Between Dream & Disclosure
Pentecost 18 Narrative Lectionary 3
September 22, 2024
Our Savior’s, Faribault, MN
Genesis 37.3-8, 17b-22, 26-34; 50.15-21
In April 1968, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, TN. In 1991 a museum opened on the site with an expansion following a few years later. A wreath hangs on the balcony railing of Room 306 where Dr. King was standing when he was assassinated. On the ground below the wreath there is a historic marker explaining the events of the day. The marker quotes Genesis 57.19-20 in part: “They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him … and we shall see what will become of his dreams.’”
In today’s scripture reading, that sentence was uttered by Joseph’s brothers who had no idea of its significance thousands of years ago. The story of Joseph is monumental. It occupies 14 chapters in the book of Genesis, almost 30% of the total. Much has happened in Genesis since last week’s promise that God made to Abraham and Sarah, to be the ancestors of a numerous people. They indeed had a son Isaac, who in turn had two sons, Esau and Jacob. Jacob, also known as Israel, has 12 sons through two wives and two mistresses. In part, the Joseph story is a bridge between the promise God made to Abraham and Sarah and its fulfillment in Exodus. There is much left out of today’s reading so I encourage you to read the entire story. It’s fascinating reading.
Though there is enough drama and dysfunction to make a latter-day soap opera, the real question the story asks and answers is, “Where is God in the midst of this messy family?” On the one hand, the brothers could not see how Joseph’s dream was tied to God’s promise of a numerous people, assuming they remembered the promise at all. Although Joseph’s dream signals a new possibility to God’s people, albeit unclearly, nevertheless it’s a threat to the brothers. At the same time, it was difficult for Joseph to see God’s presence in the suffering he endured at the hands of the slave traders and the Egyptian leaders.
Whether we realize it or not, we live in a similar place as Joseph and his brothers, between dream and disclosure. Another way to say this is that we try to be realistic about our current circumstances but need to do so without falling into despair and hopelessness. On the other hand, we try to be certain that God is present in our world and that God will be faithful to God’s promises. What the Joseph story tells us is that God’s presence and purposes may be hidden to us but they’re reliable nonetheless. But just as important, the brothers’ concern shows us that the new circumstances of their father’s death require new assurances of God’s care and concern.
We know that Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream, that all people would be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin, echoed in the Constitution that all people are created equal, didn’t die with the death of the dreamer. But we also know that the dream hasn’t been fully realized either and that it continues to unfold, albeit slowly. 55 years ago, First English Lutheran Church here in Faribault had a dream for a new congregation in the southwest corner of this community, one that continues to unfold in unpredictable ways. The life of this congregation hasn’t been easy, but it has always been with the presence of God. It is in the unfolding of this dream that we continue to respond to the call on us, one that we dare not miss.
Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann admits this tension between dream and disclosure in his poem Dreams and Nightmares. It comes from his book Prayers for a Privileged People (Nashville: Abingdon, 2008):
Last night as I lay sleeping,
I had a dream so fair . . .
I dreamed of the Holy City, well ordered and just.
I dreamed of a garden of paradise, well-being all around and a good water supply.
I dreamed of disarmament and forgiveness, and caring embrace for all those in need.
I dreamed of a coming time when death is no more.
Last night as I lay sleeping . . .
I had a nightmare of sins unforgiven.
I had a nightmare of land mines still exploding and maimed children.
I had a nightmare of the poor left unloved,
of the homeless left unnoticed,
of the dead left ungrieved.
I had a nightmare of quarrels and rages and wars great and small.
When I awoke, I found you still to be God,
presiding over the day and night
with serene sovereignty,
for dark and light are both alike to you.
At the break of day we submit to you
our best dreams
and our worst nightmares,
asking that your healing mercy should override threats,
that your goodness will make our
nightmares less toxic
and our dreams more real.
Thank you for visiting us with newness
that overrides what is old and deathly among us.
Come among us this day; dream us toward
health and peace,
we pray in the real name of Jesus
who exposes our fantasies.
God has a dream to love and bless the world and God sent his Son Jesus to fulfill it. There were those who attempted to silence the Dream by killing the Dreamer. Instead, they accomplished the opposite. God also calls us to see where that dream is unfolding, wherever we are, and to join in the work, reminding us that whatever stands in the way will not prevent its realization. Thanks be to God. Amen.
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