"No small dreams; they do not move hearts." With these words from Goethe, the
columnist on the opinion page of the Catholic Times gives us his
thoughts on the implications of this kind of thinking. The priest-columnist heard similar words in Chicago in
connection with plans for a construction project. But Goethe, the columnist reminds us, did not limit his dreams to
material things.
We are familiar, he says, with the great
plans of Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan to expand their empires,
and the great construction feats of the pyramids and the great wall of
China. These were
not dreams of the ordinary person. And today, there are many who want
to solve our problems with big dreams that will continue on after death.
These
dreams all require determination, a great deal of support and financial backing, and a plan to silence the opposition.
Once begun, the end has to be reached. However, big dreams usually encounter great
problems, and in opposing the critics, dialogue is squashed and many are alienated, losing their own dreams.
In
the story of Babel, people came together to build a tower to
the heavens. Vying with God, wanting to be free of the will of God, they
were ultimately unsuccessful. But dreaming big is a great motivator.
Coming together is a good and dreaming is a good but forgetting the will of God is not a good. But what kind of
dreams, the columnist asks, should we be dreaming?
He wants us
dreaming together. When we dream together, great things happen. The vision of
Jesus for God's reign was of this type. Like the small mustard seed that
becomes a tree or the yeast that becomes bread, the reign of God comes
not with competition but with cooperation and with faith. With love
and patience, our dreaming together will turn into doing great things
together.
We are faced with
great problems and those that want to solve them with big dreams, there is a need to be hesitant. We need to trust one another, rely on each other, think deeply on
what is to be done, and dream together.
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