December 29, 2019: Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

Reading: Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

(taken from “The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language” by Eugene H. Peterson)

“After the scholars were gone, God’s angel showed up again in Joseph’s dream and commanded, ‘Get up. Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay until further notice. Herod is on the hunt for this child, and wants to kill him.’

Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother under cover of darkness. They were out of town and well on their way by daylight. They lived in Egypt until Herod’s death. This Egyptian exile fulfilled what Hosea had preached: ‘I called my son out of Egypt.’

Later, when Herod died, God’s angel appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt: ‘Up, take the child and his mother and return to Israel. All those out to murder the child are dead.’

Reflection:

I dream every night. I mean EVERY night. Vivid dreams. Color. Characters. Places. Feelings. I remember them in detail. Sometimes when I awaken I have to shake off where I was in my dream and be where my feet are standing.  When I take time, I can get to what might be going on in my subconscious as it works itself out in my dreams.  Sometimes I get insight about what is bothering me.  Have I ever had one that said “get yourself the heck out of your home, leave everything and just go”?  No.  I never had this level of clarity in a dream. I think that the angel must really make the difference.

Action:

When you waken this week, before your coffee or tea, write as much as you can about your dream or what you “saw” while asleep. Do not spend time interpreting or thinking – dump your brain. At the end of next week, review what you recorded.  Reflect on what you remember of the week before. Are you noticing connecting points between your dreams and your walking-around-on-the-earth space? Consider trying this same exercise after letting one more week go by.