There is a nursery rhyme and a popular children's song called "Row, row, row your boat."
We may know the first three lines, "Row, row, row your boat, Gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily," and the last line is ... "Life is but a dream."
We may start to wonder why would such a line "Life is but a dream" be put into a nursery rhyme and children's song. In any case, the children might not bother about it; they will just sing it.
But come to think of it, children are dreamers and their power of imagination is immense.
For them, the world is a beautiful place with good people. Probably that was why Jesus said that the kingdom of God belongs to children.
In the 1st reading, we heard that Joseph was loved by his father and he had a coat of long sleeves made for him. And he also had the gift of dreams.
But his brothers hated him so much that eventually they found an opportunity to sell him off as a slave.
But through it all, Joseph held on to his dreams and in the end, he was proven right.
In this world, child-like innocence and dreams are often despised and rejected as naive and unrealistic.
But let us remember that what is despised and rejected by men is chosen by God to fulfill His purpose and to work His wonders.
God does not see as man sees; God does not think as man thinks.
Let us continue to dream of a beautiful world and see the goodness of people. With faith, we must keep praying and hope in God.
Life is not but a dream. Life is a dream. And with the power of God it can be real.