When Dreams Collide

Isaiah 11.1-9; Luke 12.16-21

Russ and Amy Jacks Dean, January 20, 2002

On August 28, 1963, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood before those thousands at the Lincoln Memorial, I was not there. When he began with those words, “I am happy to join with you in… the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation…” I did not hear him speak. When his amazing voice rose to pronounce those powerful and fearful words, when he said, “…though we must face [difficulties] … I still have a dream.” When he challenged America to “live out the true meaning of its self-evident creed, of justice and equality for all…

We were not even in the world.

We can hardly imagine, that only 39 years ago, in the United States of America, a black man could not drink from the same water fountain as a white man. And a black woman could not sit on a public bus and share a seat with a white woman.

It is hard for us even to dream of that world. But many of you knew it. Thank God we did not.

And thank God for Martin Luther King, Jr., who dreamed the impossible. Who dared to believe that his “four little children [might] one day be judged only by the content of their character.” Thank God, he had a dream that day.

Today our two boys attend the Child Development Center at our church, and our oldest, who is a very perceptive five-year-old, has yet to acknowledge a racial distinction between any of his classmates or with his teachers. And in preparation for kindergarten, we are opting out of his “home school” because of the increased racial diversity of a “choice school.”

In our upper-middle class neighborhood, one of four immediate neighbors is African-American. And in this country, African-Americans hold positions of leadership in Fortune 500 Companies, as Presidents of Colleges, as Senators and Representatives, as Generals in the armed services.

In one generation, a dream has changed America.

Dreams can be real. When our sons are awakened in the middle of the night - crying out for safety and comfort - there is no convincing them that their dreams are not real. Many adults tend to forget their dreams. But not children. They remember their dreams in astonishing detail. “And a little child shall lead them . . .” We adults need to do more dreaming and more remembering of our dreaming.

Thank God for the spiritual insight of Martin Luther King, Jr. who dared to dream. Thank God for his wisdom, and for his courage and sacrifice, which are always necessary, to see dreams become reality.

The entire world has changed since Dr. King voiced his dream. Not only is Condoleeza Rice the director of national security and Michael Jordan is one of the wealthiest and best-known men in the whole world, but Nelson Mandela has been made President of South Africa, and the Berlin wall has fallen. In one generation, a dream has changed the world.

But we are far from realizing the dream. In the same country where Colin Powell can be appointed to one of the highest military posts in the land because of hard work and intellect, a man can be chained to a pickup truck and dragged to his death, still because of the color of his skin. As Dr. King knew, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere….” So, until there is justice … we must continue to dream.

For this reason, we gather tonight.

So why is the dream still unfulfilled? The problem, we believe, is more seductive than it is sinister. Despite a rise in neo-nazi activity around the world, extremists are not responsible for the failure of justice. If they were, we could simply round them up, and rid ourselves of their menace. But life, we’re learning, is never easy. And most injustice that plagues our country and our world is not due to terrorists all around -- no, we will have to look a little closer to home than that.

We believe that the greater problem is that another dream has collided with the dream of justice. And it is buried deep within the heart of America. To further complicate matters, this dream is not of destruction and hatred, prejudice and fear. This dream, is the dream of success.

In America, this is no easy message to hear, for success is our dream. It is “The American Dream:” Independence. Life. Liberty. The pursuit of happiness. The American Dream is a great dream. It offers hope to millions. It produces a higher standard of living, for more people, than has ever been offered, in any place and any time. Never before have so many known what it means to be free. So let us continue to rightly dream the American Dream.

But as Russ said, life is never so easy. Most of us have learned that our greatest strength can also be our greatest weakness. So it is When Dreams Collide. Our two texts illuminate this truth. In the first dream, the prophet speaks of peace. “The wolf and the lamb live together; the leopard lies down with the kid.” The prophecy paints a picture of ideal harmony. But because the picture seems so unreal, we have pushed the whole idea of justice into some ideal future. But in his commentary on Isaiah, Gene Tucker suggests that the best way to read these words is not to read it, so much as to see it. It is a simple picture of the good news. “The passage is not a call for action or even a criticism of injustice,” he says. “These lines simply present unqualified good news.”

In the course of our marriage, we have moved seven times. Each time, my in-laws have been there to help. (Or, in the case of my father-in-law, to watch!) As Amy and I begin unloading each time, we frequently say, “You know, I can see the sofa there…” “I can see the watercolor over the mantel.” Each time, James plays ignorant, and chides us, “See what? See where? I can’t see anything.” You’ve got to be able to see something, to begin working toward it!

Do you understand? If you can see it -- maybe it really can be real. But only if you can really see it. Justice is as beautiful as Isaiah’s “Peaceable Kingdom.” But this passage, which ends with a picture, begins grounded firmly in earthly reality -- a human leader with God’s spirit and wisdom will govern with justice. For Isaiah, this was not pie-in-the-sky-by-and-by.

Neither was it for Martin Luther King, Jr. As unreal as his dream sounded, he could see it. “Human justice leads to… transformed relationship[s],” -- and that transformation is as beautiful as a child playing with a rattlesnake.

Dreaming of justice always happens in the present-tense. And it always involves the whole kingdom.

But look at our second dreamer. Proud of what he had. Reveling in what he had become, he looks… to the future. Look at the verbs in his story: I will pull down… I will build … I will store… I will say…

But Dr. King spoke of the “fierce urgency of now. . . Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy; now is the time to rise…; now is the time to lift our nation…; now is the time to make justice a reality for all God’s children.”

Success dreams in the future, but justice always dreams in present-tense.

Look again at the story of the so-called “rich fool.” Reveling in his success he thinks… of himself. Look at the pronouns used: “He thought to himself, ‘What should I do… I have no place to store my crops… my barns… my grain… my goods… my soul…”

But Dr. King spoke of the need to walk together. “…many of our white brothers… have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny… that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. This offense… must be carried forth by a biracial army. We cannot walk alone.”

Success dreams about itself, but justice always dreams of the kingdom.

God said to the fool, “this very night your life is being demanded.“

We can only live in the present. So we must learn to dream in the present also. And God will meet us there.

Two dreams. One sounds unrealistic, and seems to dwell on the future. But biblical justice is a picture, which God wants to paint of this moment. And if we dare to dream in the present, as Dr. King knew so well, even a dream can become reality.

The other dream sounds realistic, because we are told every day, “Go for it.” “You deserve it.” and “Whoever dies with the most toys wins.” But while we dream of success -- life passes by. While we save for our children’s college tuitions and plan our retirements -- someone else’s children go hungry.

Success, you see, is seductive, because it leads to comfort. And comfort leads to apathy. And apathy has no dreams.

In a recent conversation in our church about Afghanistan, we began “around the world,” but quickly we focused our thoughts right back here -- with what we could change. Only our own hearts. The UBA has the power to continue to change hearts and to carry on the dream, but we must increase our efforts. We must set our goals. We must work together. Today.

Life is a collision of dreams – and when we find ourselves caught in the middle, in faith and courage we must choose.

What dream will you choose, today?

Let us choose the dream of justice, and let us not rest until that day when we can all say, together, “Free at last, Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at “last.”

            Let it be so. Amen.

 ** Russ: plain type. Amy: bold type. Both: bold/underline type.