Having Vision

Well it was bound to happen:  I screwed up while telling the gospel.  The gospel for Sunday was John 14: 23-29 which is a very disjointed text.  Basically the gospel is 7 verses that have very little in common (other than the first two).  I had each section memorized individually but had a hard time remembering the order of the verses.  But I thought I was good (though I had a cheat sheet in my alb pocket) and I got through verse 26 and then my mind went blank.  And while I got out the cheat sheet I as then bad for the rest of the gospel.  Oh well, we laughed and moved on.

This sermon looks at that gospel reading but it also looks at the first reading for the day Acts 16:9-15, Paul having a vision and going to Philipi where he meet Lydia.  I did have a map during the sermon so the congregation could see where all the cities are mentioned, you can find a similar one here.  Macedonia is in the upper left hand corner of the map.

What is your vision? What is your vision for your future? For Bethlehem?

What I have gathered from conversations with many of you over the last year is this congregation’s vision for the future: that Bethlehem will be a small strong congregation focused on being a true Christian community (worshiping the Triune God, loving and serving others) which is not focused on the things of this world (material goods, wealth, power) that is active in supporting the needs of this community and the world through giving and our time, talents, goods and other resources.

One definition of depression is not having positive future vision of yourself.And I think this vision is a positive one. I think that is an excellent vision. It is an excellent hope for our future and good start for discerning what God is calling us to do. And I say start because even though this congregation is over 100 years old and this vision is one that we are on our way of achieving, it is just a start because a like all good visions, it is one that will never be fully realized for there will always be new ways of being a Christian community, and new needs of the greater community and as we continue striving for this vision we will have new visions.

But just because we have a vision doesn’t mean that we know exactly how we are going to make that vision a reality or what each of the steps along the way are. A vision is not a plan, a vision is a hope for the future and idea about where, who and what God is calling you to be. And sometimes our visions, our hopes, especially collective ones, take years to fully grasp though sometimes they come to us in an instant, in a moment of clarity or in a dream. And sometimes they can be shocks to the system, an instant when you realize you are headed in a different direction than where God is calling you.

Paul had one of those moments of vision. During the night, probably through a dream, Paul sees a Macedonian (someone from modern day northern Greece) standing in front of him and immediately Paul knew that he was not to head east to Turkey but west to Macedonia.

And Paul traveled west.

But he didn’t know exactly where he was going. And he didn’t know exactly what he was supposed to do there. He went to Troas then Samothrace then Neapolis and then finally Philippi. And even in Philippi he wasn’t sure what exactly he was suppose to be doing. On the Sabbath he went outside the gate by the river where he supposed there was a place a prayer – Paul didn’t know for sure, he didn’t know what he was going to do there, who he was going to meet. He probably didn’t know when he set out for Macedonia that he would be thrown in jail, which we will hear about next week. He didn’t have a plan; he just knew what God was calling him to do.

But along the way, through his journey to Macedonia he preaches about Jesus, he heals people, he befriends them and he baptizes them. And one of the first people he meets in Philippi is Lydia, who soon is baptized along with her entire household. And Paul’s vision to come to Macedonia and help them starts to become a reality.

So what are our first steps to make this vision, this vision for Bethlehem, become a reality? What do we need to do now to have us be a small strong congregation focused on being a true Christian community which is not focused on the things of this world that is active in supporting the needs of this community and the world? What are things that we can do now to make this possible in the future? What are our first steps, our pits stops in Troas, Samothrace, and Neapolis so that we can go to our Philippi and beyond?

Now from here we can do two things… One, we can do what is very popular in modern culture and create a plan, figuring out each step in order to reach our vision and a timeline for when each step should be accomplished by. And while that is a wonderful option and many people, companies and churches use that option in order to make their visions a reality, it doesn’t leave a lot of room for the Holy Spirit to guide us to new visions along the way and it leaves a lot of room for failure which creates fear. What if we aren’t worshiping such a number by next fall? What if our giving doesn’t increase? What if a new ministry become evident and necessary but in order to attend to that ministry it will take us away from this plan?

So the other option is to just do. Start on the journey. Make those first few steps and see where God takes us. Churches with vision do ministry even if they do not have the finances and people to make it happen on paper. Churches and people with vision are not afraid because they make those first steps.

It means you individually making worship a priority in your life and encouraging others both members of this congregations and people in the greater community to make it a priority in their life to.

Having this vision for this congregation means being a good steward of your finances and times by giving generously to this congregation, the larger church and other ministries and encouraging others to do so.

Having this vision for Bethlehem means reading scripture personally and corporately in bible study and worship so that you can continue to received new vision for yourself and the congregation.

And having this vision for Bethlehem means being open to prayer, finding times and ways to pray that work for you. Moments when you can converse with God and continue to be open to the Spirit so that you know the next step on the journey, the next vision, and so you can give up to God any fears that you may have along the way.

We can start achieving this vision, we have started achieving this vision, with just a few steps because we are lead by the Spirit. Jesus has given us the Spirit, the Advocate, who as the gospel tells us, will teach us everything and remind us of what Jesus has said to us. And when we are lead by the Spirit, and when we are on the journey towards our vision we have nothing to fear. A vision is not a goal, a thing that we must achieve by a certain deadline, but a way of living in the idea of who, what and where God is calling us to be and there is no need to fear that, no need to fear that we will miss the mark. Because as long as we living out part of that vision, striving for that ideal, we have no quota to meet, no deadlines. >And sometime we might stray from this vision because a new vision has been given to us, but that is not something to fear. Instead we have the hope and joy of knowing that God loves us, Jesus died for us and the Holy Spirit lives in us. And through God we will be able to journey towards this vision and the many other visions that we will receive along the way.