I had a dream – it was an Advent assignment!

by Fr. Robert Aliunzi  |  12/01/2024  |  Weekly Reflection

Dear Friends, I was reminded of a strange dream I had some time back. In that rather strange dream, I was on a journey that took me through a lonely, deserted, and fearful terrain to a destination not quite clear to me. At around midday, totally hot and exhausted, I suddenly came upon what looked like a corpse. In a state of terror, my first reaction was to flee for my life, fearing that the body lying on the pathway was a victim of some wild animal or robbers. Afraid that I could easily become the next victim, the urge to flee grew even stronger.

However, the sight kept me transfixed in one place, neither moving forward nor retreating. After a couple of minutes, curiosity got the better of me. I decided to move closer to the body, lying still. A quick look showed me that what was lying in front of me was an elderly man who must have been on that lonely road for days, totally exhausted, thirsty, and on the verge of fatal starvation. His feet were full of sores, and his mouth was full of foam.

A part of me suggested that I should go on and save my own skin since there was nothing, I could do to save the man who was dying anyway. Moreover, an inner voice persuaded me I was too exhausted to carry him even if I wanted to. I could not feed him either because I was short on food and water, and what is worse, I did not know what lay ahead, nor did I know the stranger. And so, the most logical thing to do was to move on. Somehow, according to the dream, I could not take any of those steps. While I hesitated, I sensed a slight movement from the stranger, and then he opened his eyes. What I saw was pity and a yearning for help. The gentle look in his eyes touched a deep cord in me. I could not remain undecided any longer. I pulled out my little bottle of water and offered it to the stranger, who gulped it thirstily and emptied it in a second. With no food or water, I hesitantly lifted him on my back and began to move on toward the unknown.

Something very strange then began to happen. As I walked forward, I began to feel the weight of my load grow lighter and lighter. Unable to understand what was going on, I kept going, going and going and the weight continued getting lighter and lighter. Then suddenly, I realized that my feet were not touching the ground, and the next thing I noticed was that I was the one now being carried! Then I saw that it was Jesus carrying me! At this point, I woke up full of perspiration and excitement, wishing that all that I had experienced was real and not just a dream!

All of us are entitled to our own interpretation of dreams such as these. However, this formed the basis of my reflection for this coming Advent season. The more I meditated on this episode, the more I realized that Christ has a message for me this Advent Season. It became clearer to me that this Advent Season, Christ is calling us to reach out to people around us who are burdened by all sorts of situations that life throws at them – poverty, loss of jobs, loss of a spouse, divorce, drug addiction, etc. He assures us that whenever we surrender our own comfort zones in order to help such people in need, he himself carries their burden with us.

And it also means that when we are willing to carry the burdens of our brothers and sisters, we carry Christ himself. In so doing, the burden becomes lighter because in return, Christ himself will carry it for us. “Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and put it on you and learn from me because I am gentle and humble in Spirit, and you will find rest. For the yoke I will give you is easy and the load I will put on you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) He himself said so, didn’t he? And he is truly coming this Advent Season. Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus! Let us prepare to receive him.

I love you!