“Be Now THY Vision”
Luke 3:7-18
Rev. Désirée H. Gold
St. Mark’s United Church of Christ, Baltimore, MD
Sunday, 25 May, 2008
Isaiah 49:8-16a
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 Every summer when I was in high school, and during my first couple years of college, I would go on a canoe trip with my church youth group. We would travel to White Otter Lake in Northwest Ontario and spend a week canoeing across and through and around this meandering lake and its tributaries. Every day on the lake was different. There were days when the water was like glass, and we would practically float across the water. Canoeing felt like a pleasure cruise. Then there were days when the wind was high, the water was choppy, and every stroke of the paddle took grueling effort.
Life in the church is like this. There are times when everything seems easy. The sanctuary is full, our bank account is in good shape, and we’re doing things. The water is placid, if you will, but more than that, the sun is shining, the view is beautiful, and all seems right with the world.
Then there are times when keeping the church going feels like a constant effort. We’re straining to fill the pews, the building seems to be falling apart, and we can barely find the energy to do the day-to-day work of the church, much less see a vision for the future. The weather seems stormy, and we feel like we’re going backward or even sinking. It’s just too hard.
Each day in the life of the church is different, just as each day of our canoe trips brought a different outlook. We have a Sunday when the pews are full, and we feel excited and hopeful. The next Sunday we have half as many people in church and I, for one, feel discouraged and unsure once again. We have a visioning meeting with other small city churches. A few weeks later we are concerned about the roof leaking. There’s always that ebb and flow.
In the words of Isaiah: "Thus says the Lord: In a time of favor I have answered you, on a day of salvation I have helped you; I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people.....But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.’" In response to the Israelites’ -- in response to our -- fears, the Lord responds that no, we will never be forgotten or forsaken.
The prophet Isaiah writes about the Babylonian Exile. As Biblical scholar Walter Brueggeman writes, the exiles’ sense of despair and lack of comfort understandably makes them question the compassion of God. Brueggeman explains the passage in a way that, I believe, relates it to the life of the church: "We may imagine that over time a sense of distinctiveness had eroded in Israel and with it a loss of purpose, hope, and possibility. The work of the servant is to enliven the [exiles] with new intentionality and courage..."1
So, there it is. Clearly the Israelites felt like they were about to sink. They were straining to keep their spirits high, with the water choppy and the wind blowing and the storm of life in exile beating down upon them. But God promised to be with them, to comfort them, to guide them. God reminded the servant of the covenant that God has made: “I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people.”
So, too, has God made a covenant with our little church and kept us going all of these years. That covenant may need to change, be renegotiated, bring us to a new place, even scatter us, but the covenant between God and God’s people is always there.
Pastor Geoff McElroy has wise words to say about these things: "We are the servants, the agents of the transformation God has promised. So even while we struggle to understand why the transformation is not here yet, we are called to work alongside God to make it happen, bit by bit, moment by moment. We may never achieve it through our own human efforts, but maybe we can make a change in this world through the grace and love of God, the One who has not forgotten or forsaken us but has inscribed us on the palm of God’s hand."2
This morning we will have our second visioning meeting as a congregation. Whether you feel that St. Mark’s is in an easy place, coasting across the waters of faith, or whether you feel that we are straining, barely able to keep afloat, I ask that you step back and look at the larger picture. White Otter Lake was always marvelous, whether it was as smooth as glass or rolling with whitecaps. I ask that you see St. Mark’s in its past, present, and future and that you pray toward a vision for the congregation, regardless of how much hope you have within your heart today.
As we continue this process of visioning, let me remind you of something else. This morning we began worship by singing “Be Now My Vision.” This is one of my favorite hymns. It is a love song, really, describing an intimate relationship with God: “You my best thought, by day or by night.” The hymn calls upon the loving Parent for vision and wisdom and assures that loving Parent of faithfulness, regardless of what the future holds.
As we discuss the vision for the future of St. Mark’s, however, I want us to think about things a little differently. The hymn calls upon God to be our vision. The original title of the hymn, “Be Thou My Vision,” specifically calls upon God to be our vision for the future. Of course, this is important. God should be the most important vision in our sights as we discuss the future of the church. But I ask that we turn the tables today. Instead of thinking of God as our vision, I remind you that the church should really be God’s vision. When we talk about the future of the church, we often use the term, “Our vision for the future.” It is not our vision that we are to be seeking. It is God’s. It is not the future of our church. It is the future of God’s church. It is not even our church. It is God’s house.
When we talk about the future of the church, it is understandable that we talk about the nuts and bolts: how we will get new people in the door and keep them coming; how we will finally get this new members class off the ground; how we will balance the checkbook; how we will pay for necessary repairs on the roof. In this day and age churches are “nonprofit organizations,” and as such they have buildings to maintain, bills to pay, membership to keep in mind. But even when we talk about these “administrative” aspects of the church, I ask you to remember what we really are. We are God’s house, here to carry out God’s vision. We are striving to keep our doors open and keep going, not because we would really miss our little church (which we would, of course). We are striving to keep our doors open and to keep going so that we can serve God and the people of God.
Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Matthew to stop worrying about what we will eat or what we will drink, or about our body, what we will wear. I confess that I am not very good at not worrying, and I realize that simply not worrying about the roof won’t stop it from leaking. But, as always, Jesus’ words are gospel: they are good news. They are a reminder, I believe, of where our focus should be. Yes, there are the nuts and bolts issues of the church, but they are not our purpose. Our purpose is to live out God’s vision, to serve God’s people, to be God’s church.
Every day that I spent on White Otter Lake was a gift of God. Sure, the easy days were, well, easy. They were a lot more fun than the choppy, brutal days of hard paddling. But even those hard days were precious. And the work was a reminder of the strength God had given us.
Like a nursing mother, God will not forget or neglect us. God’s compassion will remain on the most difficult days. As we seek God’s wisdom, as we discern God’s vision, let us draw together and be thankful for each day.
Now let us pray.
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1 Brueggeman, Walter. Isaiah (Westminster Bible Companion) (Volume 1, Chapters 40-66). (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998). Pg. 110.2Desert Scribblings blog by Geoff McElroy http://gmcelroy.typepad.com/desertscribblings/2008/05/may-25-2008---second-sunday-after-pentecost- year-a.html, accessed on 24 May, 2008.
2 Desert Scribblings blog by Geoff McElroy http://gmcelroy.typepad.com/desertscribblings/2008/05/may-25-2008---second-sunday-after-pentecost- year-a.html, accessed on 24 May, 2008.
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