The power of the dream …
The 4
th Sunday of Advent is the Sunday for dreaming. Many have spoken of such dreams and this dream from Matthew reminds us of the ancient stories of dreams, and of the dreamers.
God communicated with Abraham in dreams about God’s desire to be in relationship through a covenant of blessing. Later Jacob, son of Isaac, dreamt of a ladder up to heaven with angels ascending and descending reaffirming God's promise that Abraham's blessing would be carried on through him.
Another Joseph, as a boy dreamed that his family would one day bow to him in respect. His brothers didn't appreciate that dream and in their hatred sold Joseph into slavery. Years later, Joseph interpreted the Pharaoh’s dream to mean seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt followed by seven years of famine, this interpretation won Joseph his freedom and the reuniting of his family. A few centuries on Samuel had his first dream as a young boy. God told him that judgment was coming to the sons of Samuel’s mentor, Eli. The young Samuel was faithful to relay the information, and God continued to speak to him for the rest of his life. It was in a dream that God gave Solomon the famous offer, "Ask what you wish me to give you." Solomon chose wisdom.
Then in the New Testament Peter and Paul both had dreams about their work in God’s kingdom and what they needed to do.
Much, much later, the Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr had a dream about entrenched systems of race and class falling away so that his children and all children might live together in freedom and equality.
God has a dream, Verna Dozier believed, and we are the realization of that dream. "The dream of God is that all creation will live together in peace and harmony and fulfillment. All parts of creation. And the dream of God is that the good creation that God created -- what the refrain says, 'and God saw that it was good' -- be restored". (
The Dream of God; A Call to Return, 1991).
Archbishop Desmoid Tutu wrote a book about the dream called,
God Has a Dream; A Vison of Hope for Our Time, 2004, God’s invitation and deepest desire for us to live in peace with each other.
Back to the gospel dream …. Joseph in his dream was told to be not afraid and be part of the lives of Mary and her yet to be born baby boy. In complying with the dream Joseph protected a vulnerable woman and a baby and offered a means of salvation for the world!
What are your dreams? Are they as large as God’s dream for us?
Each of these dreams like Joseph’s dream mean agreeing to God’s desire and working with God and others to live it out. A Christmas miracle or just ordinary blessing.
First we must dream it. We must ask God to infuse our dreams with commitment and vision, with strength and courage, with imagination. Not just visions of sugar plums. As delicious as that sounds.
In the days between advent 4 and the 12 days of Christmas let’s agree to dream big, to ask God to fill our dreams with God’s desires for the world.
Pay attention to your dreams and seek God’s dream for you. That is the secret sauce beloved, living God's vision, God's dream for you and me.
Dream a little dream of me.
Maybe our dreams are not as vivid, not as clear, not a direct. But I believe God does have dreams for God’s people.
The nativity story takes everyone working toward the dream, Mary’s yes to God, Joseph’s yes to God, an inn keepers yes, what is our yes? We have a part, let us cooperate with the divine, let us enter a holy huddle with the creator of the universe, because it's then that the impossible becomes possible.
Rev. Alison +
