Dreams I'll Never See?

Acts 2:17 (NRSV)

In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.

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Just one more mornin'
I had to wake up with the blues
Pulled myself outta bed, yeah
Put on my walkin' shoes,
Went up on the mountain,
To see what I could see,
The whole world was fallin',
right down in front of me.

Dreams by Gregg Allman from The Allman Brothers Band (1969)

Joseph's dreams were of a future no one could imagine, a time when Israel would be so large and so strong that Egypt would send them to their own land, and it all began with his brothers bowing before him. Acts speaks of the day the Holy Spirit was given to the church by the Lord. This advocate, the one who walks alongside us, was poured out upon all flesh at Pentecost. Since that time, the Lord has promised sons and daughters shall prophesy, and young men shall see visions, and old men shall dream dreams.

What ever could have been in Gregg Allman's dreams in 1969? Speculation can abound from people who were there at the time, and by those who weren't. Still, climbing the mountain just to see what could be seen, this is what we need to do everyday. But the mountain we are called to climb doesn't always require shoes.

We are called to climb the mountain and see what lies ahead of us. We can climb this mountain in prayer, seeking with the eyes of our souls-as well as our soles-to discern the will of God. We climb the mountain with fellow believers in discipleship, doing as we are called to do. We climb the mountain in service, doing as the Lord calls us to do.

Perhaps a part of our frustration is that we will never see God's work done. The Allman Brothers sang, "'Cause I'm hung up on dreams I'll never see." Still, we can live in confidence that as long as our Lord lives-and our Lord lives-these dreams will come to fulfillment. The reason why is that these are not our dreams; they're God's dreams. God has a way. God will see it through.

Scourged

John 19:1-3 (NRSV)

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and striking him on the face.

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Sometimes I feel
Sometimes I feel ... like I've been tied to the whippin’ post
Tied to the whippin’ post
Tied to the whippin' post
Good Lord I feel like I'm dyin'

"Whippin' Post," written by Greg Allman, recorded by The Allman Brothers Band on their self-titled debut album.

Some days, many days, it's impossible to make sense of current events. Maybe it's because compared to even fifty years ago there are so many more current events with so much more coverage of each of them.

Recently there have been shootings, war and talk of war, terror and those who bring terror from the ends of the world to your town. Drug problem? I'm not advocating drug use, but accounting for prescription drug use and abuse who says there isn't a drug problem. The election cycle? You'd think the world has gone off its rails. The world is gone fully mad.

In the ancient world, it was the time of the Passover, Rome was in charge, the religious leaders were in fear for their status in the temple and synagogues, and politicians were doing what politicians do. Everyone was trying to corner their little part of the power market, and here comes the one who is power.

Then comes the Lord, He who is, He who is the I AM. He was abused for no other reason than being who he was and being himself in the world. Mocked, scorned, ridiculed. Our Lord was scourged, flogged, and whipped. In the end, all I can say is that when I have been run down, lied to, feeling like a fool, I worship a God who has been on the whippin' post too.

Still, even after being tied to the whipping post our Lord stayed by our side, even when humanity did not stand by his. He was generous, even when he was mocked. He turned even when beaten. He was King of the Jews even when he was mocked being called the King of the Jews.

If there is one thing we must say about Jesus, even as we say life is difficult and life is uncertain, it is that he has been there too. Jesus experienced these very same things. He was wrongly accused and then tried and hung up to dry. He was left to rot in the noonday sun on a garbage heap. He has seen our troubles. He still offers his grace. We know our troubles, but have we accepted his grace?

Lucky?

1Samuel 23:19-24

Then some Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “David is hiding among us in the strongholds of Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jeshimon. Now, O king, whenever you wish to come down, do so; and our part will be to surrender him into the king’s hand.” Saul said, “May you be blessed by the LORD for showing me compassion! Go and make sure once more; find out exactly where he is, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning. Look around and learn all the hiding places where he lurks, and come back to me with sure information. Then I will go with you; and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.” So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul.

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Well, I've got to run to keep from hidin',
And I'm bound to keep on ridin'.
And I've got one more silver dollar,
But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no,
Not gonna let 'em catch the Midnight Rider.

"Midnight Rider" written by Gregg Allman and Kim Payne, recorded by The Allman Brothers Band, from "Idlewild South"

There's an old expression, "it's better to be lucky than good." Another that goes with it should be "chance favors the prepared mind." When you put these two things together, they say that "luck," as it is, complements preparation. When the unexpected happens, people who are ready for anything are more prepared than people who haven't.

So if you want to say you don't believe in luck, chalking it up to preparation, that's fine.

One of the key narratives of 1Samuel is Saul chasing David through the countryside. Saul is the one who is lucky at least once when David could have killed him, but didn't. Saul was King and David is faithful. Sometimes though, especially when Saul was losing his mind, faithfulness is just the foundation of a kingdom rotting from the top-down.

David is running because he is being chased. He's got his men. He has allies. He has provisions. He's got to run to keep from hiding. He's got one more silver dollar. And he's not going to let anyone catch him. He may seem lucky, but in truth he is prepared.

David has one more big thing in his side. He has been blessed by God.

David has been anointed. He has been called to be the next king. So as Saul is chasing David, suddenly there is word that the Philistines have attacked. Instead of leading the army against David, he has to lead it against the invaders and protect the kingdom.

Is this coincidence, luck, or the hand of God saving David? Is it serendipity or the Sovereign Lord taking care of his own?

David knows, to God goes the glory.