Saying Things/Seeing Thing

Through the years, people have come to me describing visions and dreams.  Young people have come forward with boldness to address injustice and sin.  When I hear such prophetic words or dreams, others would say, “Well, you know those young people just run their mouths.”  And of the old men (and women), “Oh, they’re just seeing things—maybe senility has set in.”  Maybe.  Maybe not.

            I got to thinking about some of these conversations when I read this morning during Morning Prayer from the book of the prophet Joel.  Those in Judah and Jerusalem received this prophecy from Joel after hearing from him about the devastation soon to confront them. 

            Joel relayed God’s prophecy to them: “Then afterwards, I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.  Even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my spirit.”  (2:28-29)

            There are plenty of excuses for dismissing the uncomfortable words of young people.  “They don’t know anything—they haven’t lived.” Yet life experience can bring certain prejudices about “the way the world works.”  Or we can be too invested in this life that, if the young people were right, we’d have too much to lose.  In the noise and distraction of this life and the cares of our own existence, we lose the ability to hear fresh words calling us back to the essentials.  We think that those young people are saying things.  But the Spirit of God may be speaking through them.

            And when it comes to dreaming dreams, it may be that a long life that brings much knowledge and wisdom can be challenges only when we close our eyes and see things in ways that we cannot control.  For those who are older, dreams may be the only way that God can break through to reach us.  The disciplines of psychology as taught by Freud, Adler, Jung and so many others have invested a lot in dream analysis.  Dreams can provide the subconscious story or a path to clarity about life issues.  Dreams, however, can be ways that God communicates with us as we grow older.  Those dreams can move far beyond life issues to a word that God has for us all.

            Not too long ago, an older church member struggled with her faith as she lay dying of brain cancer.  Many wondered at her sanity and comfort as she entered unknown landscapes.  She fell into a coma, where one can hear and see so much.  But she woke one day and told her daughter in startling clarity, “I just saw my brothers across the river, and they told me that I needed to come.  Does that mean I am dying?”  Yes, her daughter said, “they are saying that it is okay to die.”  Her mother replied, “Oh, good.”  Then she shut her eyes, never to wake again.

            Not only was this woman dreaming of her own death.  She also spoke to us about the reality of eternal life and the need to prepare to cross over to the Greater Shore.  The Spirit was speaking.

            I pray always for a discerning mind and heart.  I don’t want to dismiss another when he or she says things.  I can’t refuse them simply by telling them, “Oh, you’re just saying things” or “Oh, you’re just seeing things.”  God’s Spirit speaks in unexpected times and ways through unexpected people.