“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” (Joel 3:1)
These words are ascribed to the prophet Joel around the fifth century before Christ. The Apostle Peter quoted them on that first Pentecost centuries later. Given the secularizing trend in the world today, the idea that our sons and daughters will prophesy and see visions is cause for reflection.
Today it seems that many of us, especially the younger ones among us, have a limited view and little vision. The distinction between view and vision is intended and is suggested by an article a colleague recently passed on to me. Our view is imposed on us by an external world. Because ours in an increasingly utilitarian mode of existence, our view is formed by and limited to practical matters. Our focus is restricted to the exigencies of production, materialism and consumption. What we view is increasingly located in the mechanical, the procedural, and the economic. Maximum production and satisfaction at minimum cost: efficiency is the paramount standard.
Vision, by contrast, comes from within us. It is internal – inspired, as the prophet Joel states, by the spirit of God poured into us. Vision is not limited by tangible or temporal circumstance. Its focus is not so much on the objects that exist outside of us but on the purpose that dwells within us. It illuminates not the ‘what’ or ‘how’, but the ‘why’. It helps us understand the inter-connectiveness of all reality, the unity of truth.
After being tempted by him in the desert Jesus admonishes Satan: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”. Production and consumption are not enough. The ‘word that comes from the mouth of God’ is God’s pouring his spirit upon us, a gift enabling us to ‘see visions’ and in doing so to expand our understanding. With this deeper understanding we are able to live fuller and more meaningful lives and, in turn, contribute to a better more enlightened world.
Related to our tendency today to see views and not visions is another secularizing trend – the spreading practice of ignoring – even denying– tradition. Tradition is that body of tried-and-true knowledge that has been brought down to us through the ages. To jettison it in our attempt to demonstrate hubristically our independence from any received wisdom or truth is foolhardy. And yet, so many of us insist on being so stiff-necked.
A marvelous word comes to mind here: diachronicity. A phenomenon is diachronous if it exists over and throughout a series of time periods. This compares with synchronous wherein a phenomenon exists broadly and contemporaneously within only one time period. The vision of which Joel speaks is diachronous. It has enlightened countless generations. Those who respond to it now share it with others through the ages, past, present and future.
Whether they are old men dreaming dreams or sons and daughters prophesying, philanthropists appreciate this. They understand that the response to their vision is a diachronous participation in the advance of the kingdom.