Dream Big

Genesis 37:1-11 "Dream Big"

As Drew and I prepared the study notes for this coming Sunday I was struck by the courage of Joseph to trust in the dream planted in his heart that he would dare speak it out loud.  I dream a lot and I am left wondering do I trust and do I share them. What is it that makes me stumble when it comes to dreaming big and trusting enough to share it?  While reading "Silence on Fire:  The Prayer of Awareness,"  by William H.  Shannon, I came across an interesting thought that may shed some insight on my fear and trepidation:  "Our imagination has been crippled by so much evil that we have lost the capacity of imagining what it would be like to live in peace and harmony, in a world where life is not threatened, where air and water are not polluted and where people are genuinely concerned for the true welfare of their sisters and brothers."

To have God sized dreams I need to hope beyond the reality I experience and into the hope of what God can see.  I need to trust in the power of God in the world, the ground of all love, and be open to the dreams that are planted in my heart.  I pray that I will be open enough, trusting enough and courageous enough to live into the big dreams God has for the world as God indeed calls each of us to dream big - just like Joseph.  May it be so.

"O mortal, what is good?"

"O mortal, what is good;

    and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

    and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8

For Youth Sunday this upcoming week (June 19th) the young people have chosen the words from the prophet Micah as the text of the day to describe the theme "Do Something."  I have been blessed to journey with these young people as they have explored their identities within the local church and the Annual Conference.   And when I think on their theme - "Do Something" - it truly describes their willingness to live out all these words.  They are humble in the way they care for one another; they are kind as they interact with multiple generations of the church family; and they seek to do justice in many different ways at SSUMC, their communities and in the world.  

As we look forward to our Sunday of celebration and live in the midst of today, reflecting on the events of days past - we are reminded that the Lord requires of us to do ... not just to pray but to do.  To act in ways that bring about justice, to be kind in ways that transform our world and to walk in humble ways that mirror our journeys with God.  

The Lord requires us to do and how will we respond?  The deadly attack in Orlando and the rhetoric of hate require us to follow God and do something.  I do not have all the answers but I do believe that God aches for us to truly love each other without conditions or boundaries.  I do believe that sitting in front of the screen of our choice watching the horror of human suffering and crying is not the only response we can have as people of faith.  My heart breaks and I am sure that God weeps for the ways we destroy each other over and over again.  May we find a better way, empowered to do something and to be faithful to the words from Micah - the Lord requires you to do ...