| Clarity of Vision By the time you read this, I’ll have had one cataract removed, and a new lens inserted into one eye. If all goes to plan, the other eye will be done Tuesday. I don’t remember not being able to see the board in my third grade classroom, but I’ll always remember marveling at the sharpness of crisp white letters against the bright red ground of a stop sign as my mother drove me home from the optometrist in new glasses. I hadn’t even realized what I was missing. I’ve been noticing that my vision is not as sharp as it once was, and that the world looks darker. I’m assured that I won’t be able to believe how much brighter and better the world will look post-surgery. The metaphorical application of this radical change in vision is inescapable to me. It’s a new year, and we are blessed with a new pastor in our sanctuary, and shortly, a new administration in our nation’s wounded capital. While the world has looked deeply discouraging, I am looking forward to brighter days, clearer vision, a shinier new outlook on life. I can’t help but think in terms of the promise of renewal we hoped for through Advent, the Christmas message of new birth and hope, the revelations of Epiphany. As individuals sheltering from an epidemic, as a congregation moving forward through unanticipated transitions, and as a nation that has watched what we want to believe are our most basic principles, guiding norms, and symbolic democratic institutions violated, we are seeking new vision. Let us be people of light and clarity, shining a spotlight in particular on systemic racism and injustice, working every day to bring the illumination and renewal God assures us we can be into our world. We are the church. Mary Peckham, President |
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