"On this mountain, the Lord will remove the mourning veil covering all peoples and the shroud en-wrapping all nations. Death will be destroyed forever."
Isaiah
Scripture's most beautiful imagery can be found in our Advent readings from Isaiah. The time of the above reading was around 740 BC. Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel finds itself in a "life and death" struggle against its own people to the North. These beautiful scripture readings of Isaiah were written during difficult moments when brother was fighting brother on the battle field.
Isaiah is an artist with words. He paints a tapestry that touches the hearts of a troubled people. It's a tapestry that touches our heart even today in the midst of our own struggle.
I remember, not too long ago, when I was a part of a "Celebrating the Word" group. Twelve of us gathered to share the Sunday scripture readings.
The producer of the "Celebrating the Word" program always asked soul searching questions. One I remembered was: "What is heaven like for you, or how would you describe heaven?" We would then go around the room and each person would identify something from their own hearts as to what heaven was like for them. And each person would offer something unique that added to the picture that would eventually emerge.
We need images such as this because they restore our hope and bring us in touch with a reality that is often in conflict with our day to day experience and struggle. They express something much deeper, at the level of the heart, that take us beyond the surface of our own existence.
Jesus in the Gospels is doing much the same thing, but He is doing it differently. He creates a tapestry for us through the actions of His life.
We read in the Gospel of Matthew: "Jesus sat on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and crowds came bringing the lame, the blind, those without speech, and many others. These they put down at His feet and He cures them."
Through these biblical accounts, we see the tapestry of Jesus' actions beautifully laid out before us, not only offering us hope, but challenging us to live differently in order to see and build up God's Kingdom.
This painting of God's tapestry with words and actions is not unfamiliar to us in our Christian faith. In fact, our Archbishop has done this in his recent Pastoral letter called "Lord, Where Are You Going". In conclusion, I have quoted a paragraph from this letter as it relates to mission and community.
Mission
The mission to which we are presently being called is to effectively do, in our times and in our world, what Christ came to accomplish. Christ's mission is to proclaim a vision of life and a hope for humanity, revealed in a culture of personal encounter, and experienced in relationships of self-sacrificing love. This is presently counter-cultural. The challenge is to take seriously the proclamation of an alternative way of being and living, which can touch the heart of humanity, and do it consciously and deliberately through commitment and action.
Jesus spoke about the "Kingdom of God" using terms that were relevant and understandable in him time. Now, we need to present the same concept in our own language and context, by speaking in terms of achieving a better world. We need to speak of a world where the truth and reality of God is not an idea, a philosophy or a political agenda, but where the truth of our Trinitarian God is founded on the personal experience of being loved; where love is a choice, a decision and a deliberate action, not just a feeling or wishful thinking.
Community
To speak of rebuilding our Church is not to speak about repairing, reconstructing, or even maintaining what we had; nor is it about repeating what we have always done. That Church has largely disappeared. If we are going to interact with the present world, we need to be there. We need to develop the skills, the discernment and the mentality that lead us to see, recognize and acknowledge God present in all circumstances. This is the formation of heart and mind needed to bring about engaged communities of Christian faith.
A community is not something perfect or only for the elite who qualify. Think of your families and friends: They all have communities to which they belong because they are welcomed and accepted. If your sons and daughters are not perfect, you don't reject them; you don't stop loving them. If there are points of disagreement, you learn to cope with them. With such attitudes and qualities, dynamic Christian communities can and must become centres of welcome, providing opportunities for conversations and invitations for accompaniment on the spiritual journey, where people and their needs are respected and discernment is encouraged with time and patience.
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