DAILY REFLECTION FOR LENT: MONDAY MARCH 17TH I had a powerful dream last night. As I was reflecting on it this morning I was wondering if I should use it as the basis for today’s reflection. I decided to say Morning Prayer first. I was behind a few days in the readings (didn’t get to read them on Saturday or Sunday) so I’m catching up. Saturday through today’s Old Testament readings are the entirety of Genesis chapter 41 broken into three sections. It begins, “After two years, Pharaoh had a dream… ”. I get the hint. Here’s my dream. I was standing on the edge of a large piece of property somewhere near the Republic Airport. The property was owned (fictionally, believe me) by my brother-in-law. I was there with my wife Joanne, two of my nephews (they’re around 30 years old each), and the young daughter of a friend of ours (but I can’t really remember who). We were there setting up chairs and a barbecue because a great parade was going to pass by, and we wanted to be ready. While there we were looking at the neighboring properties. They had recently been sold and developed into multi-million dollar lots for homeowners to build their American castles upon. Most, however, looked like dismal failures. “What a waste of money”, someone said. Then as we were getting ready two things happened. First, a young family came by with a dog on a leash, which made me yell to my nephews to make sure my dogs Spanky and Whiskey were tied up; but then, the entire scene was cancelled (!) because the skies darkened and we were getting reports that tornadoes were touching down in the area. We all scrambled to get all our supplies to shelter and get ourselves into safe positions as we anticipated the impending disaster. But it never came; the skies cleared, and although it was still very windy, the sun shown down and the parade went on as planned. Now, here’s the thing. I am 100% convinced that God was sending me a message in that dream. I know exactly what it was. I know exactly why I needed it. And I know exactly how God’s message conveys to me God’s love and care for me. It specifically dealt with something I have been praying about for a few days. However, I cannot explain to you how that silly story above conveys that message to me. I cannot for two reasons, 1) it is personal, and 2) you wouldn’t understand (or believe) why I see the images the way I do. That’s the point. Life in Christ includes the belief that God is with us. That may (not everyone experiences this) mean that God may send messages to us that are personal and private. For some people it may be the alignment of clouds at the right moment and time. For others it might be a light in a window. For yet others it might be a moment of prayerful imagination in a Lenten program. If these happen to you, say “thank you” to God, and carry on. Do not, however, expect others to understand. Some may, some might not, but that’s not the important part. The important part is God’s love for you. The Church hopes to offer the Scriptures and tradition as a way of balancing such wonders. St. Paul wrote to “test the spirits”. But if we are grounded and sane (things I wouldn’t always take for granted, by the way) God can speak to us, and does; and that makes life worth living.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 12:54:11 +0000
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