The Gospel
Matthew 1:18-25
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,”
which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
The Sermon
Joseph had a dream. In the first
century middle east, if you remembered a dream you paid close
attention to it. Many at the time believed that it was the spirit
world making contact and giving direction to us mortals. Some of us
believe that today. I am one of those believers.
You all know the story A Christmas
Carol. My favorite is the George C. Scott version and I would guess
you all have a favorite as well. Ebeneezer Scrooge did not believe
his spirit visitors at first. He thought at first it must have been
something he ate. However, by the third visit he became a believer
and he made a resolution to change his ways.
I have never had a Christmas Carol kind
of dream but I do believe I have been contacted by someone in my
dreams. One of them I will share with you.
First, let me give you a little back
story. As a teenager I had issues with my parents, especially my
mother. She was an alcoholic and had also spent time in mental
institutions. I did not live with her but we kept in frequent
contact. The last time I spoke to her she called me while I was at
my dad's farm and asked me if I was going to a family picnic planned
for residents at Mt. Pleasant. I told her I didn't think I could
make it and she said that was OK since she was being released before
the picnic was to take place. A week later, we had just finished
putting up a load of hay and I was walking up to the house for a
drink when I saw the county sheriff drive up the lane. He got out of
his car and grimly told me mom had died in a single car accident.
This was the final tragedy in a life full of tragedies.
I remember being very angry with my mom
because apparently she had been drinking again and she had driven off
the road and hit a cement culvert. At the same time I felt guilty
that I maybe had not done enough to help her. I didn't let go of
either of those feelings, the anger and the guilt, for over a decade.
Then one night I had a dream. In the
dream I saw my mother off in the distance. I started walking toward
her and she walked toward me. Neither of us said anything and when
we reached each other we hugged. Then I woke up. It felt like all
of that anger and guilt had washed away and had been replaced by
love.
I believe she came to me that night. I
have had other similar dreams with other people who were an important
part of my life. I believe that when we sleep the barrier that
separates us mortals from the spirit world becomes easier to
penetrate. I believe Joseph did receive a visit that night two
thousand years ago. I believe in the Christmas story.
Last year I attended a workshop on
dreams at the clergy summer retreat and school in Grinnell. The six
or eight of us at the workshop shared our dreams and it was fun
hearing and making attempts to unravel the mystery behind some of
them. I think sometimes dreams are just dreams. It could be a bad
potato for supper as Ebeneezer had suspected but...at other times it
could be a profound connection that needs our attention.
So.....dream on .
Fr. Fred
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