When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus. Matthew 1:25
Much of what we are supposed to work with from our dreams is what therapists and others call “dream residue.” Most of what we have to learn from our dreams comes from how we feel when remembering them. If our dream made us scared, then maybe it is a reflection of fear we are carrying that needs tending to. If we were treated to a funny, or joyful dream, then maybe we need to be more
I had what I think was the first ever dream about George Babuka, my father-in-law, who died about 12 years ago. He was a beloved, sweet man who raised well my beloved Patricia and treated me like the son he never had. (No mean feat, believe me.) Anyway, in what I remember from this dream, he gave me a huge hug that was meant to impart gratitude, or joy.
I woke up that morning with joy in my heart. I did. I remember it being a good day, because what I dreamed shaped how I treated others and how I felt.
Joseph had an intense dream in which an Angel told him to marry the young woman he was getting ready to drop, and raise the son she carried as his own. Everything rode on his response to the dream.He could have awakened and “dismissed Mary quietly” or any other number of horrible things, but instead, he married her, and named the baby “Yesh-ua”- God saves..
Whatever “residue” was left from his dream moved Joseph to help bring Jesus into the world. Jesus, then, is the embodiment of God’s dream for us. Joseph, a regular person, made God’s dream his dream. We are called, during Advent, to see God’s dream for us and the world in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Joseph teaches us that without “regular folk” who listen to their dreams, Jesus cannot be born into the world!
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