“I lost my passport, and now I can’t find it!”
Those were my gnawing thoughts throughout a disturbing dream last night. This dream seemed to be a fitting sequel to a sermon I heard yesterday in which the preacher admonished us to remember our identity in Christ. In the dream I was experiencing the horrifying effects of losing all sense of identity.
I was in a huge cathedral in Europe, touring with a Canadian concert choir. We were prepared to perform, robed and now filing up a long, steep aisle to our designated seating. That’s when I realized that I did not have my purse. I assumed that I left it in the dining area or the lady’s room. So I headed back to retrieve it, expecting to catch up with the choir shortly.
But, alas, the church was so big that I soon lost my way. I searched and searched and got more and more lost. I was now separated from both my purse (representing all that identifies me) and the choir (the group by which I was identified).
My search led me up and down all kinds of passage ways throughout this perimeter-less sanctuary. There were narrow stairways, wide, spirals, ladders, carpeted, cement, even crawl spaces. I encountered all kinds of people in the various seating areas. (But no one ever noticed my presence). I came across a section where people were standing on the pews yelling at each other. I came across another section packed with people in colourful eastern dress. A large variety of saris and curried meals were available for purchase.
Eventually I found myself wandering in the back cement-walled recesses of the building - all alone, lost, and frightened. I came across a security guard seated at his work table. He was my only hope. I told him that I had lost my passport, but he didn’t care. He groaned, but didn’t look at me.
After a bit more wandering, I woke up. (Thankfully!)
The fact that I never did see a front platform or pulpit ( ie: a focal-point) reminded me that in the monstrous religious system of the world, there is no center; there is no Christ and no gospel authority.
This dream reminds me that the two most dominant sources of identity: religious and political are unstable. Within them we can actually lose all sense of identity. In them, we can become a non-person.
Diane
