By Bernard E Johnson

I’ve been thinking about a vision for the times in which we live. Is there a person of conscience who is not sickened by the news of suicide bombers and terrorist executions in the Middle East? We have little or no frame of reference for such things. Of course it may be well to remember the innocent men, women and children incinerated by our own misguided missiles in a war our leaders insist is necessary to bring freedom to those very same people. Any way you look at it, the present situation is one we can only assume everyone wishes was over.

All of which brings me to the question of vision. A common proverb says: “What you see is what you get!” The trouble with that perspective is that much of what we can see is frightening, vile and violent. Add up the daily images of war and pestilence, murder and mayhem and one’s vision of life can become dark and depressing. If we are not careful our view of life will accept war and violence as normal. It makes me worry about the world my grandchildren will inherit from the present generation.

Is there an antidote to this dark and cynical vision? Virtually every religious tradition calls its followers to a vision of life that transcends present realities. Spiritually alert people look for something beyond the headlines to guide their thinking and give them hope. It is the essence of faith to have a vision of life rooted in some divine goodness. For those in the Judeo-Christian tradition, there is a core concept that says history is not a random, chaotic tragedy heading nowhere. Rather it is a linear story with a beginning and an end. In the middle of it all God has revealed a godly vision of the good.

It is almost as if people of faith need to wear two watches, one for ordinary time and one for God’s time. The first watch keeps track of the present; the second holds our hope for the future. The first chronicles the past, the second holds our vision of what ought to be. The first is ordinary time. The second is God’s time.

In the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian New Testament God’s time is mainly in the future. Look at ordinary time and war is raging in a world redefined by terrorists beheading innocent people. Car bombs explode and school children are taken hostage. Our soldiers are dying and the world feels less and less secure. Look at the watch with God’s time and we are given a vision of hope when “nations will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks and we will study war no more.” (Isaiah 2:4)

Look at ordinary time and the headlines tell of scandals and corruption, dishonesty and injustice from corporate boardrooms to local governments. Look at the other watch and we are invited to visualize a day when “justice will roll on like a river and righteousness like a never failing stream.” (Amos 5:24)

In the midst of ordinary time every one of us experiences sorrow, pain and loss. Look at the other watch for God’s time and we are encouraged to look for that day when “the Lord will wipe away every tear from our eyes and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.” (Revelation 21:4)

Every now and then God’s time breaks into ordinary time. For a brief moment the good and Godly vision enters the here and now; Jesus of Nazareth, St Francis of Assisi, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, Trevor Howell (the young boy in Philadelphia who started a movement of giving blankets to the homeless) and our own Mary Jo Copeland. The challenge is to dwell on a vision that is life-giving in a world that seems addicted to anything but such a vision.

A recommendation from the Apostle Paul has universal relevance for people who aspire to a vision of life that counters the dark reality of these times. “... whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)

 Dr. Bernard E. Johnson shares this space with the Revs. Timothy A. Johnson, Tim Power and Rod Anderson as well as spiritual writer Lauren Carlson-Vohs. “Spiritually Speaking” appears weekly.