Christmas 2C’24
5 January 2024
Matt. 2.13-15, 19-23
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
North Little Rock, Arkansas
The Rev. Carey Stone <+>
“I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you…” – from Ephesians chapter 1
I was disappointed but not surprised to learn, that one of St. Luke’s new neighbors just up Park Hill, is a Psychic, and they have set up shop in the building that used to house a CBD shop. More than a few, no doubt, will feel a pull to visit the psychic in an attempt to find guidance and to know what their future holds. Will 2025 bring fame, fortune, love, or their opposites? The presence of this new business is simply another sign that we all seek direction for our lives, to feel that we have some control over what the outcome will be. Folks are hungering for guidance and to be able to tap into this secret knowledge, from horoscopes, to self-help books, to on-line gurus, anything that might point them in the right direction.
This is particularly true during this time of year when folks take stock of the year that’s just past, and make resolutions, set goals, and consider what our dreams are for the New Year.
Today’s gospel points us toward someone that doesn’t get nearly as much ‘air-time’ as the Angels, Shepherds, Mary, or the baby Jesus does in the Christmas story – that person is Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus whose role can get lost amidst the songs of the angels, and Mary. Today we hear of his vital role as protector of his new family, and the faith required for him to fulfill his role.
Joseph had no idea that his little family was under the threat of their demise from the State: an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” (Matt. 2.13-14)
Herod the Great was the Roman ruler of the province of Judea, a true narcissist (everything really was all about Herod) and he felt threated by this rumor of a new king being born sometime over the last couple of years. So, by his decree, state sponsored assassins were to be dispatched to go find and kill all the male children aged two and under. Joseph needed guidance beyond himself. There were no forms of widespread media to speak of at the time, no way for Joseph or Mary to know this news until it would have been too late – but God had other plans.
This is one of the times where without Joseph, and his close connection with God, the whole plan of salvation could have been snuffed out, before it ever got off the ground.
This was not the first dream that Joseph had had. In the first chapter of Matthew’s gospel, we hear that after learning of Mary’s pregnancy Joseph was planning on cancelling their marriage plans, to spare her from any further scandal. But he’s given a dream that tells him not to abandon Mary, that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit and the son was to be called “Jesus.”
Again, we see the close relationship Joseph had with God, and one of the ways he experienced God’s guidance was through dreams. What would have happened if Joseph had said to himself, “To dream something like that, I must have eaten something for dinner that didn’t agree with me,” or “I need to quit reading scary stories before going to sleep.” Throughout scripture from Genesis to Revelation we see that God has spoken through dreams to provide, warning, instructions for guidance, and to predict future events, etc. From Abraham, Daniel, an Egyptian Pharoah, foreign kings, Solomon, Joseph of both the Old and New Testaments, to the three wise men, to apostles Peter and Paul, and finally the writer of Revelation, John on the Greek Isle of Patmos. There are a total of 23 biblical characters who received vital communication through their dreams.
But in the modern era, especially in religious circles dreams have tended to be discounted or dismissed altogether. How did this happen? How did we go from a time where dreams were seen as an important source of divine communication to the being result of a bad casserole we ate? This happened in the Christian Church back in the 4th century when one of the Church Father’s St. Jerome had a series of bad dreams that caused him to conclude that dreams were probably from the devil and that they should be ignored. This became Church dogma and from then on, the important role of dreams was smashed.
Fortunately, this important form of guidance was rediscovered by Episcopal priest and psychologist John Sandford and others in the last century. In his great book, Dreams: God’s Forgotten Language, he makes a strong case for Christians to start paying attention to their dreams. He also reminds us of that many of our dreams (similar to those in the story of Joseph in the Old Testament) are in a symbolic form and require interpretation. Some dreams can warn us, instruct and direct us. I don’t have time today, and a sermon is probably not the best way for me to talk about the many ways God has used dreams in my spiritual journey. What I will say is that I wouldn’t be an Episcopal priest, a husband, or a father without the valuable information received through dreams.
My friends, I would invite you to start honoring your dreams by paying attention to them. One way you can do this is to keep a notepad, a pen, and a flashlight by your bedside. When you are awakened by a dream you can jot down just a sentence, go back to sleep and in the morning, it can jog your memory and you can write down the full dream. By keeping a journal, we will be able to keep up with some of the things that God is trying to show us. Perhaps sometime later in this New Year I can offer some classes on how to profit from God’s messages that come to us through our sleep. God’s desire is to lead us by the Holy Spirit and dreams are a powerful way God can do this. Let us pray:
O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. BCP Prayer for Guidance (#58)