Sermon for January 26 Daniel and the Dream

So…

Have you ever had a bad dream?

It’s scary!

I had one the other night. I was helping some folks in my dream stock a store room below ground level and they were putting bags of something like mulch down in this cavern and they had managed to fill the stairwell in front of the cavern so full of bags to go down to the basement that the only way to get in was to crawl on your belly with a bag and then slide down into the store room to set the bags.

Argh!

My claustrophobia went nuts, so bad I woke up completely, and then each time I tried to go back to sleep, the dream would start again right where I left out of it.

I actually had to get up and walk around to be able to go back to sleep!

And while I remember parts of the dream, I really don’t remember all of it. I don’t know who the people really were, I don’t really know what they were doing and why, and why that way; although…the Deacon’s Food pantry comes to mind.

In any case, it was terrifying!

So, imagine as King, having a terrifying dream that made no sense that you remember perhaps little pieces of - that your kingdom is in danger - but not all of, and a dream which you really have no way to interpret.

Because in Nebuchadnezzar’s day, and Daniel’s day, and in scripture from front to back, dreams matter.

As Daniel explains to the King, “But the God who rules from heaven can explain mysteries. And while you were sleeping, he showed you what will happen in the future.”

To be clear, this is a regular biblical theme.

Joseph was brought from prison to speak to Pharaoh in Genesis 51:15-16, and “The king said to him, “I had a dream, yet no one can explain what it means. I am told that you can interpret dreams.” “Your Majesty,” Joseph answered, “I can’t do it myself, but God can give a good meaning to your dreams.”

Dreams are important. Even the scary ones.

They are the way the brain subconsciously tries to make sense of all the information we have gathered all day long, not only of our sensory experiences, but also of our emotional reactions to them.

In the hard drive that is our amazing brains, there is a tumble of stuff that was loaded in all day long and now has to be sorted and stored. That’ what our brains do at night when we are asleep.

Sometimes what the brain finds is a cache of emotional energy that needs to be sorted out, in addition to facts and experiences. And sometimes, it is in the midst of these dreams and sometimes even daydreams, that God speaks, gives us insight, opens us to new ways of thinking, and sometimes scares us to death with the truth.

Like for Nebuchadnezzar.

The king is oddly comforted by Daniel’s interpretation, possibly because now he knows the full extent of his dream, or possibly because this dream at least doesn’t end with his death!

But let’s be clear, the dream is huge.

It’s a cosmic view of time and events well beyond Nebuchadnezzar’s own life and even his kingdom. It is a “stand back and see time from God’s perspective” view, where the idol of human kingdoms and authorities, even as spectacular as Babylon’s own, are crushed by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who fills the whole world.

Babylon was amazing!

It was strong and resilient, organized with abilities well beyond other nations of its age. They were a golden empire compared to the others that followed, which were larger and perhaps more powerful though also more fractured and difficult to govern.

But they all were destined to end, to be crushed, overtaken, defeated!

I was up in Albany last Sunday and Monday, a nice short visit.

Sue and Katie and I went to the local mall for a while, where there is a huge Barnes and Nobles bookstore. I love book shopping, so paused my walking regimen to look at the bargain books and saw one that was entitled, It’s Always the End of Time.

It kind of reminded me of the line, “it is always 5:00pm somewhere”!

And that was exactly the author’s point. In every culture, in every kingdom, in every epoch of time, in every civilization there is an end point just ahead.

Nothing lasts forever. Cultures and kingdoms, nations and communities, all only last for a time, and a time, and a time and a half.

Volcanoes and earthquakes will take and have taken communities and whole cultures, tsunami’s and floods, plagues, and wars, and famines have done the same.

Babylon will fall, and Persia after it, and Greece after it, and Rome after it. No matter how big, how powerful, how well organized, how rich, all civilizations will fall.

But here’s the thing to remember - the one thing God wanted Nebuchadnezzar to know - God’s kingdom lasts forever!

Because at any time, in the midst of any circumstances God can crush every and any other kingdom. The end will come and still God’s kingdom will remain.

God’s kingdom will overcome and outlast them all.

It may start small, with just one child, born in a manger in lowly Bethlehem. But it is all God’s doing.

So, great king Nebuchadnezzar, be aware.

And King Nebuchadnezzar bowed low to the ground and worshiped Daniel. He appreciated what Daniel had told him and what the dream meant.

But he missed the point.

He gave orders for incense to be burned and a sacrifice of grain to be offered in honor of Daniel. The king said, “Now I know that your God is above all other gods and kings, because he gave you the power to explain this mystery.”

The king then presented Daniel with a lot of gifts; he promoted him to governor of Babylon Province and put him in charge of the other wise men.

But note. Nebuchadnezzar still did not understand.

You, see, it’s always the end of time.

All of us stand at the edge every day and must like Nebuchadnezzar choose which kingdom we will serve. Because today may be our last day. So, we best choose wisely.

And remember: God’s kingdom will last forever.

Amen!