My parents were dreamers. Their dreams kept them going.
They arrived in the United States separately in time for the hardships of the Great Depression. My father dreamt of a better life than was possible in his native Germany. My mother, orphaned and all of 16, was an “unaccompanied minor” crossing the Atlantic. She had similar hopes for a better life.
Part of their dream was fulfilled when they met each other and married. Despite the hardships of the times and the hostile attitudes they sometimes endured, more of their dream was fulfilled with the birth of their two children.
Their dream of a better life kept them going!
Martin Luther King also had a dream that kept him going.
In this Mindwalk I explore how God’s dream should keep us going.
God’s Dream
Have you ever thought of God as a dreamer. I did not until recent times. Then I read that Pope Francis describes God as a dreamer.
Think about it! … Isn’t God’s dream another name for God’s plan for us and all creation?
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
God’s dream is echoed in so many ways throughout the scriptures. Paul tells us God’s dream is beyond our wildest dreams.
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Cor 2:9
Jesus as the embodiment of God’s Dream
Shortly before he died, Jesus put God’s dream into words in a prayer, – “that all may be one.” (John 17:21)
Earlier, Jesus taught them, and us, to pray to OUR father. This is the basic reminder that we are all equal as God’s sons and daughters.
Jesus spelled out God’s dream for us in all kinds of stories. In his description of the last judgment, he said that living that dream was more than just words. The dream of God’s kingdom becoming a reality for all those who followed him depended on what they did to the least of their brothers and sisters.
Jesus even acted out that dream by washing the feet of his disciples and telling them to do this in memory of him. For him, God’s dream was not merely a nice thought but something he actually lived. The next day he gave us the ultimate enactment of love for everyone, he loved even those who put him to death.
Remembering we are God’s Dream
Generation after generation has been called to rediscover the fullness of God’s dream, God’s dream is embodied in Jesus.
He described how those who understood the kingdom would treat one another as sisters and brothers as what was important to God. (Mt 25:31),
Jesus’ first followers asked how they should pray. He taught them above all to pray “Our Father” and that God’s kingdom come. (Luke 11:24, Mt 25:31)
No wonder the Catechism of the Church says that what we pray for should be centered on the praying ‘thy kingdom come. Everything else follows from that.“
Pope Francis is calling us to model being sons and daughters, in the way we live and treat each other. His major writings remind us everyone is connected as is everything in all creation.
To live God’s dream means welcoming others while respecting their person and their differences… just as Our Father does.
Questions
In what ways am I conscious of living God’s dream as Jesus did?
What challenges do I face in loving the least and even the most hostile of my sisters and brothers?
Originally posted on Vincentian Mindwalk
Fr. John, your Reflection is very very insightful creative and profound! One of your most inspiring ones! Thank you for sharing it with so many of us!
Sister Jane Burger, Daughter of Charity