Jesus had a dream. Jesus dreamed of God’s kingdom. When he spoke to the masses, he would tell them to “imagine” . . . imagine what could be. It would be a place that is ruled by love and grace. A place where all would be the children of God . . . siblings . . . loved and accepted for who God created them to be. A place of peace and justice. A place of plenty and no one ever went hungry or naked or left out. There would be no more war. No more division and separation. No more prejudice. No more hatred. A place that Jesus often referred to as being out of this world. He told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36) A place we would call heaven. To this Jesus asked those who would listen to “imagine”.
From those in power Jesus was called a dreamer.
In 1971, John Lennon released his greatest hit as a singer . . . Imagine. This song is considered by many to be one of the most performed songs. Rolling Stone magazine ranks it as the number three song of the “500 greatest songs of all time”. Over 200 artists have recorded or covered this song, including such stars as Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Joan Baez, Lady Gag, Elton John, and Diana Ross. It was used as the theme song of two Olympics—the 2012 summer games and the 2022 winter games. It is a song loved by many.
The lyrics asked the listener to imagine a new world . . . a world of peace, no materialism, no borders, justice, no hunger . . . a world where people live together as one family . . . caring for one another . . . building up and not tearing down . . . a place “where the world will be as one”. A place that sounds a whole lot like the Kingdom of God that Jesus was asking people to imagine. And Lennon knew what the response of the world would be . . . or at least those who were in power . . . and he acknowledges it in the lyrics: “You may say I am a dreamer.”
Lennon also knew that he was not alone . . . that there were others who dreamed and imagined as he did. Thus, he encouraged others to come and dream . . . come and imagine what could be. He did just as Jesus did. He issued the invitation. “You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.”
As you know, it is tough to go against the flow. Jesus knew this. Lennon knew this. So did the Apostle Paul. The invitation is to establish God’s kingdom . . . to bring about God’s new creation . . . to be as God desires us to be. One family . . . God’s family. Such a dream, such imagining is not of this world. Thus, the apostle is telling those in the congregation in Rome . . . to dream. To imagine. And to realize that this will go against the world and what the world wants. The apostle tells the people: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Conformity is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to group norms, politics or being like-minded. It is being like each other. As much as we seem to attempt to be different and unique in our society, the more we are alike. Always seems to have been that way. We are homogeneous. Birds of a feather flock together. We work hard to be like one another . . . to fit in . . . to be one of the gang. We want to be like everyone else. That is the “American” way.
We are of the world.
Folk singer/songwriter Malvina Reynolds wrote a song in 1962 called Little Boxes. It is song about the American idea of conformity. The lyrics are:
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
And the people in the houses
All went to the university,
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out all the same,
And there's doctors and lawyers,
And business executives,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
And they all play on the golf course
And drink their martinis dry,
And they all have pretty children
And the children go to school,
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university,
Where they are put in boxes
And they come out all the same.
And the boys go into business
And marry and raise a family
In boxes made of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
That’s what it means to belong . . . conformity to the status quo. And when we think about it isn’t that the truth?
To which Jesus challenges us to consider the alternative . . . God’s kingdom. Challenges us to imagine. Challenges us to dream. To not be of this world, but to be of God’s world. The Apostle Paul reiterates that same message to the people of the Roman church . . . “Do not conform to the pattern of this world.” Instead, says the apostle: ” . . . be transformed”. Be transformed so that God’s kingdom can be reborn. Besides, says the apostle, none of us is the same. God created each of us as individuals . . . unique and special. Despite the diversity of who we are and what we bring to the table, together we can become one . . . one family and one Kingdom under a common love for God and one another. Together—like pieces of a puzzle—we see the end product when we allow our common unity to come together to get the job done. We put our pieces together to reach our goal. We transform the world one step at a time to the reality of God’s kingdom in this time and place.
Though we are different we have a “common unity” . . . that “common unity” makes us a community. Only together the task can be achieved. Remember the Margaret Mead quote I shared a few weeks ago. She said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Jesus tells us to “imagine.”
The Apostle Paul, similarly, call us to “imagine.”
John Lennon tells us to imagine.
Imagine what could be. The world that Jesus calls us to be is not of this world. Let us not sell ourselves short as the followers of Jesus . . . children of God . . . created in the image of God. God deems it good this kingdom we are called to create. Let us not be insulted if the world around us calls us “dreamers” for we are “dreamers”. We are like the one who leads us . . . the one who walks with us. We are not the only ones. Like Jesus, let us invite others to join us and realize the dream that someday we can live as one . . . the Kingdom of God.
Imagine. Amen.
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