Where Will We Be in Ten Years?

I’m reading a book right now; actually, it’s the second book of a two-part series.  It’s about the Emperor Nero, the emperor from 54AD to 68AD who has the very bad reputation of fiddling as Room burned and then blaming Christians for the catastrophe and executing them.  Despite this bad reputation, the author attempts to humanize him and look at his reign objectively, instead of through the many rumours that were spread by just three authors, writing at least fifty after Nero’s death. 

Currently, I’m reading the part following the great fire that occurred in  Rome in 64AD, where more than half of the city was destroyed.  Nero is working with architects, his advisors, and the Senate to bring about a grand vision of a new Rome, to be as grand as others of the time, which included a central space with gardens for all people.  With an artist’s eye, he envisions a space for people of all classes, a space of beauty and a space that offers a break from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the city.  

Well, you can imagine the reaction from the upper class of the city.  Nero wanted to take prime real estate, in the centre of the city, and claim it as his own?  Supposedly as common ground for everyone’s use?  Some had owned houses on this land.  Were they really being asked to relocate?  All of this was happening in the midst of rumours that Nero, himself, had set the fire.  People couldn’t imagine this plan of Nero’s would work.  It was too big a change.  They couldn’t imagine Nero’s vision years into the future.  They could only see what had been.

Two weeks ago, I pulled out a question from our suggested sermons box.  The question was, “Where Will We Be in Ten Years?”  I decided to ask this question of people I encountered this week, those who stopped by the church, those at meetings, family members; where did they see St. Paul’s or the church in general in ten years?  I wanted to hear what others were imagining.

I heard a variety of thoughts.  Some believe that our culture has changed too much and is too busy with other priorities besides the church.  While some think that changes we make now probably won’t make a lot of difference, others believe the changes will make all the difference in the world.  Some see us amalgamated or combined with other United Churches in Oakville and maybe even with other denominations.  But the changes to which most people referred were around how we connect with our community.  What was imagined by some is that St. Paul’s would be more like a community centre and less like a church, that worship wouldn’t be confined to Sunday mornings, and that the gospel would still be preached but in a way that is relevant and meaningful to this generation and to a wider community.  

This is a tall order.  Ten years from now might we be St. Paul’s Community Centre and Church,  Might we have worship on Wednesday evenings, or on weekday mornings?  Could St. Paul’s be a part of a larger Community of Care network that supports seniors, youth, families, and people in general with their physical, mental, and spiritual wellness?  Would we be willing to set aside the idea of this being a church with members and calling it “my church” and instead see it as a space for the whole community, an Affirming, loving, and caring place for any and for all?  

As one person said to me, we have to be asking these questions.  Churches all over have vision teams who are looking forward and visioning a future for their faith communities.  Those that are unwilling to imagine how to meet the needs of this brand new world will probably barely survive another ten years.  

In the Hebrew bible, the prophet Jeremiah spoke words to the Israelite people who were exiled from their home and transported to Babylon.  These words from Jeremiah were meant to reassure these exiles, to let them know that it’s OK to make a life in this new place, to build houses, plant gardens, marry and start families and to not act as if this is temporary or that if you settle in you’ll be betraying your God and country.  Live.  

We are not exiles.  We are still mostly a people with many privileges, but as people who come to church and are part of a faith community, we sometimes feel like aliens, different from the most of the community.  Our cultural landscape has changed tremendously and I think sometimes there is hope that it will go back to the way it was, that this is only a temporary change.  I could be wrong, but I don’t think we’re going back to that time ever again.  Therefore, I believe we need to build houses, plant gardens, and live into this new landscape, discover how our faith community might build and plant and grow with the people in our community who are so anxiously trying to survive in this new landscape.  We can hear for us too, the words from Jeremiah, speaking on behalf of the divine, for those Israelite exiles:  “For surely I know the plans I have for you, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. 12 Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. 13 When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, 14 I will let you find me.” (Jeremiah 29:11-14)

In the meantime, as we learn to live in this in-between and imagine our future, we need to be strong, we need to be positive, and we need to walk together with compassion and grace.  We need to love each other and encourage one another to share that love with people in our community who are struggling to know they are loved.  We need to offer forgiveness and grace to one another and then to share that forgiveness and grace with people in our community who feel judged and unable to be themselves.  We need to become immersed in our faith, in our scriptures, in prayer, in stewardship, so that we have a solid foundation for our work, and we need to share that solid foundation with others who are searching for meaning and a sense of purpose.  

Hopefully, in ten years, we will be more fortunate than the Emperor Nero, who was overthrown and committed suicide, but, Nero can say that he tried.  He risked imagining and dreaming a new tomorrow.  The vast Golden House that he had envisioned and built was eventually filled with dirt to make way for baths, and the man-made lake was filled in to build the Colosseum.  The Golden House was rediscovered though during the Renaissance so that you can still see some of the dreams that Nero dreamed.

Our dreams may not be as opulent and as visually stunning as the Golden House of Nero, but they can be just as grand.  They will also meet with resistance; they may get buried and trampled on, but, just as Nero’s dreams had a lasting effect, our dreams will too, especially if they are grounded in our faith, modelled after the example of Jesus, and carried out with love and compassion.  

I’ll finish by offering words from the apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians:  I pray that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through the Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. 18 I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.  May it be so.  Amen.