II. I dream a dream in which the idea comes into my mind that the dark plague which has befallen the world may be understood as a “lure” intended to draw forth “a certain kind of hero.” Which is to say perhaps, that God, the Magister Ludi, the "Master of the Game," is, to pursue the analogy a little further, “fishing.” In a world where the cruel and the cowardly are gaining more and more power with each passing day, in a world governed by those who would rather poison the planet than sacrifice profit, which ignores, neglects and despises the needy, which treats the vulnerable with contempt; in a world where there is no room for the immigrant or the refugee, no room for the stranger who finds themselves in a strange land, no room for the child except in a cage, no room for the least of these in the proverbial and eternally exclusive inn, God is fishing for a certain kind of hero. This I believe is the message of the dream: God brought forth the plague not, as the preachers of intolerance and hate insist because He wants to punish the environmentalists and the homosexuals but because the world requires a certain kind of hero and heroes are made from danger. Heroes are born out of peril, urgency and need. Heroes are born in extremis. Where the coward reluctantly follows, it is peril which inspires the hero to lead. Where, in moments of trial the coward thinks only of themselves (of their political future, of their popularity with the mob), it is peril which inspires the hero to sacrifice for others. This is why God has made the darkness: because it is the darkness which prompts the light. It is the darkness which forms the "lure." Shalom Salom Aleichem Namaste Be kind, be brave, be true The hero God is seeking Is all of us and you Daniel David Joseph
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