Matthew 2:12-13

Posted by DJL on Jan 7, 2014 in Daily Bread | 0 comments

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”

There have been a lot of important dreams in Matthew’s story of Jesus so far.

First, there is the dream in which the angel appears to Joseph to tell him that Mary has indeed been faithful to him, that the child she bears was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and that he should not fear to take her as his wife.

Now, the magi are warned in a dream (whether by an angel or not we do not know) not to return to Herod, and so they take another route to head home and in this way thwart the wicked designs of a tyrant.

Now, an angel again appears to Joseph in a dream to tell him to flee with his family to Egypt – no small distance from Bethlehem! – in order to escape Herod’s murderous reach.

That’s a lot of important information to come through dreams!

All of which makes me wonder: do we listen to our dreams? Most of us are far too modern to imagine God speaking to us through our dreams, and we would likely get nervous if a friend or family member told us they were making their plans (big or little) based on their nighttime visions.

I’m no exception. But it does strike me that night – especially night in the ancient world devoid of electricity and all the lights and other distractions it provides – was a time of solitude and quiet. A time, that is, when there is room to hear the urging of our Lord.

All of which makes me wonder, when and where do we find  quiet time to listen to God speaking to our hearts, whether calming our fears, urging action, comforting our hurts, or emboldening our hearts? God may not always come in a dream or send an angelic herald to communicate God’s will, but God is still speaking. And I think it’s important that we make space to listen, that we find moments or places of solitude, that we work to quiet our restless habits of checking smart phones and answering email 24/7 to create a still, quite space in our hearts to hear the urging of the Lord.

Prayer: Dear God, help us to quiet our hearts and still our spirits that we might hear your words to us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.