For Sunday, November 27, 2016 – Matthew 24:36-44
In the dream I am en route to an unknown destination when the pilot announces that all who are going to change planes should now gather their belongings and prepare to transfer. I am one of the transferring passengers so I scoop up my carry-on and join about five or six others in the aisle. We move forward and each one, in turn, steps through the door. At the threshold, I am startled by what I see—we have not yet landed! Each person ahead of me has stepped dutifully through the door and plunged into a vast abyss of air and space! I stumble back to my seat, relieved to have saved myself from death, proud not to have been as foolhardy as the rest, yet perplexed as to how I will now find my way to the other plane.
Jesus continually calls us from our safe and familiar lives, beyond our current perceptions, calls us to die into a realm we do not yet know. In my dream, who is right and who is wrong? Is it right to follow instructions blindly and endanger one’s life? Is it wrong to hear the call to new planes, but to choose safety and return to my previous seat? Jesus says two will be in a field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal; one will be taken and one will be left. He does not say one is right and one is wrong, only that both should keep awake, pay attention to what is happening right now that might be heralding a new day.
My dream continued: On the news later that day is a report of a strange occurrence. People changing planes mid-air were swept mysteriously into a spinning capsule and carried safely to their next destinations! Not a foolish leap into nothingness after all. The others, more faithful than I, had been taken and I was left. I awoke filled with regret, but also more AWAKE. One thing is sure: God is not finished with us yet. Whether we cower in fear of what lies ahead or rejoice in the coming collapse—yes, rejoice that the life that is not really life is being uprooted day by day—the only question that matters is, are we waking up? Oh, God, in your mercy, wake us up!
