D-R-E-A-M-S: Danger
Revealed, Eminent Awful Message...Saves
Homily
by The Rev. Marcia McRae
St.
John’s Episcopal Church, Bainbridge, GA, 4 Jan., 2015, Christmas
2
RCL:
Jeremiah 31:7-14;
Psalm 84; Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-19a; Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
If
there were dreams to sell, what would you buy1???!
Writers
such as Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg, Alfred Lord Tennyson, T.E.
Lawrence, W.B. Yates & Shakespeare have written about dreams. My
favorite book about dreams (Windows
of the Soul: A Look at Dreams and Their Meanings
by Psychiatrist Paul Meier and Dr. Robert Wise)
opens with a quotation from President
Abraham Lincoln: Lincoln
says about 16 chapters in the Hebrew scriptures and 4 or 5 in the
Christian scriptures mention dreams...2
Our
Gospel today tells us of 3 dreams by which God speaks to Joseph in
order to keep the child Jesus safe.
When
we speak of dreams & dreamers – we often sense a dreamy
quality, a sense that the dream is make-believe & not real. Think
of Kermit the Frog in The Muppet Movie as he sings “The Rainbow
Connection”3:
Why are there
so many songs about rainbows,
And what's on the other side?
Rainbows
are visions, But only illusions,
And rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we've been told, And some choose to believe it,
I know they're
wrong, wait and see.
Someday we'll find it,
The rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers, and me.”
What
is this connection our Scriptures have with dreams & dreamers?
What do dreams mean? In today's Gospel we can see that the word
D-R-E-A-M-S spells Danger Revealed, Eminent Awful Message Saves.
You
recall the wise men have left Bethlehem to go home a different way
because they are warned in a dream about the nefarious Herod, who has
ordered the murder of all boys 2 years old & younger in Bethlehem
& its area. [History
books beyond the Bible tell of Herod's many other murders during his
rule from 37 B.C. to 4 A.D.4]
These
Gospel dreams save. Think of the reality that comes into being to
enhance lives from dreamers like Martin Luther King Jr. & Nelson
Mandela. What about the reality of a dreamer like Joseph, who has 4
dreams about his work in God's plan as Jesus' dad here on earth.
Taking his dreams seriously, Joseph helps save Jesus' life
from the
murderous Herod & then keeps Jesus safe from
Herod's equally
nefarious son, Archelaus.5
Joseph's
taking Jesus to Egypt recalls another Joseph, who is a dreamer &
interpreter of dreams in Genesis, who helps save lives because he
understands dreams. His descendants become so many, the Egyptians
enslave them & God raises up Moses to save them. [If
you see the movie Exodus: Of Gods & Kings, you'll recognize some
big differences from what we read in Exodus.]
We
see a pattern of people going to Egypt to escape hard times &
then leaving, of rulers ordering the murder of Hebrew baby boys &
one being saved to deliver God's people Remember: Jesus' name means
"Savior"
or "God
saves"6.
Our
Gospel tells us God leads the child Jesus to Egypt
& out from
Egypt.
You & I are partners in this business.
Part
of our work as Jesus' disciples is to share this Good News – this
dream of freedom from bondage for people who are in darkness.
Share
the Good News of the love of God
whose promise to love us is carried
after every rainstorm in each rainbow that you see.
What
is that rainbow connection you can make for others? What dream can
you share?
What does your dream for 2015 look like?
If there were
dreams to sell, what would you buy?
Bibliography
Harper’s Bible
Commentary.
General Ed.: James. L. Mays. San Francisco: Harper & Row
Publishers, 1988.
Harper’s Bible
Dictionary.
General Ed.: Paul J. Achtemeier. San Francisco: Harper & Row
Publishers. 1985.
Hoffacker,
The Rev. Charles. “Zigs
and zags”.
http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw/2014/12/17/2-christmas-abc-2015/.
Accessed: 1 Jan. 2015.
Holy
Bible with the Apocrypha. New Revised
Standard Version. New York: Oxford University Press. 1989.
http://www.catholic.org/clife/jesus/jesusname.php.
Accessed: 20 Dec. 2014.
Jewish Study Bible:
Jewish Publication Society TANAKH Translation.
New York: Oxford University Press. 2004.
Kautz,
Richard. A
Labyrinth Year: Walking the Seasons of the Church.
Harrisburg: Morehouse. 2005.
Meier, Paul. M.D. Robert
Wise, Ph.D. Windows of the Soul: A Look at
Dreams and Their Meanings.
Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers. 1995.
The
New American Bible for Catholics.
South Bend: Greenlawn Press. 1986.
The
New Complete Works of Josephus. Revised and Expanded Edition.
Translator: William Whiston. Commentator: Paul L. Maier. Grand
Rapids: Kregel Publications. 1999.
Scott,
Janice B. “The Tale of a Camel”. Accessed: 1 Jan. 2015.
http://www.sermonsuite.com/content.php?i=788017537&key=6iwiesd0BUjzfkod.
Somerville,
The Rev. David. “A
Local Exodus in the Dark And a World Mission in the Light: A
Reflection on the Gospels for Christmas II and the Epiphany”.
Emailed
document received 21 Dec. 2014. http://upcominggospel.com/.
On the Gospel for Next Sunday. Accessed: 2 Jan. 2015.
Williams,
Paul. Kenneth Ashcer.
www.songlyrics.com/Kermit-the-Frog/therainbowconnection/llyrics.
Accessed: 3 Jan. 2015.
2
Meier, Paul
M.D. Robert Wise, Ph.D. Windows
of the Soul: A Look at Dreams and Their Meanings.
P. 1.
3
Lyrics by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ashcer.
www.songlyrics.com/Kermit-the-Frog/therainbowconnection/llyrics.
Accessed: 3 Jan. 2015.
4
Among them:The
New Complete Works of Josephus. Revised and Expanded Edition
and
Harper’s
Bible Dictionary.
7
Hoffacker,
The Rev. Charles. “Zigs
and zags”.
http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/stw/2014/12/17/2-christmas-abc-2015/.
Accessed: 1 Jan. 2015.
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