Every once in awhile I have a dream that, upon my waking, stays with me in vivid detail, with a message that I sense has come from God rather than from my sub-conscious. I call those “God dreams.” I’ve had maybe three or four.
Joseph had a LOT of them! Like his namesake, the Joseph with the jealous brothers and the woven cloak, the New Testament Joseph received regular angelic communications through his dreams. Unlike the Joseph of yore, however, whose dreams were symbolic and required interpretation, Joseph of Nazareth gets clear instructions, “Do this,” “Go there,” “Don’t go there,” “Okay, it’s safe now…”
Now, in Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth, the angels just show up directly to people like Zechariah, Mary, the shepherds, unmediated by REM sleep and human processes. They’re just there – “Look out! Be not afraid!” The writer of Matthew either heard different stories, or maybe thought Luke was embellishing things, for in his telling the angels speak through dreams, though their messages agree with Luke’s. After Joseph learns of Mary’s premature pregnancy, and resolves to divorce her quietly, “…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.’” In Luke, this is pretty much what Gabriel says to Mary. In Matthew, it is Joseph who receives the divine message. And he acts on it.
Have you ever had a “God dream?” What message did you discern? Did you act on it?
In what ways do you sense the Holy Spirit communicates with you? In prayer directly? Through events and coincidences? By a strong sense or urge to do or say something that bears good fruit? Through meditating on the Word of God? I have a friend who gets pop song lyrics in her head – always with a message that suggests answers or guidance.
I believe the Holy One is often messaging us. As we tune our receivers, we begin to discern those messages more often. And when we do, we check that our interpretation is consistent with what we read in Scripture, not contrary. We can also seek confirmation from others in our community of faith. If the Spirit suggests you do something radical, the Spirit will give someone else confirmation for you.
In Field of Dreams, one of my favorite movies of all time, an Iowa farmer named Ray Kinsella hears a whispered voice telling him to plow under a fruitful field of corn and build a ball park. This is economic and agricultural madness, and yet he is convinced of the voice’s reality. Equally crazed instructions follow, leading to the impossible reality that Shoeless Joe Jackson and other baseball greats of yore, now dead, start coming through the corn to play on the field and interact with Ray and his family. Ray’s wife supports him following these instructions – but it’s hard. At a crucial point, when she’s ready to give up, they both have the same dream one night, giving them the confirmation they need to stay on this seemingly insane course and follow where it leads.
Where it leads, ultimately, is to love, to reunion and reconciliation and restoration.
Which is where all God dreams ultimately lead… Joseph’s, and mine, and yours.
From Elizabeth Heichler: I also think the Matthew-Luke contrast is interesting from the perspective that Matthew is the more "jewish" gospel, right? The patriarchy is more important, so the message has to come to Joseph to make his actions seem more reasonable to an audience that would otherwise wonder why the heck Joseph didn't kick out the fallen woman.
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