Summary: In the Gospel of Matthew, God spoke through dreams to Joseph, to the Magi and to Pilate through his wife. The first two listened, and the result was life. But Pilate ignored his wife's dream about the innocence of Jesus, and the result was death. God may be speaking to us in dreams, in signs, in wonders and in the voices of our family, friends and church. Let's listen very carefully and be prepared to act -- for life.
Singer/songwriter Paul Simon, who has shaped our lives over the past 60 years with songs such as "The Sound of Silence," "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" and "The Boy in the Bubble," woke up one night a couple years ago from a dream where he learned he was to record an album titled Seven Psalms. Simon drew upon his background as a Jewish kid from Queens, weaving his love for music, baseball and poetry into lyrics that explore the wisdom, peace and fears that come with age, to craft a 32-minute song.
The Lord, we learn from Simon's song, is both "a virgin forest" and "a forest ranger," a tenuous "face in the atmosphere," but also the Covid virus. Another portion draws upon the three-fold cord of Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 to suggest love and devastating sorrow are paradoxically intertwined with joy.1
It's not always clear if one of our dreams is a divine messenger or just our subconscious telling us what we already know or only a jumble of stuff plopped out of the brain box, without any real meaning. But in Matthew's Gospel, at least, it's especially important to listen to dreams. The life of the young Jesus was preserved or saved on several occasions. To begin with, despite Joseph's doubts about his fiancee's pregnancy, he listened to his dream and did not divorce Mary,2 increasing the likelihood of her baby's survival!
After the birth of Jesus, the Magi came from the east seeking the newborn king whose star heralded his birth. Seeking help at Herod's court, they agreed to tell the paranoid king where this new infant king might be found, never guessing his murderous intent. But having been warned in a dream to go home a different way, avoiding Herod, they did so.3 Jesus' life saved, literally.
Likewise, Joseph was warned in yet another dream to flee Bethlehem for Egypt with Jesus and Mary, and Jesus' life was saved when Joseph obeyed the dream.4 Finally, Joseph was informed in yet another dream that Herod had died and it was safe to return.5 (He then used his common sense and bypassed Bethlehem for Nazareth. Not all the Herods were dead yet.)
That's an impressive string of dreams. Notice that the dreams are sent not only to Joseph, a member of God's people, but also to the Magi, who came from outside the faith but were drawn into God's audacious plan to save the world.
But Matthew also tells about a warning dream from God that was ignored.
That happened later when the Roman Governor Pilate considered just what was going on with this Galilean prophet, Jesus, who was accused of sedition against the Roman Empire. In the midst of the confusion a message arrives: While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, "Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him." That's how our reading for today puts it.
Nothing is known about Pilate's wife, other than these few words. Over the centuries, however, Christians not only gave her a name, Procia or Procula, but in some communions, such as the Ethiopic and Coptic churches, she is celebrated as a saint.6 But little can be stated with certainty.
Matthew was particular when he chose to use the same Greek word to describe both her dream and the dreams granted to Joseph and the Magi. Matthew's implication is clear: Just as God spoke to Joseph and the Magi through dreams, God spoke to Pilate through his wife's dream.
Why his wife, and not directly to him? Maybe because Pilate didn't seem to have listened to the "better angels" of his nature.7 A mid-level civil servant with a lackluster record, Pilate made several big mistakes during his service in the province. Judea was exempt from the requirement of displaying the Emperor's image in public places because of the commandment against graven images. Pilate decided that he knew better. One of his first edicts was to put the Emperor's image on display in Jerusalem, leading a number of Judeans to gather in a public place, bare their necks and threaten to commit mass suicide.
Pilate backed down.8
He also put on display imperial shields which were also offensive, and those, too, had to be removed. He is said to have used money from the Temple treasury to pay for the construction of an aqueduct.9
Nevertheless, in Pilate's defense, his decade-long tenure made him one of the longest serving governors of Judea. Only after slaughtering a group of Samaritans, was he recalled to Rome, where he either retired from public service or took another posting. No one is certain exactly what happened.
It is doubtful if any but the most assiduous scholars of the Roman Empire would ever have heard of Pontius Pilate, were it not for his involvement with the trial of Jesus.
He had the opportunity to release Jesus. He seems to have wondered at the very least if this Galilean was innocent. Evidently when dreams came to Joseph and the Magi, they were already used to the idea that God spoke through dreams. We don't know if Pilate ever listened to dreams -- but evidently he listened to his wife, or at least tried to keep her happy, because the dream was sent to her. He could have taken his wife's word, which he seems to have trusted, for that is where God channeled the message.
But he did not.
Plainly, Pilate was troubled by this whole Jesus situation. Something was "off." The religious authorities claimed they were not allowed to execute criminals, but executions by mobs weren't unheard of. Three times in the New Testament alone mobs were ready to enforce religious law to execute someone.10
At the least, Pilate was troubled enough to offer the mob a trade: Jesus for Barabbas, a real, honest to goodness revolutionary troublemaker.
No dice.
So despite his doubts, and the likelihood that this mob was a set-up (For heaven's sake, what were they doing there the day after Passover bright and early in the morning, screaming against a popular preacher?) and despite his wife's dream, Pilate decided due process was not worth the bother. Better to give in, and give up.
But this sermon isn't about Pilate. There's nothing we can do about him, two thousand years later. My question is to you: Is God speaking to you? And are you listening?
God speaks in many ways, as the Letter to the Hebrews attests: "Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son ...."11
And just as when Pilate offered the crowd the head of Barabbas and it seemed as if Jesus didn't have a friend in the house, so too when people are falling into the cracks, when unpopular causes lead to uncomfortable advocacy, we must listen to the tug in our hearts that tells us it's time for us to stand up and stand in the gap for others.
We may not have an illuminating dream to guide us, but what we have is the life and words of Jesus, the leading of the Holy Spirit and the Body of Christ to help us when someone seems to be the victim of injustice at the hands of the mob or by constituted authority.
The big thing is to listen! Sometimes we can be confused, like Pilate, from competing worldly voices trying to coax us into the ways of the world. If real discernment is called for, the kind that requires prayer, ours and those with whom we share these pews, we can pray with each other for light rather than simply give up and wash our hands of the whole mess.
In Seven Psalms, Paul Simon talks about helping a wayfaring stranger, a mother and her autistic son who needed someone to listen to their story. And he sings, "The Lord is a meal for the poorest of the poor/ A welcome door to the stranger." Let's not be Pilate, and simply give up on living in the kingdom of God. Let's listen to the voice of God, speaking powerfully in dreams, signs, wonders, and the words of trusted friends, family and fellow disciples.
Take care of God's people. Look out for the least of these.