What dreams do you have?  Are any of them leadings, something you feel spiritually strongly led to do or to be about?  I’m not talking dreams that are self-serving.  But dreams about a better world, with clear directions on your responsibilities and what you will need to do in order to bring that dream into reality?  Do you need God to help fulfill those dreams?  Are they mostly realistic dreams? Are you being productive and accountable with the rest of your life? Are there any dreams you have let go as something you might have wanted in the early years, but now it just doesn’t make sense to hang onto them?

Let’s remember Martin Luther King’s speech at the March on Washington.  The name it is known as is the I Have a Dream speech.  In it, he paints the picture of a world where people are treated with equity and where promises are kept and support is given where necessary.  To his dying day he worked for that dream without taking his eye off of what his ultimate goal of his life was.  He also remained accountable for all of the things in his life and how he lived his life.  You need to be accountable for now to ever manifest the dream of your future.

I am going to talk to you this morning about a fantastical First Century Bible story that has to do with Christmas but is about another story about a baby that would be born just before Jesus.  I am going to talk to you about John the Baptizer’s parents and the coming of John, Jesus’ slightly older cousin.

Zacharias and Elizabeth were the names of John’s parents. Before he was born they were an older couple who had given up on the dream of having children.  But John could not have come earlier and fulfilled his purpose on earth to announce Jesus as the Messiah and to make other necessary changes so that people would and could listen to Jesus.

Think of this very old couple.  Zacharias was a priest and Elizabeth was Mary, mother of Jesus’, cousin.  They had been two very strong advocates for goodness and righteousness all of their lives.

In the story, Zacharias goes to the temple to light the incense, a normal priestly thing to do.  He had been doing normal priestly duties all of his life and was someone who could be relied on to keep his word and his responsibilities.  While he is lighting this incense, the angel Gabriel appears to Zacharias while he is at the temple, and the angel tells Zacharias, “You are going to be a father.”  Zacharias doesn’t believe the angel. I’m sure it felt surreal.  But because he and his wife are old in age, Zacharias had given up on his dream of having a child.  Because Zacharias didn’t believe and this all felt surreal, Zacharias is struck with the inability to speak until after he names his son John which he has to do by writing the name on a piece of paper.

Unlike the generation of women now, at that time it was a huge social shame in those days not to have an heir.  Hebrew women were thought to be forgotten by God if they did not produce children.  Each child was seen in each community as a sign that God wanted to reward that couple to be blessed and had shown favor on them.  But dreams don’t have an expiration date. Sometimes it is when we have gotten used to the idea that our dream won’t come true that it is finally the right time for it to come true in our lives. We are to keep hoping and keep at least the possibility of a dream alive. The story asks us to not give up on our dreams and to keep working, keep being accountable, keep being diligent.  But the story also asks us to leave a little space in reality for little uncanny happenings.  Zacharias couldn’t imagine being an old man and having a young baby at his time in life.  He had every right to be in denial about such a frightening occurrence and to respond to it with the inability to speak.  It was beyond his comprehension.  It was beyond what was seen as normal and what was not seen as doable at this time of life. But this story is not about something normal happening.  No story that starts with “And the angel Gabriel appeared” is a normal story, but it is about not giving up on something that might seem out of reach or beyond it’s time when God has promised it to you.

Perseverance is a fruit of the spirit listed in Galatians. Who knew stubbornness would be an actual good trait. It’s not delusional and it is not outside the spirit’s realm to help you finally manifest a dream that had only been a hope before.  Keep hoping. Stay faithful.  Be persevering. There is a legend that when walking the Trail of Tears, each time someone dropped from exhaustion, someone else would help them to their feet to encourage them to endeavor to persevere.  Surround yourself with people who know your dream and are willing to help you endeavor to persevere.

We have to have a vision of what it is that God wants us to do, and make that vision part of prayer, patient repetitive prayer.  Just having the vision or dream of a better future makes a difference today.  Our hope is built on any leading that God puts our way, not a thought that we put out there as a selfish dream and not the fantastical.  God is the god of reality, and we have to make our dreams and our aspirations within doable and realistic lines.  But if you can envision a world free of inequality and a world full of peace, it will make a difference where you go and what you do. It will make a difference how you think and how you respond. Keep your integrity about you.  If you have a leading from God, you can count on some of it being manifested into reality if you continue to do like Zacharias and Elizabeth did and be diligently responsible and accountable for what you have now. . Elizabeth and Zacharias were known in the community for their virtuousness.

 It may take more than your lifetime for this to come to fruition.  You maybe planting an acorn so that someone else enjoys the oak tree.

What is it that you feel led to birth into this world? Within the realm of reality, what can your spirit hope for as a future for our church?   Our town?  Our state? Our nation.  Take a moment and dream of a better world where all needs are met and where power is spread consistently. Can we keep this vision alive through tough times?  Can we keep working toward making it where that dream could come true.   Dreaming and hope are not about not being sensible.  It is about being very sensible for an extended period of  time without giving up hope. Keep doing the right things.  Keep working for peace and equality. Keep being kind and gracious.  Keep serving God in whatever fashion you are led to do and at some point your dream might manifest into reality.

I believe that Bible stories tell narratives that are fantastical in order to teach us to reach just a little deeper into our worlds and to not give up when it looks the most dismal.  They should help us try a little harder than normal and think of things in new ways.   I say this while also at the same time holding the idea that we need to deal with reality in as basic a way as possible.  Sometimes things change when we get realistic like Zacharias’ dream did.  You being realistic won’t keep the dream from coming true.  It is just a reality that real change takes time.  And God’s time doesn’t always look like our time.

When Obama was first running for president, he constantly talked about hope for a different nation and world where peace and equality could be attained.  When he ran his second presidential campaign, he again ran on the same theme because it takes a long time for real change to happen, not four years or eight years but many decades before we see equality and peace as part of our day to day lives, before they become a paradigm that will not shift with an election or a fad.  But in the meantime, be diligent — keep dreaming, keep hoping and keep being virtuous. The best things in this world are built on dreams.  It may come in good time.  It will not come if we give up doing what needs to be done in order to bring the dream into fruition.

But notice that getting real and being real came before the miracle of an angel visit to Zacharias or announcement of a special child.  Zacharias was going about his duties normally when Gabriel popped in rudely disturbing Zacharias. So don’t stop being realistic, don’t stop being you or being “normal”, and you don’t have to be unrealistic in your daily life.  But be hopeful.  Your dream may come.  It is important like Martin Luther King Jr. to have a dream that will take change and miracles to bring into being, that dream that envisions a better world.

Zacharias and Elizabeth had the dream of a child that would make change for the world.  And they named him John, then Zacharias could speak again.

• Are there things you need to do in order to fulfill this dream?
• What is your purpose in this dream of a better world?