Messenger in the Night

Devotional for the week of December 18th, 2022

What did you dream about last night? Is there really any meaning in these vivid storylines that our brains assemble while we sleep? If you think dreams are essentially random firings of our neurons, you might just laugh them off. If you think they do tap into something real, you might try to unpack them. But almost no one makes important life decisions based solely on their dreams, right?

The stakes couldn’t have been higher for Joseph and his dream, in which an angel tells him about Mary’s unexpected pregnancy by the Holy Spirit. If he stays, he’s got a story to tell that nobody is going to believe. But if he goes, if he “dismisses her quietly” as the gospel writer puts it, what’s going to happen to her? What’s going to happen to the baby?

It might seem that a message in a dream would be the worst possible way to make a decision as consequential as this. But if the purpose of our dreams is to put us in touch with what we already know, if it’s to help us sort out our tangled-up emotions and give us some clarity, then perhaps a dream whose message is “Do not be afraid” is exactly what Joseph needs.

The dream-angel, in quoting the prophet Isaiah, helps Joseph connect his present reality with God’s past faithfulness and promises. The angel reminds him that even in this terrifying situation, God is with him. We need such assurances as well when it feels like our world is falling apart: messengers to remind us who we really are and to whom we belong. Today we celebrate that Joseph trusted that message, and Mary before him. In them we see that God is faithful, and fear is cast out by the birth of this child.

Devotional message and art based on the readings for December 18th, reprinted from sundaysandseasons.com.