Hopes and Dreams

Gospel: Matthew 1: 18-24

Joseph was a man like any other. He had dreams about his future, dreams about married life and children, dreams about his career.  Every human being has these dreams for themselves and others, but how often are they realized?  How often does life come along and alter our plans, change our hopes and dreams into something else?

So while Joseph had the dreams of ordinary people, he also had dreams of another sort where his original plans and hopes become altered.  Life now will be a bit more difficult.  Joseph will have to go into exile in a foreign land to protect his family, then sneak back into his country of origin to establish a quiet life with them.  Because he chooses to take Mary as his wife, they will be under a cloud of suspicion regarding their child and the circumstances behind the pregnancy.  This too will affect their lives.

Yet through it all Joseph is comforted by the dreams God gives him.  He quietly follows these dreams and sets aside his own for the greater good for Mary and her child.  How often are we ourselves called to something similar - of putting aside our own hopes, dreams, and plans in order to care for the needs of others, to take part in God's dreams of the kingdom for us and the whole human family?