Dreamer

 

4^th Sunday of Advent

Cycle A

 

Are you a dreamer?

 

What are your dreams? We talk a lot about the American Dream. Is that what you want for you and your family? Success, money, possessions, the ability to make something of yourself? Do you have dreams for your children and grandchildren, that they have a life even better than yours? Have you lost your dreams? Are dreams only for the young? Has life sabotaged your dreams? Do you have dreams for eternal life, pondering and wondering what life in heaven will be like?

 

Joseph was a dreamer. Matthew records four dreams of Joseph. In his first dream, Joseph is told “do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins”. In his second dream, Joseph is told, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him”. In his third dream, Joseph is told, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead”. And in his fourth dream, Joseph is warned to go instead to Galilee rather than Judea.

 

Joseph had other dreams, probably very simple dreams. He probably had dreams of what his life with his new wife would be like. He was a worker, a businessman and a craftsman. He probably had dreams of what kind of life he could provide for his young family. But Joseph also had different kinds of dreams. In his dreams God spoke to him and asked for his obedience. They were clear communications from God, and they required a willing recipient. Joseph was open to the voice of God and listened in faith as that willing recipient.

 

We honor and revere St. Joseph as one of the greatest saints, and rightly so. First and foremost, he was great because of the choices he made in life. Today’s Gospel refers to him as a “righteous man” and as a man who “did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” Therefore, his greatness is primarily on account of his moral righteousness and obedience to the will of God. We often reflect on Mary’s yes to God in the annunciation; Joseph was also given the choice to participate in God’s plan, even though he most likely didn’t understand exactly what that entailed. Like us in our lives, Joseph came to understanding gradually, through living every day in the presence of God Himself.

 

Joseph also responded with complete submission and full determination. The commands Joseph received were not insignificant. His obedience required that he and his family travel great distances, take up residence in strange lands, and do so all in faith.

 

It’s also clear that Joseph took his vocation seriously. Pope Saint John Paul II gave him the title “Guardian of the Redeemer.” Over and over, he showed his unwavering commitment to his role as the guardian of his legal Son, Jesus, and of his wife, Mary. His life was spent providing for them, protecting them and offering them a father’s heart.

 

In so many ways, Joseph was just like us. Unlike his son, he was not a great teacher, yet he taught the Son of Man how to read and write and to measure and use tools. He was not a miracle worker, yet he healed the cuts and scrapes when his little boy fell down. He did not preach, in fact, he speaks no words in all of scripture, yet he was the first witness to the Messiah when he named his son Jesus, God Saves His People.

 

We are all called to participate in God’s plan for our lives and for the salvation of the world. Like Joseph, we are called to do so by being obedient to God’s call in our everyday lives. Raising our families, supporting our children in their missions, being completely devoted to our spouses.

When Joseph doubted, God gave him a dream, and he trusted in it. When Joseph was afraid, God gave him a dream, and he trusted in it. When Joseph was unsure of what the future would bring and what he should do, God gave him a dream, and he trusted in it.

 

Be a dreamer. Dreams are good, if they follow the will of God. Even the American Dream can be good. Because dreams are all about hope. God has placed His dream within you. When you doubt, trust in the dream. When you are scared, trust in the dream. When the future is uncertain, trust in the dream.

 

Because His dream for you is eternal life.