Readings (Year C):
Isaiah 60:1 – 6
Psalm 72:1 – 2, 7 – 8, 10 – 11, 12 – 13
Ephesians 3:2 – 3a, 5 – 6
Matthew 2:1 – 12
Reflection: Follow your dreams
Martin has dreams. Dorothy has dreams. Amanda has dreams. We all have dreams. These dreams are given to us by God to realize the fulfilment of the reign of God on Earth. While many of us follow the stars to our dreams, when we look around our communities, our countries, and our planet, it’s hard to believe that Jesus’ dream for a world “on earth as it is in heaven” is being achieved.
2024 has passed and 2025 is upon us. With each passing year, we experience light, we experience darkness, we experience thick clouds, and we experience the glory of God. We get knocked down. We rise up. We come from far. We carry others and we get carried ourselves. And if we’re to hope in the words of Isaiah, when we follow our dreams, our hearts will throb and overflow with the fullness of God.
It’s easy to think of our dreams as solo endeavors. In an era where we’ve experienced isolation, increasing individualism, and ruthless polarization, truth seems more inaccessible than ever, so it’s no wonder we’re drawn toward hyper-independence and self-reliance. It’s easier to be sold a false dream, than it is to follow the dreams God gives us,
There’s a solution to following false dreams: to wake up. When we awake to God’s enduring presence, our dreams move closer to reality.
When we’re awakened by God crying out through the poor, the marginalized, and the environment, we can’t help but move to action. We begin to appreciate that our dreams ought not be solo efforts, but a communal one, where all our individual energy is brought together and transformed by the Holy Spirit to realize Christ’s dream for a world as God intends.
The birth of Jesus was a nightmare for Herod, whose false dream was to make sure the powerful maintained control through oppressive systems. The birth of our Messiah was a dream that became a reality: a reality that is still lived out in and through us today.
Every time we inch toward faith (for example, being vulnerable with our loved ones during difficult times), every time we inch toward hope (for example, raising the next generation), and every time we inch toward love (for example, advocating for a more just society), we make God’s dream a reality.
People from every nation yearn to experience the salvation that the magi felt when they came across the infant, Jesus, and the holy family—not in a palace as they had originally expected, but in a humble situation—like the humble situations that so many of us know. Humble situations that help us to dream big and believe that since we are made in God’s image and likeness, then God-incarnate can be made manifest in each of us.
2024 has passed and 2025 is upon us. And so, my prayer for each of us is that this year brings us at least a bit closer to our dreams. I pray that we continue to follow the stars and make room for God in our lives so that we reveal Jesus’ dream for the world as reality.
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