Sermon Series: Dreams: Mary and Joseph

Last week I mentioned that sacred dreams occur in the scripture during major times of transition in the life of God’s people.  Dreams bringing people closer to God, dreams showing outsiders to the faith that God is the true God, dreams bringing hope to people who have little to no hope left.  Even in the darkest of times, God reaches out to God’s people and sends a message of presence, of hope, of possibilities for the future.

            And so today, we have another dream, another angel speaking to Joseph in his sleep, that Mary will have a child, a child blessed by God, a child that is proclaimed to be the son of God, the long awaited heir to the throne of David, the new branch from the stump of Jesse. 

            The dream that Joseph had, of this angel sharing with him about the birth of this child, is so transitional, that early church leaders took these stories and marked them as different.  Although the Hebrew scriptures were not yet known as the Old Testament, this dream, this birth, this transition brought about what we now call the New Testament and the Gospels.  A whole new set of holy scriptures were born through this dream. 

            For those that were here the Sunday we heard the dreams from Daniel and King Nebuchadnezzar, we heard about two separate dreams that were of future kingdoms.  There would be four kingdoms and after that God would create an eternal kingdom:  “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. And from Daniel’s dream:  Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’   We also look to Isaiah and his words about God’s future kingdom as we celebrate the birth of Jesus and how we believe he is the fulfillment of God’s promises and sacred dreams. 

            And so generation after generation have waited.  God’s people who were in exile during the time of Daniel and Ezekiel have returned home.   They have reestablished their lives in Israel but have not become the might kingdom they once were.  They have struggled to protect themselves and have found themselves conquered by the Greeks and then again by the Romans. 

There is a deep yearning in the people to have a new leader, a new king, someone that will defeat the Roman oppression and allow the people to once again live as an independent nation.  But sometimes human yearning is not what God is creating.  The angel shares these words with Mary:  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”  This tends to connect to that yearning of God’s people.  It gives them the hope that this is the one that has come to be their new king. 

But to Joseph we are told:  you are to give him the name Jesus,^[f] because he will save his people from their sins.”  There is nothing here about a kingdom or the throne of David it is a much more spiritual nature.  But Joseph knows that there is something special about this child.  Perhaps God was calling him to be a religious leader, a Pharisee or a Sadducee, someone with the authority to cleanse God’s people of their sins.   There is no king language here, no new kingdom, but still a major message of who this child will be, he will save his people from their sins. 

And so the time has come, the dreams from 500 years prior are being fulfilled, are coming into reality, God’s very presence is truly entering the world.  No longer is God speaking through dreams to bring transition and hope and purpose to God’s people, but rather is entering the world in human form, in a sacred presence, in a living dream to share with God’s people how to truly live in the world, even when there is oppression, even when there is injustice, even when hope seems scarce. 

Last week, I asked the question that perhaps we are lost in today’s world because we do not know where we fit into the story, where are we in the sacred dream sequence?  We are no longer waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promises, we are no longer waiting for the coming of the Messiah.  Some people are diligently awaiting the second coming, we hear mention of this once in awhile, all the bad things happening in the world must mean that Christ is coming soon and all of this will be destroyed and God will redeem God’s people. 

But as Presbyterians, we live into this current time understanding our place within the promises of God as disciples, as followers of Jesus, as doing what we can to live out the teachings Jesus calls us to live out.  Just as Moses gave the people the 10 Commandments, a code of living as God’s holy people, we have been given teaching after teaching to live into as we journey through these lives. 

What is God’s dream for today?  Well, each congregation, each Christian organization or agency should be interpreting this question or themselves and living into their own piece of the greater picture.  The mission that I grew up volunteering with in Maine had a statement that their purpose was something about – until we fix the last house on the last road.  The YMCA has been running commercials that state:  There's never been a better time to build a better us. At the Y, we are committed to creating a better community for all.  Also – we are not just a gym, we are a community. 

So, that is my goal for us this summer as we move into the fall, to truly spend time imagining, dreaming, wondering, what is God’s dream for us in today’s world?  Through New Beginnings, your dream was to partner with the community near and far to spread the love and joy of Jesus.  Another dream was to live more fully into what is called Missional Church.  I have shared various aspects of missional church with you all and as we journey into 2019, I want us to dwell more deeply in the understanding of missional church. 

One of the habits of missional church is to announce the kingdom of God.  The Kingdom of God, to announce the very fulfillment of the angel’s message to Mary.  Mary, your son will be the Son of the most high – and his kingdom will endure forever.  Two thousand years later, do we see that kingdom in our midst?  Do we feel God’s presence with us?  God’s dream for us to be disciples, disciples that see God at work and share those moments of love, justice, reconciliation with others.  We announce that the homeless have shelter, the hungry have been fed, the thirst have something to drink.  We announce that broken have been healed.  We announce that children that have no school supplies now have the resources they need for school.  We announce that God’s love is creating loving community where all are welcomed and offered safe space.  Amen.