Reflection: Dreams

January 21, 2009

The theme this week is dreams, and it’s a particularly appropriate theme for this moment in history. On Monday, we honored the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, and the effect that his dream and determination had on our nation. The diverse crowds gathered on the Mall Monday & Tuesday demonstrated, in Obama’s words, the reality of the “dream of a King”, the dream that was Dr. King’s dream, the dream of the King of Kings, Jesus: the dream that we would be divided no more.

Often when we’re hopeful, we talk about dreams and the power they have to change the world, for surely we have seen that! And often when we are cynical or despairing, we warn of fairytale flights of fancy—the foolish dreams that have no chance of fruition, but need to be reigned in.

We use the term “dreams” metaphorically, to describe hopes, aspirations, visions for the future. We know deep in our souls that God can breathe into our dreams, that God can show us a future that is-not-yet.

The ancients too thought that God spoke to us in dreams, and the book of Genesis tells the story of that dreamer and dream-interpreter, Joseph (of the many colored coat) who saw a warning of famine in the dreams of the Pharaoh—danger, but also a way out

Today I want to talk about the danger of dreams.

When God inspires our dreams & dwells in them, we can receive the courage to go a different path. This past week, I traveled through the South & spent an afternoon in the Civil Rights museum in Memphis, Tennessee. In the stories of the marchers, freedom riders, the organizers, and the preachers, the compelling power of a God-given dream came through.

But ever present was the danger that came along with these dreams of dignity & justice. Dreaming of – and working for!—a different world can scare what the theologian Walter Wink & the Apostle Paul call “The Powers that Be”. Because dreams are by definition not-yet reality, those who like the world the way it is are threatened by God-given dreams.

I saw this too. The Memphis Civil Rights museum was attached to the Lorraine Motel, where the powers that be struck out and tried to snuff out the dream of God’s justice—the Lorraine Motel where Dr. King was murdered by an assassin’s bullet.

Big dreams can bring big violence. But even the smaller, more daily dreams incite smaller, more daily resistance. Some of use dream of raising a family, yet struggle to afford it in a world not set up for work and parenting. Some of us dream of good health and a restoration to community, but are left in pain or exhausted from just leaving the house. Or dream of a good job, but struggle to find work we can believe in, or any work at all. Some of us dream that gender won’t limit what we can do or who we can love, but face prejudice from friends, employers and even fear violence.

What dreams do you struggle to live? What dangers have you faced?

But, if there is a danger in following a dream, there is danger in ignoring a dream given by God. In the sacred text for today, “Harlem”, Langston Hughes writes of “a dream deferred.” When dreams are blocked, deferred—they rot, they drag down, the pressure builds.

It is not only external powers that bring the danger of deferred dreams, but we ourselves. If a dream is burning inside us and we do not follow it, that dream can poison our souls. The examples are trite, but oh so true: someone stuck in the wrong career, ignoring God’s vocation; someone stuck in the closet, ignoring his true self.

Although God-inspired dreams point the way to a bright future, they are perilous. They bring danger if we live them and danger in equal measure if we do not.

And so, while the way of your dreams may be dark, rough & rocky, remember that but despite even murder, Martin Luther King’s dream lived on. Despite even murder, Jesus’ dream lived on and brought us together, here, today.
Amen.

Sacred Text for "Centering Down" Reflection

How good it is to center down!
To sit quietly and see one's self pass by!
The streets of our minds seethe with endless traffic;
Our spirits resound with clashings, with noisy silences,
While something deep within hungers and thirsts for the still moment and the resting lull.

With full intensity we seek, ere the quiet passes, a fresh sense of order in our living;
A direction, a strong pure purpose that will structure our confusion
and bring meaning in our chaos.
We look at ourselves in this waiting moment - the kinds of people we are.

The questions persist: what are we doing with our lives? -
What are the motives that order our day?
What is the end in our doings? Where are we trying to go?
Where do we put the emphasis and where are our values focused?
For what end do we make sacrifices? Where is my treasure and what do I love most in life?
What do I hate most in life and to what am I true?

Over and over the questions beat in the waiting moment.
As we listen, floating up through all the jangling echoes of our turbulence, there is a sound of another kind –
A deeper note which only the stillness of the heart makes clear.
It moves directly to the core of our being. Our questions are answered,
Our spirits refreshed, and we move back into the traffic of our daily round
With the peace of the Eternal in our step.
How good it is to center down!

From Meditations of the Heart by Howard Thurman.

Centering Down: Epiphany and the New Year

We celebrated epiphany at church this past Sunday—the recognition of the birth of Jesus by the Magi, the travelers from foreign lands who brought gifts of gold, frankincense & myrrh. Epiphany is an important holy day for the church—not just because we have a picturesque image of Three Kings all dressed up bearing gifts. The story’s told in the Gospel of Matthew, a gospel written about a very Jewish Jesus to a very Jewish audience—the recognition of Jesus’ birth by non-Jews, the Magi, is meant to highlight the universal nature of Jesus’ message.

Yet epiphany might be eclipsed in our lives by New Year’s, marked by much bigger parties at the least, a holiday shared with others throughout the culture. New Year’s is a time of transition—and for many, New Year’s resolutions and an examination of what we want to be doing differently with our lives.

The sacred text for today, “How good it is to center down”, fits well with both the reflection of New Year’s & the recognition of God in epiphany.

“Centering down” is what we do here, each week as we gather for 15 minutes of silent prayer & meditation at the beginning of rest & bread. It can be hard to sit down, expecting peace, yet have the questions beat in upon this sacred time. “What am I doing with my life, where am I trying to go.”

I am bit jealous, though: Howard Thurman ends the poem “Our questions are answered,Our spirits refreshed…” And I know I am still waiting for answers to my questions, but when I find it, I receive the peace for my spirit with gladness!

The Magi bring gifts, gifts of treasure. And the poem asks, “Where is my treasure and what do I love most in life?” Our treasure is what we value, what we strive for—our family, our money, our work, our church? New Year’s resolutions—going to the gym to take care of the body— these resolutions are an acknowledgement that in the small decisions of each day, we can lose track of the big treasures that matter most.

And so we center down. Each week, we listen for that deep note in the stillness of our hearts, for the whisper of God. We listen for God to remind us of treasures we forget were even possible. We listen for God to name the treasures that we already possess, the treasures we can offer to others, even to Jesus. Through a long Advent, we awaited the coming of Christ. We waited for God to speak. Now, we move back into the traffic of ordinary life, perhaps refreshed, hopefully with a just bit of the Eternal in our step.

Amen.