God's way -- or our way?

Today's reflection from The Rev. Dr. Michael Battle of CREDO:

So, Jesus teaches his disciples, "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted."--Luke 18:10-14

When I lived near Washington, DC (and I suspect in many of your communities), I often heard questions like: Why aren't there visionaries like Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King Jr. anymore? And, will we ever have them again? Indeed, Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King were special people who embodied supernatural vision, I think, but I believe the previous questions are really not about two individuals. I believe these constant questions point to deeper crises of faith--will human beings continue to dream of and envision a world reflective of heaven on earth?

This is a crisis, and this crisis is a religious one in which our competitive religious worldviews often make for more trouble rather than presenting solutions to a desperate world. We get in trouble because oftentimes our religion points to what is infinitely best for "me" or for a particular group of people. As the Christian crusades illustrate, people can do horrible things in the seeming best interest of a certain group. Most of all look at what happened to Jesus--well-intentioned folk thought they were doing a good service by having Jesus crucified. With a lack of vision, those who often have good intentions use horrible means to reach their near-sighted goals. We continue to long for visionaries like Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King because they are signifiers of a deeper reality among us. Jesus reminds us of it as the tax collector was justified rather than the religious figure. Visionaries are needed because in their dreams they help us see God. Their dreams and actions tell us that if the Christian faith is to be maintained and expressed authentically, we must turn our attention to the new heaven imagined by God and meant for everyone (not just meant for those we think deserve it).

Let us pray,
O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.