Daring to Dream

Isaiah 55: 1-5

Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.

This text from Isaiah is part of the lectionary readings for many churches this week, and even though I am preaching on this text, my sermon developed into something other than I was expecting (as it often does) and I didn’t get to touch on this important part of the passage that struck me as I was preparing. Isaiah tells the Israelites that they will call nations that they do not know and that nations that they do not know will run to them. Spoken to a people in exile, coupled with the previous call to come and experience abundant life with God, buying milk and wine without money- these words might seem a little strange to the Israelites ears. They are far from what we would expect people in exile to feel- abandoned, desolate, devoid of power. They provide hope for a people that the story isn’t over yet; that this current moment isn’t all there is and oh how these words must have tasted like milk and wine, rich food bought without price, to this people far from home. 

In moments of exile, which are inevitable in life (whether they be physical, emotional, or spiritual) we all long to hope for a better story- to arrive at a place where we look back on our valleys from the top of a mountain. And yet how often from the viewpoint of the valley, of the exile, do we search for the shortest mountain possible to climb out of our valley. We look for the easiest solution. We fail to dream big for ourselves because we don’t think it is possible. We are scared. Sometimes we have to recognize the fact that many times we feel comfortable in our exile. We settle for less than we know we are worth because we fail to imagine life any differently. We are scared to hope again because we have been disappointed by it in the past. Our eyes become clouded over and when we can’t see the future clearly we become content with living in black and white, instead of daring to imagine what life might look like in all its vibrant colors. 

When we start to make plans for our lives, how often do we base those plans solely on things that we know, things that are comfortable, things that are tangible and right in front of us? But the prophet tells the Israelites that nations they do not know will come to them. Life is a rich and abundant journey and if we accept the invitation, God’s invites us to adventures and experiences that are leaps and bounds beyond anything that we could ever imagine. God affirms through the prophet that “my thoughts are higher than your thoughts and my ways are higher than your ways.” How often do we try to fit God in our plans instead of stretching and reaching and dreaming, even to the point of ridiculousness, so that our stories fit more into God’s story? And if we tried to fit our story into God’s story instead of the other way around, how would this change how we live today? How often are we convinced that our way of doing things is the best way of doing things only to become drastically disappointed when God shows us (sometimes in very painful ways) that this is not the case? Sometimes it is scary to dream big, to change our plans, because we don’t want to be disappointed. We don’t want to be hurt again. We have been told that we aren’t capable or good enough or smart enough and we believed those lies. And at the end of the day, allowing yourself to dream and to hope for a future that you cannot control is making a bet. There is no guarantee. And we as humans like guarantees. We like control.

But every once in a while, there comes a moment in life when you see your dreams come true. You see that God’s plans were indeed better than yours. You see that all the risks you took were worth it. You see that you didn’t hope in vain. You arrive at the top of the mountain and you find yourself looking at views that you never dreamed imaginable. And from this view you are able to see the entire path that took blood, sweat, and tears to bring you to where you are. And we need these mountain top experiences to remind us because soon enough you will be at the bottom of another mountain facing another long climb and if those past visions fade from memory, we might not have the strength or courage to face another beginning.

As we continue through Lent, we continue on this journey to the cross, and eventually, to the resurrection. And the resurrection if nothing else tells us that God is capable of things beyond our wildest imagination. Instead of resolving ourselves to that which we know, the hurt, the disappointment, the sadness that we feel in our present circumstances, God calls us back to hope and shows us that hope does not disappoint.  Milton Schwantes put it much more elegantly than I would ever be able to-

“We are used to seeing only that which is close by, and in doing so our eyes begin to think that which is far away, the heavens and horizons, don't exist. Jesus gave us eyes to see far off things. The resurrection is like an operation on our sight. Eyes, without any hope, dead, sick and lifeless, begin to see. They fall in love with the colors of things. They begin to believe in themselves again, believe in others, believe in the horizons. Oh that Jesus- gone from the tomb- would give us eyes shimmering with expectations. Don't return to the darkness of the tomb. Allow your eyes to float. Look to the far off places. Let the distant lights draw you in. Don't lose hope.”

Dream big. Love deeply. Expect the unexpected. Don’t lose hope.