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Perchance to dreamTuesday, December 29, 2009
Matthew 2:13-15 Could I be that quick to respond? Neither Joseph nor Mary questioned the instructions they received. Would a "better educated" person have been able to accept so unconditionally? Values that I know are important - things like the ability to analyze, being level-headed, having common sense - stand in the way of this acceptance. One value that does not stand in the way is the quality of being faithful, choosing surrender, choosing not to be in charge. A friend told me today, "In the morning I wake up and renew my determination to find any way I can to not be in control." He struggles to deal with the sense of entitlement and power that most middle-class Americans have. At least he knows he's struggling. Too much of the time I don't have a clue. If Joseph had awakened and considered his options, deciding for himself whether or not to listen to the Voice ... the baby Jesus would have been killed. Imagine Satan's glee. Imagine his glee today when we decide not to listen to God. And just imagine how life will be unimaginably different when we do. When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. As so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I called my son." Thank you, Lord, for speaking to me. Thank you for showing me each day a little more how to listen. Give me courage to stop analyzing and start to do. Thank you for loving me while I fail at this, and for your patience and faithfulness as I change. |
This is Joseph's second dream. Mary's vision of Gabriel came when she was awake; apparently Joseph had to be put to sleep in order to hear God's voice. I think that would be me, too.
Joseph did respond to both dreams. And in both situations there was no time to lose. In The Nativity Story (which goes beyond what the Bible says), after his first dream Joseph rescues Mary from a stoning mob. After the second he rouses the holy family and removes them from harm's way, virtually going out the back door while Herod's soldiers are entering the front.