Excerpt



Dreams are strange mixtures of reality and imagination, of the practical and the hypothetical and of the literal and the fanciful. Dreams blend together what was and what might have been, or what is and what might yet be. No time in the Christian calendar presents greater opportunity to dream than does Advent. As faith anticipates Christs birth it reaches beyond the limits of ordinary into the realm of extraordinary.

Advent is a time for dreaming. So, once again, we encounter a character who was not actually present at the time of Jesus birth but who might have been there and who easily could have been there. The fictitious characters of these Advent Dream messages can be as real as anyone we meet in our waking hours. In this Advent Dream we meet Benjamin.

Benjamin is the twenty-year-old Jewish domestic servant living in Palestine during the reign of King Herod the Great. His family entered into indentured service after they lost their land during a famine. Benjamin was two-years-old at the time. Now, eighteen years later, the sole surviving member of his family, he remains a servant more by choice than circumstance. He works for and lives with a middle-aged couple named Zechariah and Elizabeth.

Childless, this couple views Benjamin more as a son than a servant. Zechariah has often said that no one has ever been better named than Benjamin. The name means son of the right hand and Benjamin is Zechariahs right-hand-man. Benjamin enjoys his position of privilege until, one day, his comfortable world is threatened. It is the day when Zechariah, who is a priest, receives the honor of serving in the Temple. As he burns incense to the Lord, he prays once again about a concern over which he and his wife have anguished for decades their childlessness.

Elizabeth has longed for decades to say to Zechariah: Guess what? Im pregnant! Now she is able to do just that. Old Zechariah struts around town like a proud peacock in full bloom. However, upon receiving the news, Benjamin nervously wonders how this new arrival will effect his position in the family. He mulls over that question that fills parents minds as they stand over their childs crib. It is the question voiced by those who know the details behind the amazing birth of this child who is named John: What then will this child become?

The answer, then as now, depends largely upon that mixture of nature and nurture, genes and environment, both of which are ingredients in Gods plan for any life. Johns genes exceed the realm of our consideration. However, his environment is not beyond our study nor is Gods overarching plan beyond our reflection. Both of Johns parents come from priestly families; both are righteous before God; both keep Gods commands. Yet, both are old, lacking the energy needed to keep up with a precocious little boy. And here is where their servant Benjamin factors into the story.

Benjamin is given the assignment of being Johns big brother and guardian and mentor all in one. Benjamin teaches John about life from his perspective as one whose chosen calling is to serve others. In this informal school John learns about humility, which is the first test of a truly great person (John Ruskin) and is the primary essential in all religion (St. Augustine). John learns humility from observing Benjamin.

Here is a strong twenty-year-old who could set off on his own but instead remains a servant to a child. Why? As John matures, one day he asks Benjamin, Why have you remained a servant instead of seeking to become a master? Benjamin answers, Its not that I fear the risk involved nor do I doubt my own abilities. My reason for remaining a servant to your family is my sense of calling by God, my vocation in life. Sure, I could do better for myself elsewhere, but here I have the chance to serve others by helping your father in his ministry as a priest and by helping you grow up to learn to become a servant to God. I realize that in the process I am sacrificing my own chances for personal fame and fortune, but I willingly accept this sacrifice. I guess the easiest way to put it is like this: I am willing to be less so that you and others might become more. I believe there is no more noble a word, no more glorious a calling, no more satisfying a career than that of service serving God and serving others in need. It has taken me a long time to reach this point but I have arrived here willingly and freely. I am glad to play second fiddle in a symphony whose notes reach far beyond me. .

Seeking the glory of God above our own gain and pursuing Gods will above our own wants is a lost vision these days. It once captured the attention of wise men and shepherds and maybe even a domestic servant named Benjamin. Once, serving to the glory of God was enough to content a person with a life of selfless giving as part of a higher calling. Now, it seems we are all caught up in looking out for ourselves and in securing center stage for our own fragile egos. Could the great composer Leonard Bernstein have had us in mind when, in answer to the question: What is the most difficult instrument to play? he said, Second fiddle.

Second fiddle is the instrument of Advent. Our dream friend Benjamin plays it; John the Baptizer plays it; but beyond these two, the true maestro of the second fiddle is Jesus. Here is the One who, though he is the eternal Son of God, gives up his seat of privilege at the right hand of God to come among us as one of us to show us the way to God. Playing second fiddle for the glory of God is the reason for Christs coming and it is the reason for our existence. How in tune are we to this Advent Dream?