The Master Dreamer

~~~ Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a ~~~ Psalm 105 ~~~ Matthew 21: 33-43, 45-46 ~~~

Sibling rivalry is alive and prosperous in the Old Testament. The story of Joseph being left in the desserted cistern is just as well known as the Cain Abel story. Is it fairly common for brothers and sisters to play tricks on each other. Usually it is all fun and games, but in this case Joseph's brothers were not playing a game. Thet were serious about getting rid of their borther. A person consumed by jealousy becomes a non human creature. 'They hated him so much they would not even greet him'.

Imagine your own family members not talking to you.

Imagine how Joseph must have felt.

In today's society Joseph would probably have been the victim of bullying; from his very own brothers. The brothers were operating much like a close knit gang. Young Joseph was eager to be with his older brothers. He had the innocence of a child. Like most young children they want to be with their older brothers. They want to do everything that the older ones get to do. So Joseph was super excited to be sent out to join them.

From a distance the brothers plot to kill their own borther. They were filled up with hate. Their hearts were blackened with sarcasm, 'Here comes that master dreamer'. They were not referring about the dreams of our sleep. For some reason they thought Joseph spent much of his time 'day' dreaming.

How do you feel about being a dreamer? Do you ever 'dream' about things in your life? Do you ever dream about harmony within your family? Do you ever dream about the perfect spouse or friend? What do you dream about?

Jesus had a 'dream' too. His dream was to have us learn how to love like him. He too was betrayed by one almost as close as a brother, Judas.

Joseph was stripped of his special tunic made especially for him by his father. Jesus was stripped of more than just his tunic.

The only way to silence the 'dreamer' is to kill him, but in the case of Joseph God had a bigger plan for him. There is no way his brothers could have ever guessed that this very brother would later be the very one to save them from starvation. They just wanted him out of the picture at any cost, so they sell him for twenty pieces of silver.

and we know of course that Judas also sells Jesus for close to the same amount.

There are no coincidences in the divine plan.

Much later in the life of Joseph he is presented with the opportunity to show great mercy to his brothers and bring great joy to his father. The 'master dreamer' was able to pour forth love that had been taught to him by his father Israel. 'Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons...the child of his old age'.

The evil plot of the brothers was not able to silence the goodness in the heart of Joseph, the master dreamer. Killing Jesus did not stop him from acomplishing his mission, in fact his death was necessary for us to be saved. Just as it was necessary for Joseph to be sold into slavery in order for him to save his family,

even those who plotted to kill him.

The mercy and forgivness of God is way beyond anything we could dream...

either awake or asleep.

In your prayers today choose the one person you most need to forgive and pray for them...just for today...join the 'master dreamer'.

Curse or Blessing: Which Do You Speak?

 ~~~~ James 3: 1-10 ~~~~ Psalm 12 ~~~~ Mark 9: 2-13 ~~~~

Did you know the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body and the most flexible. The tongue is crucial to speaking, eating and swallowing. The tongue heals the fastest...that is an interesting fact. Like your fingerprint everyone has a tongue print.

Today I could write about the glorious Transfiguration; when Jesus took his three closest friends with him to the mountain top. I think in his frustration that they were really not catching on as to who he actually was he wanted to give them a glimpse. Or he took his three closest friends and wanted to share with them a tiny taste of the glory that was to come. Perhaps he was trying to give them hope since he knew they were going to be witnessing the events of his crucifixion.

I have decided instead to reflect on the writing of St. James today. He has written before about keeping the tongue in control, but today he gets very graphic. I have often thought it is curious that we cannot close our ears from hearing, we have eyelids to keep our eyes from seeing, but our mouth has both teeth and lips to keep us from speaking.

It is so difficult at times to control the tongue. From the time that we are about two years old the tongue begins to get us in trouble. If you are a parent or even been around a small child you know what I am talking about. It is the little word 'No'. As a toddler we begin to test out who we are as an individual by exercising our tongue to speak the word no.

Today James is saying you have gone way beyond just saying no...you tongue is out of control. In fact he suggests that if you cannot speak well your tongue should be bridled. A bit should be placed in your mouth just as we do with a horse. That is a pretty strong image and statement.

The bridle is made of metal and covers a good part of the face in order to keep it from slipping out of the mouth. James is saying look this is what we use to make a horse obey, in fact the bridle helps the rider guide the whole horse. It does not just effect the mouth of the horse. James says,'In the same way the tongue is a small member and yet has great pretensions.'

The truth is we have difficulty controlling what we say. It is at times like our tongue has a mind of it's own. But in reality we know we are in control of what comes out of our mouth. There is a saying I heard as a child. 'Sticks and stones will break my bones, words will never hurt me.' I really do not know where that originated, but I think we would all agree it just is not true. The words we say to another person can be very cruel and devastating. Consider the recent news stories about bullying, which often begins with cruel words directed to the intended victim.

James is saying 'no man can tame the tongue...it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.'

Full of deadly poison...just picture for a moment what your tongue would look like when you spoke words which hurt another. What if when you spoke hateful words your tongue would turn a dark shade of gray, brown, or black depending on their severity. Even after the words had been released and heard by another you would still carry on your own tongue the tell tale remnants. I think if that were to happen we might think twice before we let ugliness pass our lips.

On the other hand we have the power to speak words of kindness, love, praise, encouragement, compassion etc. These words come from the same mouth, the same tongue can form words of beauty. James says, 'From the same mouth come blessing and cursing...this need not be so.'

Back to my analogy for if when we spoke uplifting words our tongue dawned something beautiful for all to see. I think if people could see that you spoke kind loving words most of the time the whole world would be different. God, however, in his infinite wisdom did not chose to leave a visible mark on us for what comes out of our mouths.

Jesus spoke words of kindness and healing. He gave us the words of the Our Father. He taught us how to pray. We decide what words come out of our mouths.
Next time you go to Communion and place upon your tongue the Body of Christ, I invite you to pause for a minute and consider the words you speak with that same tongue.

Are they words worthy of laying Our Lord upon?
If that thought is our bridle will it change how we speak?
How will you choose to speak?

I took this picture a couple years ago of the monstrance with stained glass window in the background.
I chose this kaleidoscope image because the colors brown and green.
Do you speak words of brown that you cannot take back?
Do you speak words of green and gold that are blessings and praise?

You can chose to control your tongue without the horse's bridle...
Will you?