December 20: New Dreams and Visions
♫ Music:
Day 21—Saturday, December 20
But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:
‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says,
‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
And your young men shall see visions,
And your old men shall dream dreams;
Even on My bondslaves, both men and women,
I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit
And they shall prophesy.
‘And I will grant wonders in the sky above
And signs on the earth below,
Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.
‘The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood,
Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come.
‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Acts 2:14-21
Pentecost
By William Blake
Unless the eye catch fire,
The God will not be seen.
Unless the ear catch fire
The God will not be heard.
Unless the tongue catch fire
The God will not be named.
Unless the heart catch fire,
The God will not be loved.
Unless the mind catch fire,
The God will not be known.
NEW DREAMS AND VISIONS
Advent and Pentecost have something in common: God is come to earth. Our Lord’s advent—in His death, resurrection and ascension—made our souls holy spaces where, once again, God Himself takes residence on the earth. But His dwelling place is no longer in temples made of hands; rather, the Spirit dwells in hearts cleansed by the Lord. Paul tells us that those who have joined themselves to the Lord are now one Spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17). To the unbeliever this is too fantastic to believe. Nevertheless, our hearts are now His home, His new Temple. They are holy places not because of our moral efforts but because of His presence. We have been sanctified not because of our acts of righteousness but because Christ is our righteousness and our sanctification (1 Cor. 1:30).
Meditate upon the truth of Pentecost this Christmas. Jesus came that He might send the Spirit. Christmas means we are no longer alone. God’s Spirit has been poured out on all mankind. Sons and daughters both young and old prophesy, have visions and dream dreams. Miracles of the incarnation and resurrection happen now as they have for more than two thousand years. A missionary friend who ministers with his wife in Turkey among the Muslims begged that we would beseech the Lord to visit this vast multitude through their dreams and visions. “That” he indicated, “is the primary way Islamists are coming to faith in Christ today.” Erica Grimm’s painting throbs with a visceral power that is palpable. It appears that the Spirit’s rush of wind and fire is being visiting upon an elderly man as he sleeps.
The Spirit’s advent at Pentecost changed everything. It is by the Spirit that we believe, that we obey, that we cry out “Daddy,” that we even look to God. You may not always feel this; you may not even believe this at times. But that is the wonder of it all. We are still His temple—we are still His home. And nothing, nothing, nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:35ff.). Not even our sin, not even our faithlessness—“If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Tim. 2:13). I cannot imagine better news. That is why we can tell Him everything in prayer; nothing is out of bounds that He does not already know. He fears nothing from us. He will not turn away. Since we cannot lose, O my soul, why not come out of hiding? We all desperately need to be quickened and filled anew with Christ’s Holy Spirit.
Prayer
Spirit of the living Christ,
Come upon those who walk in darkness with the glory of Your resurrected power;
Spirit of the Living Christ,
Come in all the humility of Your wondrous, matchless love;
Spirit of the Living Christ,
Come in all Your mystery signified by wind and fire;
Come that new life may course through our clogged veins;
Spirit of the Living God,
Move our hearts to awe and wonder,
Granting new visions of Your coming Kingdom;
Spirit of the Living God,
Spur us on to serve You with fearless passion until the great and glorious day of the Lord!
Amen
John Coe, Director, Institute for Spiritual Formation
Barry Krammes, Center for Christianity, Culture & the Arts
Suspended Figure
Erica Grimm-Vance
About the Artist and Art
Erica Grimm-Vance is Associate Professor and Chair of the Art & Design Department, School of the Arts, Media and Culture at Trinity Western University in Vancouver, British Columbia. Represented in galleries across Canada, she has had over 25 solo exhibitions and is in numerous private and public collections, including the Vatican Art Collection and the Canada Council Art Bank. Grimm states, “Embodiment has been the focus of my image making for the past twenty years. All we know is mediated through the body, making it, inescapably, the central site of meaning. I am not interested in the surface superficialities of the body but in going deeper, going inside in an exploration of states of being.”
http://www.egrimmvance.com
About the Music
Sanctus Lyrics
Sanctus sanctus sanctus Deus
Let’s go up into a holy place
Let’s go up into a dreaming space
Visions coming like a summer rain
'Til the garden comes alive again
Shall we see the tongues of fire
Shall we hear the great wind roar
Shall we know the awe and wonder
That we've only glimpsed before
Shall we know the awesome presence
That can make us laugh and weep
Shall we know the pain of waking
When for so long we've been asleep
Let’s go up into a holy pace
Let’s go up into a dreaming space
Visions coming like a summer rain
‘Til the garden comes alive again
Shall we know the hungry longing
Of the child at mother's breast
And shall we drink 'til there's no wanting
Only all-consuming rest
Shall we leap with boundless pleasure
Through these forests and these fields
Shall we search for buried treasure
Let sacred soil her bounties yield
Let’s go up into a holy place
Let’s go up into a dreaming space
Visions coming like a summer rain
‘Til the garden comes alive again
Shall we hear the ancient music
From the ever moving throng
And from those who've gone before us
Shall we learn the journey's song
Shall we come to wisdom's portal
Shall we bask in wisdom's light
Though the flames may burn and sear us
Shall we not shine like stars at night
Let’s go up into a holy place
Let’s go up into a dreaming space
Visions coming like a summer rain
‘Til the garden comes alive again
About the Performer
Though blind from birth, Ken Medema (b. 1943) has been writing, performing, and recording his music since 1973. He originally began performing as a music therapist, and he now writes many of his songs through the use of improvisation in performance. He has released most of his 26 albums through his own independent recording company, Brier Patch Music.
http://kenmedema.com/
About the Poet
William Blake (1757 – 1827) was a 19th century writer and artist who is regarded as a seminal figure of the Romantic Age. His writings have influenced countless writers and artists through the ages, and he has been deemed both a major poet and an original thinker. Blake began writing at an early age and claimed to have had his first vision, of a tree full of angels, at age 10. He studied engraving and grew to love Gothic art, which he incorporated into his own unique works. A misunderstood poet, artist and visionary throughout much of his life, Blake found admirers late in life and has been vastly influential since his death in 1827.