The View

 “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.”  -Ephesians 3:21

 These days, many homeowners across scenic New Hampshire are paying through the nose for what they can see with their eyes, and it is literally forcing some of them off the land beneath their feet.

Officials in New Hampshire towns have decided that all those majestic panoramas for which the state is famous are not priceless after all. Instead, officials now consider spectacular views bonus features, sort of like a finished basement or an attached garage, and tax assessors are putting dollar amounts on those glorious views. This, in turn, requires homeowners with a glorious view to feed the community coffers a gluttonous property tax — stiff enough that some are selling and moving away.

One family lived in Winchester, New Hampshire, where their house overlooked a valley through which the Connecticut River flows. In 2002, his house and land were appraised at about $198,000. In 2003, after the tax assessor calculated a value for the vista.  Their home was deemed to be worth $393,000, and the property taxes doubled. The couple had planned to spend the rest of their lives in that house, but when the taxes went out of sight, they put their place on the market and relocated to Canada.

Naturally, property owners are fighting back, through the court system, with the result that a few assessments have been reduced, but overall, the principle is holding. Glorious beauty outside your window, means a hefty tax bill your mailbox.

One New Hampshire retiree complained about the “view tax” when his assessed valuation doubled, arguing he doesn’t own the view, and it’s increasingly obscured by dirty air, and besides, he is blind! The assessor was un-amused and un-moved.

The irony is that if your house overlooks a slag heap, junk yard or barren landscape, it’s going to save you money on your taxes. However, it is hardly imaginable that anyone would intentionally choose to purchase their home next to a gravel pit or landfill. 

 Yet, when we move and look beyond the realm of real estate, we see that is exactly what God’s people have done time and again down through history. God’s people have intentionally occupied distinctly ugly terrain because they have a bigger view of things.

Take a look at Paul’s words in the epistle this morning.  He writes, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father…”  He goes on to say that he prays “according to the riches of [God’s] glory.” He speaks of knowing the “fullness” of God and then concludes with a line of benediction: “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly ...to him be glory, forever and ever.”  Such words and phrases as “riches,” “glory,” “fullness” and “accomplish abundantly” hardly leave us thinking that Paul is speaking from a grim, troubled, disheartening circumstance, but actually that was exactly the case. Paul is in prison as he writes these words.  And in the verse right before our reading, he mentions his sufferings.  

So, it is from prison and from suffering, not from a scenic idyllic mountainside with a glorious view, or a safe, secure and comfortable life that Paul speaks these powerful words of praise for and confidence in God.  So, how did he manage to do that?  What was his secret and source of strength and joy?  Think of the last time you were in the midst of a hard and difficult circumstance.  What came out of your mouth?  What was in your heart?   Did you speak words of praise?  Di you have thoughts of the abundance of God?    

 What was Paul’s secret?  I think it was because he had a great view from the confines of his prison cell, but don’t misunderstand me, I’m not talking about the actual landscape, or the scene outside his window, if he even had a window.   With eyes of faith, Paul saw the glory emanating from God, even from prison, and he caught a vision of things as God wants them to be; he caught a vision of the possibilities of God’s kingdom; he saw through eyes of faith a realm in which God “is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine.”

In the centuries since, Christians have done the same time after time. They have come upon or found themselves in repulsive and heart-sickening situations, but instead of running away ,instead of complaining,  they have set up camp and stayed.  Think of William Booth ministering to the dirt-poor of England, eventually founding the Salvation Army; Albert Schweitzer doctoring the disease-ridden poor of Africa; and Mother Teresa caring for the dying poor of India. Think of the number of charities, helping organizations, 12-step groups, hospitals and ministries that began because somebody looked at bleakness and despair, and didn’t walk away but saw an opportunity for God’s power and blessing and God’s realm to break in.   

On a more personal scale, this same sort of thing happens every day. People take troubled kids into their homes, volunteer to hospice, help out at soup kitchens, answer hotlines for people in crises, serve as Stephen Ministers, and do the thousands of other thankless tasks that help struggling brothers and sisters make it through another day. When, like Paul, we catch a vision of God’s kingdom, we can invest ourselves in the most unpromising and even difficult circumstances.  We can have little tangible evidence to show for our efforts, but still see God’s grace from the vantage point of faith.

 Years ago I got to know a young man in the particular congregation I was serving, a young man who was very difficult to like.  Sometimes he could be noxious and toxic and he even drove some people away.  I was about ready to give up on him, but a member of the staff at that church wouldn’t let me do it.  The staffer insisted that I hang in there with the young man and trust that God would bless the effort in some way.  The staffer was right.  After awhile and a remarkable serious of events, the young man’s life underwent extraordinary changes for the positive.  Through eyes of faith, the staffer saw something I did not, and through encouragement I did not give up. 

In a sense, following Jesus calls for a kind of double vision, so that when we look out of our spiritual window, we see two things: the near-at-hand in all of its imperfection, injustice and inequality; and the kingdom of God, God’s realm, God’s vision of things; God’s intention for things, what God wills and desires.

Opportunities to be God’s person abound for each and every one of us.  They are all around us everyday: at our places of work; at school; in our communities - everywhere.  But often they don’t look much like opportunities, and we don’t think of them as opportunities. Usually they look more like obstacles, overwhelming needs or intractable problems. In the face of them we may feel like Philip must have felt in our gospel for today, stuck with only a “Happy Meal” to feed thousands.  

 It is often hard to see much promise in the difficult circumstances we see on the landscape of life.  They don’t much match the way the kingdom of God is described in the Bible — as a place where death, mourning, crying, injustice and pain will be no more, and where God himself will wipe away every tear.  So what do too often is pass on by, muttering to ourselves and echoing Philip, “Who am I in the face of such dire need? There is nothing I can do that could make a difference anyway.” 

 The “Happy Meal” of the boy in our gospel didn’t look like much in the face of great need.  But the Lord Jesus blessed the child’s offering and thousands were fed. 

There’s a story, probably apocryphal, about the Russian composer Stravinsky that illustrates the point. He was considered by many the greatest and most versatile composer of the 20th century, but he was also known for writing extremely difficult passages into his works. One time he created a violin interlude so formidable that a master violinist declared to Stravinsky that it was “impossible to play!”

“Of course,” Stravinsky replied. “I don’t necessarily want the sound of someone playing the passage. I want the sound of someone trying to play it.”

In places of great need, indeed in life itself, that is the definition of faithfulness to God’s call. We are not asked to be successful, but we are asked to be faithful, because in Jesus Christ we have had a glimpse of the way things should be, the way God desires for them to be, the way they are in the realm of God.

And because you had a glimpse of God’s realm through the eyes of faith a little miracle occurs, and the miracle is this time you do not pass the situation by, but with your heart in your anxious throat, you stop and you get involved.  And when you get involved, for Christ’s sake, because of what you see with your eyes of faith, you can declare, “What a view!” and “God… is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all you can ask or imagine; to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.”