Vision
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence
...
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said,
And whispered in the sounds of silence
“Sounds of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel
A vision was planted in our brains, when we were not looking and not paying any attention. And it has the power to cause some one to shout out to the prevailing culture that their neon gods cause them to stop speaking and hearing and creating. Until all that is left is a whispering that the prophets can only whisper from the most unexpected places.
I love that song. Always have. I love it in every mood (possible exception is when the “59th Street Bridge Song” is the only song that will do). It was first on my mind as I have taught and read about the prophets. Where do YOU expect to see their words? Now it is on my mind as Bethany starts looking at its self: who we are and how will we express that. It has been talked about as a “visioning process”, which it is. But I prefer the older and more theological term: discernment. Discernment implies that the vision is already there, planted in our brains, just waiting, even wanting us to uncover, recover, discover it. It is theological because there is a clear place for God in the planting and in the revealing of what we will see. The vision of the vision, if you will, is going to be our seeing of what God shows us. It is all it can be. As such, it can not be made up by the seeker. A sightseer sees the sights. Then they are a witness.
The worship being planned for August is centered around the word “Vision”. We will meet people in scripture who are blind or blinded and thus are in the dark. There will be God's promises that we will have people of every description who will see, have insight, see visions, and know that dreams do come true. We will consider one who is able to see because of Jesus, but with difficulty. We will hear from a visionary and see what he sees of what is and will be. From holy darkness to a heavenly light will be our journey.
August worship will again be in Fellowship Hall. This location allows us to see each other and be more in community than in our Sanctuary boxes. It allows us to have cool worship. It allows us meet and greet before worship, again increasing community. And it allows this formed community to truly discuss the scripture, creating a sermon that is birthed from our coming together. Thus, we might talk about myopia and hyperopia; that is, how is being nearsighted better and worse than being farsighted. Light and dark, blind and insightful, mirages and visions, looking without seeing, seeing without looking: these all might be a part of the discussion. How we look at the world may be as similar as Degas, Monet, Picasso, and Ansel Adams. Which is why our theology will need to be done in black and white, pastels and neons, melody and clay, paint and lyrics.
Our worship, whether in Sanctuary, Chapel, parking lot, or front lawn, is about us interacting with God. The reasons to have worship in any of these places may not be sufficient for you, personally. But you are invited to be a part of the community as we worship God, trying to see what see what there is to be seen. God is still singing “ Hear my words that I might teach you, take my arms that I might reach you” and so we keep gathering to worship, praying to hear and take what is offered to us by God. In worship we keep offering to God. We offer our hopes, fears, hurts and gains. We offer time, talent, love, and loyalty. God never misses what we offer. It only misses the other way.
(From the Summer Dialogue, 2012) Rev. Mark
