Last night as I was sleeping, I dreamt—marvelous error! —
that a spring was breaking out in my heart.
I said: Along which secret aqueduct, oh water, are you coming to me,
water of a new life that I have never drunk?
– Antonio Machado

Beloved of God,

As we mark the beginning of the New Year—and with it the manifestation of the Christ Child through the shining of a star—this poem by Antonio Machado calls to me.  I received it from a friend recently, and it became a welcome companion on the plod through dark winter days.  The surprises and delights of which it speaks are like the delectable dates another friend recently shared—a sweet embodiment of the promise that the sun will again shine bright and warm.  The second group of stanzas, in particular, beckons, as 2013 becomes 2014:

Last night as I was sleeping, I dreamt—marvelous error! —
that I had a beehive here inside my heart.
And the golden bees were making white combs
and sweet honey from my old failures.

“Sweet honey from old failures”…Ah! Now that’s a prescription for the start of a new year: the conversion of all my unfinished tasks, unattained goals, and unfulfilled promises from bitter fruit to sweet concoction!  Oh, that such a dream would come true!

Dreams figure significantly in the stories Matthew tells around the birth of Jesus and the appearance of the star that guides the mysterious Magi.  A dream convinces Joseph to stand with pregnant Mary rather than call off their engagement.  A dream forestalls disaster when Joseph is warned to flee with the family from Herod’s murderous rage and find refuge in Egypt.  And when the Magi locate the Star Child, it is a dream that tells them to steer clear of Herod and journey home by another way.  In his book, Dreams: A Way to Listen to God, Morton Kelsey writes:

If it is absurd to believe that human beings can be reached and touched by the dynamism that lies at the heart of the universe, then dreams have little or no religious meaning.  Then dreams may be at most a help in unraveling the tangled web of one’s personal life… If, however, humankind is open to another dimension of reality, then the dream may be one of the most common avenues through which God reaches out to us.

Both Kelsey and Machado testify to the same truth, each in his own voice: the Divine seeps into our lives in differing ways, by differing paths; at times most potently and profoundly through the language of dreams.

Last night as I was sleeping, I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that a fiery sun was giving light inside my heart.
It was fiery because I felt warmth as from a hearth,
and sun because it gave light and brought tears to my eyes.

As this season of light unfolds, Jesus is revealed as the Light no darkness can overcome.  He brings God’s light to the darkest places of our world and tells us that this is where God is to be found.  He calls us to be light for each other.

January is a full month for our congregation.  Decisions will be made regarding how we will pursue and fund our mission in 2014.  Opportunities for leadership and involvement abound as we prepare for the upcoming sabbatical.  At the root of all of these tasks and challenges is the conviction that we are not doing this on our own, but are accompanied by the One who called us through waters to new life, marking us with the cross of Christ and sealing us with the Holy Spirit.  This Triune God became God-With-Us in Jesus, and is as close to us as our own beating hearts.  Machado’s final stanzas bring us home:

Last night as I slept, I dreamt—marvelous error!—
that it was God I had here inside my heart.*

That’s a dream I’ll be striving to hold fast as the months ahead unfold.

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Erik