The biblical character Joseph was one of the 12 brothers and somewhat of a problem. He would have been labeled in my day “conceited and stuck up.” Joseph’s multi-colored coat indicated that he was his father’s favorite child and he knew it. When new clothes were given to the brothers, only Joseph got the equivalent of a silk smoking jacket while the other brothers received plain old denim. In addition, Joseph had the bad habit of being a tattle-tale on his brothers. Now, no one likes a tattle-tale. Consequently, Joseph’s brothers were jealous, hated him and even wanted to kill him. But as we have been reminded, all these elements are only secondary in the story. The most important difference between Joseph and his brothers was that Joseph had a dream (Genesis 37:5). Joseph was a dreamer!

“Dreamer!” What do we think of when we hear this word? A dreamer has been defined as “an impractical person,” and that’s what most of us also think. We think of a person with his/her head in the clouds and for the most part out of touch with reality. In derision, we sometimes respond to a dreamer with the words. “Dream on! Dream on!”

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The Rev. Hal Brady is an ordained United Methodist minister and executive director of Hal Brady Ministries, based in Atlanta. You can watch him preach every week on the Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters TV channel Thursdays at 8 p.m.

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