[The mission territory that I serve as bishop is about to embark on a re-visioning process called "New Vision for a New Day: Listen deeply. Think creatively. Act boldly." This piece is a brief reflection on the second aspect of that process.]
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every
family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the
riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner
being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts
through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you
may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and
length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses
knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him
who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more
than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ
Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen
[Ephesians 3:14-21, NRSV]
From the very beginning of
scripture to its ending, God engages in the sometimes irritating habit of
calling people to think creatively. Over and over again, God’s people seem to
limit their vision and, consequently, their creative energies, to the borderline
where their own limitations, frailties and failings meet the threats,
challenges, and impositions of life.
To weary people on the edge of a
promised land fraught with well-armed giants, God says, “Go ahead; take it.”
To people
languishing in exile, God entreats, “Do not remember the things of old…I am
about to do a new thing!”
God in
Christ, no longer bound by doors locked tight by fear, appears to dispirited
disciples whispering peace and proclaiming, “Fling wide the doors! I am sending
you just like the Father sent me.”
In a
multitude of languages, God’s Spirit permeates the people on Pentecost, calling
them to dream new dreams.
God calls
to Peter, bound as he is by careful adherence to tradition, to stretch beyond
the boundaries and borders at the very outer edge of his vision.
The truth
is, fear binds and faith frees. Or, more accurately, when all we see are the
immense challenges in the light of our own frailties and failings we often
become fearful, paralyzed, and held captive to our own imagination and to what
we already know. On the other hand, trust in God’s redeeming activity in the
world, combined with trust in God’s unfailing love and care for us and for the
world, offers freedom to let go of what we already know and to reach beyond our
own limited vision, well-worn pathways, and daunting challenges to receive with
open hands God’s creative, life-giving future.
Next time
you are in a planning session at church, or trying to imagine your way through
a difficult time at home, or working with a community committee on some new project,
take a moment to consider the breadth and length and height and depth of God’s
amazing grace and then let your imagination run wild and free into God’s
imaginative future.
Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish
abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the
church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen
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