Viewing

 Early this morning I had a dream that took place in a church building. In the dream I am the pastor, and while in the dream we were not in our current location, I see people from the congregation I serve today. There were also several new people coming through the front door. I could hear the choir rehearsing, and in my waking life I do sing with the choir. In the dream I am thinking that while I should be rehearsing, I felt it was my responsibility to greet the visitors. I talked to each one. There was a young man and woman who were married, and several men who arrived separately. 

The young woman mentioned that she had never been baptized. Baptism to her meant that there were all sorts of rules to follow. I wanted to talk to her more about that, but just then I looked up and I could see a full moon through an overhead window. The moon appeared large and very close. I then realized that the moon was tilted on its axis, so I was viewing the "bottom" of the moon - a view we never see. For a few moments I was captivated by this tilted moon that seemed to be just outside the window. There were sparkles emanating from it, and the moon itself was a beautiful navy blue color with some other colors swirling around it, somewhat like Jupiter, but with colors that were darker and richer. I could see craters. Sparkles were flying everywhere, but did not seem to land on earth.  

I gasped and asked the young couple if they had seen the moon. They, rather matter of factly, replied that they saw it on the way to church that morning.  I then realized that while yes, it was Sunday morning, the sky I was looking at was a nighttime sky with a very large, tilted and energetic moon.   

This morning I woke up thinking of the dream, and also thinking of Lent. Even now, it  is easy to get caught up in the idea that Lent is just one long slog.  Yet, it can be a time of freedom. We can let go of a habit that holds us down, or we can explore something new. We can give away possessions that we really don't need, but someone else might. Just as there is no rule about how one should live into their baptism, there is no rule (I guess my Protestant roots are showing) on how we approach and move through Lent. 

May we all find a way to give us a new view of who we are in relationship to ourselves, one another, and the universe that surrounds us. That universe, which I understand to be God, is also within us. Lent gives us time to do some excavation and tidying up, so we can give God a little more room to move. I sense there are many surprises in store.  

            

     

    

image: I do not have an image that comes anywhere close to what I saw in the dream. A photograph of what looks to be a silver ocean will just have to do.  Light is a wonderful thing. Santa Cruz, 2019