When Dreams Are Deferred

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who… endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.”  Hebrews 12:1-2

There is a wonderful children's story called The Trip to Panama (1981) by Janosch. It's a story about Little Bear and Little Tiger who live in a house by a river. They're reasonably happy but share a conviction that somewhere else, life would be so much better.

One day they find an old banana crate floating past their garden. On the side it says "Panama."

Without knowing anything about Panama, they decided that Panama is the land of their dreams and set off to find it. On the way they meet and befriend other animals. They all seem entranced by this magical unknown place called Panama.

After what seems like endless days of wandering, the friends come upon a house. It looks perfect and they conclude that this really must be Panama. They settle there, blissfully happy that they've found the land of their dreams.

It is, of course, their old house.  They were home!

We all live with dreams. Some of our dreams we don't really ever expect to come true, but we stubbornly refuse to let go of them.

Some of our dreams inspire us, energize us, motivate and give us purpose:

• Dreams of a college education;
• Dreams of owning a home;
• Dreams of retiring early;
• Dreams of a loving life-partner;
• Dreams of a happy family;
• Dreams of making a difference in this world;

Then there are those other dreams that fool us, ambush our hearts, and sabotage our minds and spirits:

• Dreams of winning it big in the lottery;
• Dreams of being the most popular at school;
• Dreams of getting even against those who have hurt us;
• Dreams of a lifetime of self-indulgence.

Then there are those dreams we would never dare mention -- either because we're embarrassed by their outlandishness, or because we desire them so deeply that we dare not put them into words that others might dismiss or deride.

The older I get, year by year and even month by month as I struggle with numerous orthopedic problems,  the more I am learning to accept (grudgingly) that many of my dreams are not going to come true.

I saw a survey in Friday’s paper that reported that 63% of U.S. workers feel we’ve reached the end of era; the end of good times when people look forward to retirement with pensions, health insurance and long-term financial security.

You see, it's when these supposedly more realistic, everyday dreams fail to come true that we can feel cheated, abandoned, and even lose faith.

• When instead of "happily ever after" we experience divorce;
• When the longed-for children never arrive;
• When home is always rented space and changes every year;
• When a promising career becomes a dead-end cubicle;
• When children disrespect, disappoint, disappear;
• When the land of promise is more a land of prejudice and locked doors than a land of opportunity and open doors.
• When health begins to fail before we expect it.
  
  

It is dreams like these, when they evaporate, can cause bitterness, hopelessness, cynicism, and faithlessness. The late Langston Hughes, an African- American poet from Harlem, wrote a famous poem entitled “Harlem” in which he muses about the African American experience in Harlem in the 60’s.  He was speaking of another situation but the poem can apply to us. 

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore -- and then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over -- like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags like a heavy load; or does it just explode?

When dreams are deferred our hearts can fester like a sore.  When dreams are deferred our spirits can sag.  When dreams die we can explode!  When dreams die our hope and purpose for living can explode.  Our enthusiasm for life can explode.  Our faith in God can explode. 

In today's epistle reading, the author of Hebrews selects a fascinating cross-section of faith heroes to focus in on. He calls them the “great cloud of witnesses.” They're figures from Israel's history that loom large in the Hebrew Scriptures.

Yet there are two distinct things about the folks on this list that jump out at me.  One, many of these heroes of the faith sometimes weren't true to their dreams. And two, many of these heroes of the faith had dreams that didn't come true.

First, these faith heroes weren't always true to their dreams. They're as much noted for their failures as for their faith; noted as much for their sins as for their successes. This roll-call of witnesses is as much a rogue's gallery as a shrine of saints:

• Rahab was a prostitute;
• Samson fell into Delilah's trap, then died a suicide bomber's death;
• Samuel chose Saul, then deserted Saul, chose David, and yet knew that the very notion of a king was a doomed idea;
• David, Israel's greatest king, was an adulterer, a murderer, and father of a famously faithless son.

Second, these faith heroes often didn't live to see their dream come true. In this long line of saints, they were obedient, they were honored, yet many of them didn't live to see God's promises fulfilled. In fact, those who are lauded as the greatest examples of successful lives of faith are often those who were tortured, sawn in two, tortured or imprisoned. Others were relegated to living as outcasts -- in deserts, on mountaintops, in caves, or even holes in the ground.

This “cloud of witnesses” in Hebrews might be described as more of a dark cloud than a shining beacon of unadulterated goodness. This cloud of witnesses is a condensation of troubled, sometimes tortured, sometimes triumphant lives of ordinary men and women made extraordinary by their unfailing faith in God.

The most defining characteristic about these notoriously faulted human beings is that their faith prevailed despite the fact they lived hard and died hard before they saw the fulfillment of God’s promise.

Despite their sometimes dismal failures and in the midst of their greatest triumphs, these witnesses named in today's epistle lived the dream of a relationship with God. This is the reward of faithfulness. Not riches. Not success. Not a first place medal across the finish line. Not an easy life. Not a perfect family. Not a great career – but living a vital, engaged, eternal relationship with God, with the Creator of the Universe.

For the Christian, when Jesus Christ becomes the deepest desire of the heart -- life’s greatest dream always comes true – the dream for which we were created – the dream of a living and vibrant relationship with God.

Recently I received a note in the mail from someone I’ve known.  My friend’s life has been riddled with disappointment, trouble and loss beyond what most of us have experienced.  One line in his note jumped off the page at me.  He said, “It’s funny how the more I seem to lose, the more I am able to depend on God.”

You and I are called and challenged to be part of that cloud of witnesses. To be part of that cloud doesn't mean that we won't fail and falter. To be part of that cloud of witnesses doesn't mean that we'll always be true to our dreams. To be part of that cloud of witnesses doesn't mean that we'll always have our dreams come true.

But to be part of that cloud of witnesses does mean trusting that life’s greatest gift is a relationship with Jesus Christ; that through Him we can run the race that is set before us with perseverance; that through him there is nothing that cannot be endured; that through Him there is nothing that can ultimately defeat us, even dreams deferred - because we are looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith; who endured the cross; who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.    Amen!

Thanks to Len Sweet for some of the content for this sermon.