and pray about who are we and where we want to go as five parishes become one. 
 
Also, be sure to make good use of the Advent sections of the bulletin and website!
 
Sincerely and with Love in Christ,
Fr. Pat