Posted: 11/23/07
CYBER COLUMN:
Impossible dreams
By Brett Younger
My family recently went to see Man of La Mancha at Bass Hall in Fort Worth. The critics have not been kind. In “A not-so-dreamy Man of La Mancha,” The Dallas Morning News said, “Maybe I might actually like Man of La Mancha if I could ever catch a really good production, but then, maybe not.” In “Musical not all we dreamed of,” The Fort Worth Star-Telegram didn’t hold back either: “Is it possible that a musical revival can look fantastic and sound even better, yet still be dull? Yes. It’s hard to say where the fault lies.”
| Brett Younger |
The critics missed the point. Man of La Mancha is not about lights, sound or sets. It’s about idealism, hope and dreams.
Don Quixote is an eccentric romantic in pursuit of dreams. Everyone think he’s mad, because he doesn’t live in the “real world.” One realist criticizes him saying, “A man must come to terms with life as it is.”
The peculiar visionary responds: “When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams—this may be madness. To seek treasure where there is only trash. Too much sanity may be madness. And maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be.”
Do you remember Don Quixote’s theme song, The Impossible Dream? (Feel free to sing along):
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong,
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
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To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause
And I know if I’ll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I’m laid to my rest
And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star
Christians are idealistic, eccentric romantics in pursuit of God’s dreams. The followers of Jesus don’t follow the rules of the “real world.” They don’t give in to practicality, but hold on to the hopes we see in Jesus. Christians live not for the church as it is, but for the church as it should be.
God calls us to dream impossible dreams, fight unbeatable foes, bear unbearable sorrows, run where the brave dare not go, right unrightable wrongs, love pure and chaste, and try when our arms are weary to reach unreachable stars.
God gives us the courage to share the scars of Christ, fight losing battles, stay with hopeless causes, turn the other cheek, spend time with people who can give us nothing, stand with those who are underdogs, care for people who have made terrible mistakes, do good that will earn us no applause, share food with the hungry, become a better friend to someone with cancer, do tasks we find discomforting, lovingly hold hands stiffened by arthritis, play catch with other people’s children, listen to a lonely person, and treat discarded people as the children of God.
Because the ultimate victory belongs to God, we can dream impossible dreams.
Brett Younger is pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth and the author of Who Moved My Pulpit? A Hilarious Look at Ministerial Life, available from Smyth & Helwys (800) 747-3016. You can e-mail him at [email protected].
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