Saturday of the Second Week of Easter

Title

The Problem with a Vision

Outline

Most movements and all people start out small

A baby is small, vulnerable at birth, but reaches out for life and to fulfill his or her calling

A parish starts small, reaches out to others, grows, outgrows its quarters and often its budget, expands its vision and continues growth

An Order starts small, a few sisters around St Teresa of Avila or St Katherine Drexel or any number of others - only they were not called saints in the beginning. It faces huge obstacles, but through God overcomes them and grows, yet as it grows its vision expands and soon it is not just in Spain or Italy or the USA, but it is taking on the problems of the world.

The key to this growth is that conflict and problems are seen as calls to expand the vision rather than as reasons to circle the wagons.

We find that in the Acts of the Apostles

All were of one heart and one mind and they shared with any in need. Successful, but still small in relation to Jerusalem and almost all could function in Aramaic.

Growth brought in Greek speaking Jews from different cultures. They were easy to overlook for they talked a less familiar language and did not “get” the announcements given in Aramaic.

This brought conflict as the foreign group saw their widows and others in need overlooked.

The Apostles responded with wisdom: they could not do more without abandoning the mission (and improving their Greek) and they could not ignore the storm of protest that was justified and could derail the mission.

So they develop another group of leaders to deal with the problem (certainly a decision born in prayer), a group every bit as spiritual as they, a group chosen 100% from the aggrieved group, a group fluent in Greek.

This group would expand the mission into Greek speaking populations, meet new storms and upheavals, and repeat the solution as the church continued to expand.

Jesus shows the process in the narrative

The call was to go to home base - in some gospels Jesus sends the disciples

They leave without Jesus in the boat as per instructions

They hit a storm on the lake that hinders or perhaps threatens to derail them

They discover that Jesus is still with them, just walking outside the boat - scary to think of

They take him on board and reach their goal

And this is what their life will be like as the disciples grow into church and the church goes to the ends of the world

Last Tuesday I went to a Zoom seminar on conflict and the church, a seminar that pointed out that conflict can lead to growth if we are calmly responsive rather than reactive

The semi-monastic public association of which I am a part faces this: we we hold on to the past way of doing things or will we reach wider? Will we have one Afro-American fully-professed or will we reach out to more? Will we have only those Hispanics comfortable with English or will we develop a Spanish track? This oversimplifies more than a bit, but perhaps you get the parallel.

Seminaries I have taught in have faced this. Would we stick to the original scope of the vision, or would we let God expand it to other vocations, other social and ethnic groups, even other nations? But we have no resources for that! But we have a God who can give more resources as we need them.

Perhaps you face that in your life (I think of Thomas Merton’s vocation changing and expanding both as he entered the Trappists and within the Trappists - I am at the point that he has become a hermit - not without conflict, but with the full approval of his superiors)

And who knows what the Order faces - I just know that this process seems to get repeated in every group that I do know.

We must continually check in the midst of storms to see if we are still pursuing the goal Jesus set before us (check to see if he might not be walking alongside) and then calm down, take him into the boat, and continue pursuing the adventure he is leading us into. Storms are not the reason to turn back, but a result of demonic opposition and a reason to recheck our direction with Jesus.

Readings

First Reading

Acts 6:1–7 RSV2CE

Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists murmured against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. And the Twelve summoned the body of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands upon them. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

Gospel

John 6:16–21 RSV2CE

When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Caperna-um. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea rose because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat. They were frightened, but he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

Notes