Dreams 4

We'll finish with a final assembly on the theme of vision. First a song by the Eurhythmics. Again, I would ask you to focus on the words.

Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree
I travel the world an the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something

Let's make it clear I am not recommending this song, or any of the songs played this week, as good music. We're listening to them to put us in touch with popular ideas. You might describe it as "pop without being kinetic", to misquote from the recent middle school play. It's perhaps worth noting in passing that this was one of the most popular songs of the 1980s in this country. Thousands of pairs of shoes and hundreds of dance floors have been worn down to the sound of "Sweet Dreams".

For all the catchy beat and syncopation, there's little of great significance in the words. Nevertheless, the idea "Everybody's looking for something" clearly identifies the mood of the eighties. For Annie Lennox who wrote the song, the "something" that everyone wanted was
related to getting on in life; in her words "moving on";
related to making sure that "people who want to use you" didn't get their way,
and related to making sure that "people who want to be used by you" were so used.

In short, what people wanted was to be "moving on", taking advantage of others on the way.

This selfishness expressed in the song is about as far as you can get away from a Christian sentiment, nor is the idea in line with our school philosophy; indeed, it is a telling insight of nineteen eighties greed. Nevertheless, there is the recognition that "everybody's looking for something"; the feeling that we want more than we have. The feeling that we should become better than we really are at present, feelings that are common to everyone. People dream of a better life for themselves. "Man transcends man."

Well, there's only 14 shopping days to go till Christmas - and what have dreams to do with the festive season? And how do these assemblies on the theme of vision relate to the time of year? Perhaps we have hopes for Christmas day in terms of the presents we hope to receive. Perhaps we have dreams about parties and puddings. Perhaps we'll do a karaoke to Val Doonican's "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas".

However, I want to go a little deeper than that; I want to remind you of the time before the first Christmas.
Dreams played a major part in the preparations. John the Baptist's father, Zechariah, had a dream concerning his unborn child; the dream foretold that his son's job was to prepare and to announce the beginning of Jesus' ministry. And Mary had a vision or a dream; she learned she was to conceive a son to be named Jesus, which means "God's rescuer". And Joseph, Mary's husband to be, also had a dream about the unborn child; the baby Jesus was to have the title "Immanuel", meaning "God with us".

So here we are getting close to the point in the mystery of Christmas. This is a season when dreams, hopes, aspirations all come true. They came true historically in the birth of a child. They also come true now because we can approach the reality the Enya wanted on Wednesday, the perfect man with perfect values of justice desired by Tuesday's Wild West Hero. "Man transcends man." We want something more than we've got. We want to be something greater than we actually are. And Jesus, the transcendent Man who came at the first Christmas is, I believe, the one able to bridge the gap between what we are and what we might hope to become.

May your dreams come true this Christmas.

I'll finish with a verse from a song for Christmas.

Who would dream that what was needed
To transform and save the Earth
Might not be a plan or army
Proud in purpose, proved in worth?
Who would think, despite derision,
That a child would lead the way?
God surprises Earth with heaven
Coming here on Christmas Day.
(Wild Goose Songs 1)

"Let us learn to dream, and then perhaps we shall learn the truth."