I Have A Dream

Summary of a Fr. Gerry Creedon homily from February 17, 2008

"And he was transfigured before their eyes...then from a cloud came a voice that said, 'This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him.'" Matt 17:2-6

Jesus was on a high mountain. This was a peak experience that transformed him and his disciples.

To celebrate February, Black History Month, a first grade teacher at St. Charles School projected the Lincoln Memorial on a class room wall and had each student advance to the lectern to provide their personal version of the famous moment of transformation when Martin Luther King gave his "I have a dream" speech..

We all recall some of those transfiguring words; "And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

Each boy and girl took the podium with great deliberation silhouetted by the Lincoln Memorial to proclaim;
"When I am president I will insist that no person goes homeless."
"I dream of an America where all have something to eat."
"In my dream there will be no more poverty or hunger." etc etc

Then Johnny got up. I was especially interested in what he might say. Every time I met Johnny before Mass he would cling to my knee and tell me how much he loved me.

He began, "I dream that I could see my father every day. I hope and pray that every body have a family." I remembered that I had seen Johnny only with his mother. It occurred to me that children from "Broken homes" are the first to see a father in the priest and the most likely to understand that the church is meant to be a family.

Jesus is the father's beloved Son. In him we become family. So today each of you are allowed to grab your nearest neighbor, or at least touch them in the sign of peace, and believe that your embrace will not be rejected. For the church is still a glorious thing. Here we are transformed. "Trailing clouds of glory do we come, from God, who is our home." says the poet. Let it be more than a dream.