Year B, Epiphany 2
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
North Andover, Massachusetts
The Rev. Stephanie Chase Wilson


Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, Oh Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.

Last week Emma, who is recently seven, was explaining to me what she had learned in school about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She said that he was a man who wanted black people and white people to be friendly with each other. She said Dr. King did this through speeches and parades, but some people didn’t like the parades and wouldn’t join in. Some people were angry with him so they shot him. She was, of course, speaking of Dr. King’s marches and his subsequent death.

As I reflected on Dr. King’s life and message it occurred to me that much of his popularity, relevance, and power was due to his vision. He had a vision of the United States, of the world, where, as Emma put it, white people and black people were friendly with each other. Consider his “I Have a Dream” speech were he says, ““Now, I say to you today my friends, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

    That dream that he speaks about, that is a vision. By proclaiming that vision he created an alternate reality to the one currently experienced by the people. He created a goal to which people could aspire. The reality was that blacks could not work, or eat, or live, or play, in the same places as whites. They were second-class citizens. They were often treated as less than human. But Dr. King said, “Wait a minute. There’s another way to do this. I see an alternate reality” where, as he put it, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” It was because of this vision that Dr. King, and others, articulated that we as a nation today have come as far as we have. By proclaiming another path, others could join in his metaphorical “parade” and march to a new place. That vision gives a goal for the parade, making it easier for folks to join. Racism is still a part of our national life, but the swearing in of Barak Obama this week is one sign that Dr. King’s vision is bearing fruit.
    The Old Testament lesson this morning is from the book of Samuel. It is the wonderful story of where Samuel first learns of his special status in the eyes of God and his gifts as a prophet. Yet he is just a small boy. Earlier, his mother Hannah had been barren and had come to the Temple in Shiloh to pray for a child. The priest Eli heard her and promised that her wish would be fulfilled. Sure enough, Samuel was born. In gratitude, Hannah dedicates little Samuel to the Temple where he is raised and serves the Temple priests. In this story Samuel and Eli are asleep in the Temple watching over the Ark of the Covenant. Samuel wakes up hearing his name called and runs to Eli, thinking he is the one calling.  Eli assures him he is not. After several such episodes, Eli realizes it must be God calling Samuel, so tells the boy that the next time the voice calls to answer, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

    One of the many remarkable things about this passage is the very first sentence, “The word of the LORD was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.” The writer of this story is letting us know that this sort of thing doesn’t happen every day. Having a vision of the Lord is a rare and precious thing, and generally the only people to have them were prophets. In scripture we know people like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and Paul all had visions. Samuel too, has a vision.
Visions are a form of divine communication. They usually tell the recipient about the future, or give them a command, or both. They show something about the reality of the world and what will be done by God or what must be done by humans as a result, to create the future God has in store.

Many prophets share these visions with the people including Isaiah who famously says, “For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind… The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent—its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.” [Is. 65:17, 25].

In Colossians Paul has a vision of the Christian community where he writes, “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all clothe yourselves with love which binds everything together in perfect harmony” [Col 3:12-14].

Jesus himself consistently shared his vision of the Kingdom of God through parables and instruction.

And in Proverbs 29:18 it says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” [KJV]. A vision from God of an alternate reality is necessary to live out our calling as people of God. Do we do what we do for no reason? Or do we do what we do because we aspire to the Kingdom of God? Dr. King articulated a vision which mobilized actions on the part of its hearers. The prophets and Paul and Jesus articulated visions. God has been offering a picture of Kingdom living throughout the millennia and we need only join the Kingdom parade.

During today’s gospel Jesus calls Phillip and Nathanael. He calls them to follow him, the Son of God, the King of Israel. Throughout his life people drop what they are doing to follow Jesus. Then after his death and resurrection, the following continued, and continues to this day. Jesus is leading the parade towards the vision of the Kingdom of God and is calling us too to join him.

So what about St. Paul’s? What is our vision? I suspect we each have a vision of what this parish should be or could be. I’d guess we each have an idea of where we fit into God’s larger picture. I bet we all have some thoughts about what kind of role St. Paul’s plays to accomplish the vision of Jesus. Because another aspect to vision is - mission. Mission is what we do to achieve our vision. If your vision is to be able to afford to send your kids to college, your mission will be to save money. If your vision is to cook a great Christmas dinner, your mission will be to buy all the ingredients ahead of time. If your vision is to have racial equality in this country, your mission may include things like speeches and marches.

Ultimately the questions are “What is God’s vision?” and “What role does St. Paul’s play in accomplishing that vision?” In other words, “what is our mission?” We currently do not have a mission statement.

There are lots of ways to try and discern mission. And by the way, discernment is the only way to do this; not decision-making. In discernment, we allow the Holy Spirit to enter our conversations, our brainstorming sessions, and writings as we figure out where we are going. Our mission is discovered not by one or two people making decisions. It is discovered by the community, in discernment, guided by the Holy Spirit. Figuring out St. Paul’s mission requires your participation. Unless your voice is heard, a piece of the vision may be lost. Mission is discovered by the community, in discernment, guided by the Holy Spirit.

After today’s service you will have the opportunity to share some of your thoughts on this matter. Our Senior Warden, Larry Smith, after a brief coffee hour, will lead us all in a half hour brainstorming session, so that God’s mission for St. Paul’s may be discerned. We don’t expect to create a mission statement today. But we’d like to take a first step. So please stay a few minutes after the service so your voice may be heard. Child care will be provided.

Jesus calls us to follow him. He gives us a vision of the Kingdom of God. We need to discern what St. Paul’s mission is in response. Our mission is our parade, it is what we do to get to the vision. Phillip and Nathanael joined the Kingdom parade. Dr. King joined the Kingdom parade. Now we need to discern our role in the parade, so that St. Paul’s may march more intentionally towards the vision of God.
Amen.