Dare to Dream

(This is an abridged version of the sermon preached at Epworth Chapel, Baltimore on 1/15/12)

In the reading from the book of the prophet Joel, it is written, “And it shall come to pass, afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; and your sons and daughters shall prophesy; your old men (and women) shall dream dreams, your young men (and women) shall see visions.” (Joel 2:28)

How fitting it is that we hear these words this weekend as we celebrate the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. If Dr. King was anything, he was a dreamer and a visionary, a man chosen by God to be a prophet in our midst.

We recall that in our nation’s capital almost 49 years ago, at the urging of the great gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson, Dr. King told the world of his dreams and what he envisioned for our world. He dreamt, we recall, of a world where the descendants of former slaves and former slave-owners would be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood… a world where little children would someday live in a nation where they would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

Dr. King envisioned a world where we would grow to see the face of Jesus in Blacks and Whites, Latinos and Native Americans, Asians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and all other racial, ethnic, social, cultural and religious groups. He dared to dream and envision:
• A world of peace and love among all women and men, girls and boys...
• A world where we would study war no more…
• A world where poverty, hunger, and homelessness would be eradicated…
• A world where violence and abuse would exist no longer.

Toward the conclusion of his life in 1968, Dr. King wondered out loud about the dream he had articulated for America and the world in 1963, and whether his dream had in turn become a “nightmare.”

It leads us to ask ourselves the questions today, “What has really happened to King’s dream, and our own ability to hope and love and envision and dream? Where are our dreams and visions today?

The word of hope is this. We can all be dreamers and visionaries. The prophet Joel offered words of encouragement to Judah amidst their despair and exile, “And it shall come to pass, afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; and your sons and daughters shall prophesy; your old men (and women) shall dream dreams, your young men (and women) shall see visions.” (Joel 2:28)

We can all dare to dream. Dr. King came not only to dream himself, but to prophetically challenge each of us to dare, in our heart of hearts, to dream and vision… knowing that through hope and faith, and steadfastness and courage, we could live a better tomorrow. He dared to dream, so that you and I could dream today.

We can dare to dream, and Dr. King’s dreams can come alive for us today:
• As we advocate and work to address poverty and oppression…
• As we continue to fight for healthcare for everybody…
• As we commit ourselves to peace and justice for all humanity.
• As we work for a nonviolent society…
• As we hold before ourselves the belief in the words etched in our Declaration of Independence, that “all people are created equal.”

Keep dreaming! Indeed, we are called today to dream dreams and see visions. Dare to dream of what our families (and our young people)… and our churches… and our communities… and our governments… and our world will be in the days to come.

In one of his poems, Langston Hughes encourages us to:

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.