January 7, 2018 – Matthew 2:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12
Dream a Big Dream
Epiphany of our Lord (transferred) – January 7, 2018
First Lutheran Church – Winnipeg, MB
Everyone needs a dream.
There’s something very human about having a dream, a hope, a wish – upon a star.
Back when Discount Lutheran Church was 100 years old the people had a dream:
to make our church building more accessible by installing an elevator.
That was a good dream.
But how was it to be done? Where and how would it be installed?
Member Ron Eyolfson went to sleep one night thinking about it,
and after he went to sleep, he had a dream,
and that dream showed him how it was to be done.
And as a result, today, we have an elevator that has allowed many people to worship Jesus and
experience his grace.
We needed that dream.
Matthew is very interested in dreams.
Of all the Gospel writers, his Gospel focusses more on dreams in the early going than any other.
Why does Joseph end up marrying Mary? Because of a dream.
Why does he end up leaving Bethlehem and going to Egypt for safety? Because of a dream.
And why does he return to Nazareth instead of Bethlehem when he finally leaves Egypt?
because of a dream.
And then, of course, in the story today, why do the wise men not return to Herod after they
find the baby Jesus?
Because of a dream.
Dreams are powerful.
Dreams are what propel this story forward.
Everyone needs a dream.
The world needs a dream.
God needs a dream.
And God’s dream is to love, bless and heal this whole world and every person in it.
And God attempts to make the dream come true through Jesus.
Many years ago now, on a beautiful warm Saturday morning, a bunch of us went out and delivered pamphlets in our neighbourhood inviting people to our church.
At one point I started talking with somebody on the street.
And the person asked me, “Why are you doing this?”
It seemed beyond belief that someone would sacrifice an hour on a perfectly good
Saturday morning to do this, to invite people to church.
Like: wouldn’t I rather be sleeping in, playing hockey, shopping, whatever?
But without hesitating I simply answered, “Because the world needs more grace.”
The world needs more grace.
More light in the midst of deep darkness.
More inclusion, less animosity.
More relationships, less individualism.
More generosity, less greed.
More community – less everything else.
More of God’s dreams for this world.
Epiphany, writes Ann Svennungsen, is a festival of dreamers – of wise men who dreamt that God could lead them by the brightness of a star, of Christians throughout the ages who trusted in God’s dream for creation.
I love this day when we finally get to put all the pieces of our nativity scene together.
The magi have finally arrived – and now there are thousands of stuffies joining the group too!
It is such a crazy group of people that Jesus brings together –
all bound together by his grace.
An older Jewish man, a young Jewish woman, a Jewish shepherd,
a sheep of no apparent religious denomination, three Zoroastrians –
and now, apparently, various animals.
They are varied in race, they are rich and poor, male and female,
very different in socioeconomic status.
Like you, they have come here from many different backgrounds and traditions,
some from near and some from far, for the purpose of worshipping Jesus and
bringing him gifts for the purpose of furthering God’s dream of
loving and blessing and feeding and healing this whole world.
Gathered to receive his grace and love – and gathered to share his grace and love.
The great surprise in Matthew’s story is that the first to worship Jesus are total outsiders.
So different from Mary and Joseph!
It is the great surprise and perhaps the great scandal of Matthew’s Gospel.
But in the midst of the dreams of Joseph and the magi here, perhaps,
is revealed God’s big dream: to unite and bring together.
To create community focussed on the grace of Christ.
Like a distant star, the dream can seem elusive and far away.
But we need that dream. We need that star.
We need its heat and light like this strange wondrous story from long ago
that certainly sounds strange today – and surely sounded even stranger in its own.
We gather around this story together today, a group of very diverse people,
with our own gifts to bring – each of them necessary for
the fulfillment of God’s dream at Sargent and Victor.
And together we dream God’s big dream with God.
So with the determination of the magi, let us keep dreaming, and let us keep journeying,
and let us keep struggling to bring our gifts –
trusting that with them God will fulfill the dream.
Trusting that what the world does indeed need is more grace.
So together with dreamers of every time and every place, let us say, “Amen.”
Pastor Michael Kurtz
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