Anaphora

Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28th of 1963 and for 17 minutes mesmerized an audience of more than 200,000 civil rights advocates who felt more like they were in church than a political rally. Dr. King’s words were not only poetic and weighted with references from the bible to the constitution to Shakespeare but in the cadence and rhetorical style of a Baptist minister King delivered a speech that was voted the most influential speech of the 20th century. The rhetorical device that King employed as he often did is called anaphora (the repeat of a word or phrase that captures the essence of the subject). He reiterated several phrases but the one that captured the heart of many Americans was, “I have a dream!” Much of his dream has come to life and the spirit of his words still stand in testimony against the vestige of injustice and prejudice that remains. If you’ve never heard the speech or it has been awhile take time to listen to his stirring words at www.mlkonline.net/video-i-have-a-dream-speech.
I love the anaphora of “I have a dream!” Whether one is calling the soul of America to rise above the dark torrent of racism and segregation or for Christians to dream for the cause of Christ… the anaphora “to dream” is vital. To keep the dream alive is to reaffirm that life is a journey. Where we are today is not where we will be tomorrow. To dream is to have not only a vision but a confidence in God’s provision and guide. To dream is to open the heart to the imagination of the soul to dare to risk failure while focused on victory. To dream is to view possibility as a door to the future. The church must always be a place for dreamers who long for the kingdom of God to prevail. The church must pioneer the way to spiritual adventures and courageous faith. Yes, the church must have a dream!
I know that the dream is as simple as for all to hear of the saving grace afforded by the blood of Jesus in his atoning sacrifice. However, the fullness of that dream is captured in the many dreams of the body who long for deeper service, worship and fellowship. The dream is as dynamic as those who are willing to bring their hearts and their imaginations to visualize a world illuminated with the light of the gospel and the gentle presence of the Savior. So my dream… my prayer… my hope for us all is to follow our dreams! Now that’s, worth repeating! -DAN