Reflection
“…the vision still has its time,
presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;
if it delays, wait for it,it will surely come…”
Hab 1:2-3; 2:2-4
The prophet Habbakuk was caught in a particular situation in his own historic time, yet his words speak to us now. We, who believe in the gospel of Jesus, must keep it alive and believe in its possibilities. Jesus’ whole work was directed to one thing: a radical transformation of human relationships and human institutions according to his understanding of God’s hope for them. The kingdom of God as preached by Jesus was a vision of a radical transformation of human beings and human institutions. The kingdom would be realized when God ruled in the hearts of people and was manifested in their social relationships. Jesus proclaimed the ”good news” that through persons whose hearts and relationships were congruent with their commitment to God, God would bring about the justice and harmony of creation. This was not only in a spiritual dimension but also included the political, economic and social implications of building a world of just relationships. For this vision Jesus lived; for this vision he courageously spoke truth to power; for this vision he was willing to die.
Prayer
May we live according to the vision of Jesus.
Action
We must become the change we wish to see. (Gandhi) How can you do this? With whom can you join to work toward fulfilling the vision?
Suggested Reading
How long, O Lord? I cry for help
but you do not listen!
I cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you do not intervene.
Why do you let me see ruin;
why must I look at misery?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and clamorous discord.
Then the Lord answered me and said:
Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets,
so that one can read it readily.
For the vision still has its time,
presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;
if it delays, wait for it,
it will surely come, it will not be late.
Habbakuk 1:1-2,2:2-4
Where there is no vision the people perish.
Proverbs 29:18
Each of us has a vision of good and of evil. We have to encourage people to move towards what they think is good.
Pope Francis
Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.
Joel A. Barker
In the culture of orthodoxy, mention of alternatives is considered deviant and subversive. Indeed, all talk about a different and better future tends to be suspect to the orthodox world of politics and religion. When people begin to think differently, they pose a threat to those who feel that they alone have a monopoly on how to manage the prevailing reality. But, as St. Paul reminds us, the luring Spirit is the one who dispenses gifts with prolific generosity, not among some, but among all God’s people.
Diarmuid O’Murchu
Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.
Harriet Tubman
No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.
Robin Williams
A leader’s role is to raise people’s aspirations for what they can become and to release their energies so they will try to get there.
David Gergen
Dissatisfaction and discouragement are not caused by the absence of things but the absence of vision.
Anonymous
Some believe there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world’s ills — against misery, against ignorance, or injustice and violence. Yet many of the world’s great movements, of thought and action, have flowed from the work of a single man. A young monk began the Protestant reformation, a young general extended an empire from Macedonia to the borders of the earth, and a young woman reclaimed the territory of France. It was a young Italian explorer who discovered the New World, and 32 year old Thomas Jefferson who proclaimed that all men are created equal. ‘Give me a place to stand,’ said Archimedes, ‘and I will move the world.’ These men moved the world, and so can we all.
Robert F. Kennedy