Genesis 37:1-38
When I ask people about their dreams, often they say, “I don’t have dreams, I just don’t dream.” Or, if they do have dreams, they don’t remember them. But, sometimes, if we continue talking they will remember a dream they had … then maybe another dream will come to mind. When it comes to dreaming, I think we all do it – it’s a matter of being mindful of our dreams.
During the past six months, I have read, many people have been experiencing pandemic dreams. Some of them are pretty obvious – like dreams about being sick, or having a loved one sick with the virus, dreams about being unable to breath or desperately trying to find your lost face mask. But some are weird and funny dreams – like being wrapped up in toilet paper and being the envy of all who see you. Being surrounded by swarming bugs, symbolizing the virus. Dreaming about hands, because of the fear of touching things.
Sometimes, in our dreams, our fears come out in ways we might not let them out in the light of day. But dreaming can also be a way for the unconscious mind to cope with a problem. Sometimes we find answers or relief in our dreams.
Sometimes our dreams help us understand something in our lives. For example, last night I dreamed that I was knocking on people’s doors, then just walking in without an invitation. I walked around their houses, opening doors, poking my nose into rooms and closets. This weird dream was probably related to the fact that I have been asking other people about their dreams this week. I have been poking my nose into something that is usually private. My dream helped me realize the vulnerability of sharing something so personal, and what a gift people are giving me when they share it.
Dreams are important and helpful for many reasons, but most of all because God speaks to us in our dreams. Without question, the people of the Bible believed that. Dreams can be powerful things. And that is why Joseph’s family was so disturbed when he told them his dreams.
If wasn’t just because he was a twerp of a little brother. It wasn’t just because he was papa’s pet. It wasn’t just because he had that fine multicolored coat that he wore all the time. All those things were true – but aside from all that, Joseph had some powerful dreams. And the meaning of his dreams was clear to all of them. That Joseph, the youngest of them all, would somehow rule over the rest of them. That all of these men who were bigger, stronger, older than Joseph, would bow down to him. What a crazy notion – what a threatening notion.
And it got him into a lot of trouble.
For, what do people do with someone they find threatening? They try to get rid of them.
This is just what Joseph’s brothers did. They got rid of the boy with the dreams – but the boy never stopped believing in his dreams. Joseph was a dreamer – no matter how much trouble his dreams would cause for him.
You know, when you think about it, dreamers are often troublemakers. Because dreams allow you to see something different than what already is.
There is no question that dreams can get you into trouble. Both the sleeping kind and the waking kind.
Martin Luther King, Jr spoke of his dream, a dream of equality, of peace and harmony in our land. Martin had a dream of a time when the rough places would be made smooth and the crooked places made straight, and the glory of the Lord would be revealed, and all people would see it together.
And his dream did get him into trouble. A lot of trouble. But, trouble isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
The late John Lewis was known to speak of, what he called, “good trouble.” He recalled how, when he was a child, his mother told him not to get into trouble, and he tried not to. He tried to be obedient to his mother. But when he was a teenager, he heard about Dr. King; he heard about the dream and he was inspired. John said, “Dr. King and Rosa Parks – they inspired me to get into trouble. Good trouble.”
As he embraced the dream, John Lewis came to realize that sometimes trouble is necessary. Sometimes, the dreams God gives you, make it necessary. Sometimes trouble is good.
Joseph’s trouble was necessary, we will learn, because it would put him in the right place at the right time. Joseph’s trouble was good because it saved the people of Israel. Joseph the dreamer was one more essential link in the covenant God made with Israel. Thankfully, Joseph never stopped paying attention to his dreams, and his dreams remained his guiding light.
You know, if you keep your dreams to yourself, never speaking them out loud, never sharing them with anyone or doing anything with them, you may stay out of trouble. But wouldn’t the world be a poorer place if we never shared our dreams?
What if Martin Luther King had never spoken of his dream? How would we be deprived?
What if John Lewis had never heard of the dream? And what if he had kept his head down, determined to do like his mother said – stay out of trouble? How would we be deprived?
What if that dreamer, Joseph, had never opened his mouth and spoken up about his dreams?
The world would be a different place.
Do you dream?
I encourage you, friends, pay attention to your dreams. Share them with others, if that feels like the right thing to do. Or hold them close, like Mary did, and ponder them in your heart. But don’t dismiss them. Don’t bury them.
Let yourself dream … let God open your eyes, illumine you and guide you and set you free.
The world is blessed by the dreamers and their dreams.
