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Good Morning. The iconic words of Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech
look ahead to a day in which his children will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character. Five decades later and we’re still waiting for that dream to come true.

Movements such as Black Lives Matter suggest that prejudices still exist that lead to violence and destruction and death. Dr King had actually been speaking about dreams for three years before making that famous speech. He’d been waiting for not just the right moment but for the day in which its content would be realised. The truth is, that in Martin Luther King’s day there was a wide gap between ‘the dream’ and the reality.

Dreams are not real. They are visions into the future. Sometimes they are hopes. Sometimes they are expectations so great that you can’t believe they will ever become a reality. The period of Lent within the Christian faith is a time of grief and denial in the expectant hope that the suffering will come to an end at Easter which we celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection. The 40 days of Lent symbolise those 40 days in which Jesus was in the wilderness. For those dreamers like Dr King, who look ahead to better things to come, the period before their hope is realised is marked with the realisation that things at present are not as they should be. The word ‘Lent’ is derived from the Old English word ‘lencten, meaning ‘spring’ and it describes the lengthening of days after winter is over.

Let us pray that for those going through difficult times, the light will overcome the darkness. Amen.