This week, I watched the film adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” – now, to clarify: it was the Muppets version. Because why not! It’s fun. And the ghosts are less intimidating than say, the Alistair Sims version that terrorized my youth.
We recall the point where the chained ghosts of Robert and Jacob Marley visit Ebenezer Scrooge; to advise him that he will be visited by three spirits – Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come. Great! Ghosts foretelling ghosts. And Scrooge though he can see them, refutes their existence. Asked why he doubts his senses, Scrooge suggests indigestion is causing hallucination: “You may be a bit of undigested beef, a blob of mustard, a crumb of cheese. Yes. There's more gravy than of grave about you.”
How interesting, how typical, how very human of Scrooge. He doesn’t want to believe what he’s seeing, and the change that he’s being called to. So: clearly, the messages he’s receiving from another realm *must* be explained away.
Now, to be honest, I think we’d all do that. We’d convince ourselves it was a dream: and find some explanation or interpretation for what it was that we’d experienced.
And, I’d guess that many of us have had dreams that just don’t make sense… that defy logic… that are clearly markings of our imaginations processing something in the recesses of our brains. Like a hippo in a tutu dancing to classical music, to borrow a famous image.
Dreams can be nice. Safe. Amusing. Proof that we need a change of pace – or that there’s been a crumb of cheese that’s affected our digestion.
But there are other dreams – visions, imaginings, messages of change. THESE are dreams that shouldn’t be ignored.
And, as we’re hearing about in the scriptures today: they are not forgotten or ignored. They are heard; they are understood; they are shared; they are followed.
In the reading from Isaiah, the prophet is sharing a new and exciting vision – the preceding chapters focus on the challenges of remaining faithful, when all of a sudden: ARISE! SHINE! YOUR LIGHT HAS COME! Isaiah isn’t sharing his good news to some huge assembly, he’s speaking to the folks gathered at the margins – the desperate, the lonely, those experiencing need, those who have expressed a desperate yearning for the glory of God. And the prophet tells them: it’s coming. I’ve seen it.
And thus, hope continues, faith continues, acts of grace continue. The promise of God’s glory is a dream worth working towards: and while there’s nothing new in the day-to-day life of the people receiving Isaiah’s vision, there is something renewed within their hearts.
In the Gospel, the magi - astrologers from the East, likely Zoroastrian priests - all individually have visions to go and honour the new King. Not *their* king, not their religion or country. But, off the go - traveling through difficult areas with extravagant gifts, and unsettling the current government in the process. They followed the vision; they were faithful to how God was calling them onward – and even sensitive to the message from God to avoid returning to Herod, they head home by a different road. And, I suspect, they were different men on that different road home, as the encounter with the Christ must have had an impact on them, and changed them for life.
Then, of course, we continue with the letter to the Ephesians, where Paul is emphatic about the mystery of God being revealed – a revelation that is shocking to the establishment! That through Christ, God’s grace and salvation is for all people: regardless of parentage or background or religion or anything else. The Gentiles (which is a word meaning non-Jewish people) are just as welcome in the kingdom of God as the Israelites. What a vision of inclusivity that Paul shares: that you don’t need to rely on your ancestors to be included in the covenant with God; but that God wants to be in relationship with us all: for in us all, as the body of Christ, the presence of God is found.
What a vision indeed, for the unity of the church! What a dream, what a revelation Paul has received, and shared with the community.
So throughout the scriptures, dreams and visions are there: BUT only if we pay attention to them. Only if we recognise them for what they are, and what they are not: and only if we have the courage to embrace them and share them.
So while we appreciate both dreams and visions, I thought it may be helpful to identify some of the things that make dreams different from visions…
First, a vision is Of God, and For God. If our dream is for the benefit of ourselves, while denying God’s grace to others, we’re in danger of that being our egos speaking. And that can be a difficult discernment at times, one that requires multiple perspectives and viewpoints.
Which leads us to the second way we differentiate: God will speak visions to multiple people. The magi, for example, all received their visions yet met up before reaching Jerusalem. And, as it’s highly unlikely they were traveling alone, they had already received support from their unique entourages about the nature of their visions.
So if we have a dream that we think is for all, but no one else thinks it’s a good or Godly idea, it’s likely an earthly dream for us. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing; it’s just good to realise the nature and purpose of that dream.
A third point: dreams are temporary: they are short-lived, they are earthly, and they are common – we can all dream. A dream’s impact will be limited. Visions, however, are rare, heavenly, and timeless: not everyone has visions, but we all benefit from them, as visions carry good news of God to every community in every generation, and continue to have meaning and influence beyond any one family or congregation.
Fourth, dreams are nice. They can be easy. They can be turned into a plan, but they start off gently. Visions tend to be shocking, and are going to be a challenge. Because as God is seldom breaking forth into this realm so intentionally unless we are being called to drastic action.
On that path, dreams don’t require us to change: Visions, however, are inspiring the work of God: and any time we engage in that work, we know that we will be changed by the process. Dreams may be forgotten; visions are life-changing.
And finally, we may have dreams for something to happen, that we expect someone else to do or to take the lead in. Visions, however, call for us to do the work ourselves. God doesn’t call us to be middle managers, or messengers of work; God calls for us to be the labourers in the field.
So as we sit here, at the beginning of a new calendar year, in the middle of discerning a new way to BE in the COVID world, in the hope of both receiving the light of Christ in our hearts and then bearing and sharing it to the world around: We know that life’s journey is taking us to new places, calling us to pray and to dream and to respond: and in that we ponder and reflect…
What is the dream that God has placed in your heart for 2021?
How are we opening ourselves to new joys, new possibilities, new opportunities?
How are we coming together to be changed forever by the good news of Christ’s Gospel?
There’s much to ponder. There’s much to discern. There’s much to celebrate.
And as we undertake this time of prayerful reflection, it’s fitting to go back to the film I first mentioned, and quote Tiny Tim: May God bless us – every one.
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