The Marvelous Vision

Dear Friend,

Throughout Advent the prophets have directed us to an expansive vision of God’s greatness. Each in his own way, Jeremiah, Baruch, Zephaniah, and Micah give voice to God’s work touching “the ends of the earth” with peace, joy, and love. Author Henri Nouwen (1932-1996), a prophet of the Christian community, contends that with the Incarnation of God’s love on Christmas, a new work of God has begun, opening a vision of the future which, like that of the biblical prophets, is to be “anticipated” - performed ahead of time, as it were - through the lives and actions of God’s servants. He writes: 

“The marvelous vision of the peaceable Kingdom, in which all violence has been overcome and all men, women, and children live in loving unity with nature, calls for its realization in our day-to-day lives. Instead of being an escapist dream, it challenges us to anticipate what it promises. Every time we forgive our neighbor, every time we make a child smile, every time we show compassion to a suffering person… every time we create beauty in our homes and gardens, and work for peace and justice among peoples and nations we are making the vision come true.”

In a similar way, reflecting on her Marian pilgrimage through the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, our parish companion and scholar, Wendy Wright, underlines a central truth about Christmas. “Incarnation is not simply a one-time event,” she writes, and “To pursue the infinite one does not leapfrog over real life.” Nouwen concludes: “We must remind one another constantly of the vision. Whenever it comes alive in us, we will find new energy to live it out, right where we are. Instead of making us escape real life, this beautiful vision gets us involved.”

Have a beautiful Christmas...and make your Christmas beautiful!

Gratefully,

Father Dan Lackie OFM, Pastor