Dream Dreams

On Pentecost Sunday Peter quoted the following passage from Joel: "I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams."

This is actually a quote from Joel 2.28.

Joel was a prophet who exercised his gifts in the midst of the Temple at Jerusalem, using Temple liturgical forms in his writing, and maybe even transmitting his messages through the Temple priesthood.

He more than likely witnessed a locust plague and from that image offered a vision of God's hope and blessings.

What we hear in these words from our sacred text is that Joel and Peter are reminding us that the Holy Spirit is a gift to all people, not just the chosen. In fact the gift of vision is a sign of the age of Jesus.

This week JoAnne and I have busied ourselves. We have continued with our routine of life with the kids. Today is water day, a lot like bedlam at Camp Allen. The kids will soon be home with us for the summer.

I have been working through the normal load at the office. We are taking some time, but life is continuing.

I imagine that life is continuing for each of you. The reality is that it is all too easy to believe that things will continue just as they have. Tomorrow will be the same as today and the same as yesterday.

Yet the Christian message...the message of Jesus...is the hope of transformation. That you and I can prophesy, dream dreams, and have visions. This is available to us every day. We can not only see and proclaim a vision of hope, new life, and excitement for our future...but we can make that future real.

Jesus is telling us that this "making real," this Kingdom of God, is at hand, and we can see it and make it real in our day.

I have had the gift given to me of traveling with you these past five years, being in your churches, attending your conferences. I am looking forward to a long life together in shared ministry. I am looking forward to sharing your prophesies, seeing your visions, dreaming your dreams. I am looking forward to seeing and serving you as you make the Kingdom of God real for the people of Texas and of this world.

I am hopeful that Saturday you and I will take our first steps into this new life and ministry together...that our election moment not simply be another election moment...that it be the first step in making real our shared vision of God's hope for the church.

"I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams."