Home    Theology    History    Homilies    Newsletters    Events    Pictures    Staff    Contact Us    Links	Leading With A Vision November 6, 2005 Text: Habakkuk 1:2-4; 2:1-4 Our text for the day is from the prophet Habakkuk. I know what you’re thinking: “Not ANOTHER reading from Habakkuk. Haven’t we heard enough from that prophet from the late seventh and early sixth centuries before Christ? For a prophet we know nothing about, we sure hear a lot from him!” Well, be brave and hear these words from the prophet Habakkuk, whose words strike familiar chords. O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see wrong doing and look at trouble? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails. The wicked surround the righteous, therefore judgment comes forth perverted. I will stand at my watch post and station myself on the rampart; I will keep watch to see what God will say to me and what God will answer concerning my complaint. Then God answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not life. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right within them, but the righteous live by their faith. Living in times of violence. Living in times where justice seems perverted and distorted. Living in times of waiting, waiting for the vision to appear. How can we ever relate to such biblical themes? About a month ago, my spiritual director asked me about my vision for this church. He asked me for a metaphor, an image, something that would describe my plan of action for this congregation. I’m preaching from beneath this window because my answer was: I think my vision for this church is like the windows of the sanctuary. It was a relatively quick answer and I thought it wouldn’t last as an appropriate metaphor. But the more I thought about it the better it seemed. Before you start thinking I’ve lost it, let me explain. How does my vision for this church resemble the stained glass windows in the sanctuary? 1. They are already here. In the 1920’s the congregation voted to install these windows, purchased from Germany. They’ve lasted almost 80 years and they are just as beautiful as they were “way back when.” And they are here! It’s always comforting that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel or always start from scratch. You can use what’s already here so these windows represent the resources that we already have – if we look around! 2. They’re here but we’ve improved them as well. When we redecorated the sanctuary about five years ago, we painted over the stone arch effect and Kris Hallowell came up with the idea of painting the different colors around the edges of the window to draw us into the picture (as opposed to the way the painted arch effect drew us away from the window). Not content just with replicating past efforts, we came up with a new way to display what was already here. We played with color and light by painting over areas that were too dark and by installing a lighter carpet. (I’ll always remember the painter’s first words upon seeing the sanctuary: “There’s too much brown in this room.”) So these windows not only represent the past, they represent the actions we’ve taken to build on, add to and revise our work of the past, updating and revisioning when and where we need to do those things. 3. Next, they’re colorful! This may seem obvious but never downplay the importance of vibrant, unique colors. If you look closely at the colors in any of these windows, you’ll see some colors that are common to most of them. But a closer inspection of the details – a turban here, a sandal there – will yield some unique color choices. As part of the color, we can enjoy the fact that, if we’re here on the sunny day, the colors shine brightly. But, even on a cloudy day, there’s still enough interplay of color and light to fascinate. The bottom line is: Color is good! Variety of color is even better! These windows represent the bright, vibrant and, most importantly, energizing effects of color and light. And we need all the energy we can take! 4. They’re full of details that reveal themselves in different ways. There are two reasons why I’m standing in front of this particular window. I’ll reveal the second a bit later but the first reason comes from an experience I had a few weeks ago when I gave Keven his first tour of the sanctuary. I’ve been here for thirteen years and I thought I knew everything about these windows. Upon closer inspection, I noticed some details. Look at these flowers. Their red color adds something different in this picture. Look at this flask of oil; it’s what the Good Samaritan is using to give aid to the one in trouble. In all these years I’d never noticed that one bright bit of color or the depiction of the flask. That’s my point – these windows are always yielding new discoveries - if we only pay attention to the details, if we only open our vision a bit wider, if we open ourselves to the spirit of surprise! That’s what any vision needs – a bit of surprise, a bit of delight, an added bit of color and light. And it needs people to pay attention to the details. To review: The windows reflect my vision because: 1. They’re here; we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. 2. We’ve improved upon them, adding new bits of color and light and a new way of seeing the familiar. 3. The colors are unique and vibrant just as we are. 4. If we pay attention, the windows continue to yield new surprises. Now there are limits to the visioning made possible by these windows: 1. They are ultimately two-dimensional. They can depict life but they are not life. 2. The images are limiting. The figures don’t look particularly Middle Eastern and the only person of color depicted in these windows is the young man who is serving the wine in the depiction of the “water into wine” miracle in one of the balcony windows. 3. There is the real danger that we will idolize these windows so that the building and the windows of this church will become more important or a higher priority than the people in this place, that the windows will represent the past more than the present or the future. 4. Finally, we have to remember that looking at the window is no substitute for reading or hearing the stories that inspired the windows. So, before I leave this particular window, I want to give you the second reason I’m standing in front of this particular window. This window depicts the story of “The Good Samaritan,” the gospel story that answers the question, “Who is my neighbor?” And this reminds us that, now and then, we have to look at the stories depicted in the windows. “Who is my neighbor?” is a good question. It’s OUR question and not just because we want our neighbors to become part of the community. It is our question because Jesus’ belief that the two great commandments are indeed “love God” and “love your neighbor as yourself” is central to the mission of this church. It is our question because this window reminds us that it was not the religious and civic leaders who took the chance and risk of helping the wounded one. It was instead the foreigner, in fact, the despised foreigner, who took the chance and brought healing, who truly answered the question “who is my neighbor?” by demonstrating that the neighbor is anyone in need. We also need to look at the stories and visions inspired by other biblical stories. That’s why I returned to the powerful text from Habakkuk, whose prophetic vision answers the question, “How do we live in the meantime, the time between the hope for God’s vision to be realized and its actual realization?” How do we live between promise and fulfillment? How do we wait for God’s vision to arrive? There are two reasons I went back to this text: it teaches us about faith and it teaches us what to do in the meantime. The prophetic text is ultimately hopeful because we’re reminded that the root of our questions isn’t doubt; it’s faith. We don’t wonder whether or not God will give us the vision we need; we know it’s a matter of waiting for it to appear. We may get frustrated because we’ve seen glimpses of this vision and are frustrated that the vision hasn’t been realized. If this were only a story about doubt, the prophet wouldn’t be able to take his place in the watchtower, watching and waiting for God’s vision to appear. Why spend time in a watchtower if you don’t think anyone would appear? As we wait and hope in this place, we remember that the foundation of our life as a church is hope. We’re willing to spend time in the watchtower, so to speak, waiting, in faith, for a vision to appear. Habakkuk’s words give us encouragement: “Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right within them. But the righteous live by their faith.” Secondly and more importantly, the prophet reminds us that waiting isn’t about sitting still. It’s not passive resignation in the midst of an imperfect world. The prophet reminds us that we have control – control over how we wait, how we hope, how we love, how we believe and, most importantly, how we live. How will we see the vision if we’re just sitting around waiting, doing nothing, not living, waiting, believing and hoping as people of faith. The prophet writes, “There is still a vision for the appointed time.” We may be waiting for the vision but we’re not just sitting around, passively waiting. We’re engaged in ministry, inspired by the colors and details around us, grounded in hope.