Genesis 45:1 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before
all his attendants, and he cried out, "Have everyone leave my
presence!" So there was no one with Joseph when he made
himself known to his brothers. 2 And
he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and
Pharaoh's household heard about it. 3 Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my
father still living?" But his brothers were not able to
answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. 4 Then
Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When
they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold
into Egypt! 5 And
now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with
yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save
lives that God sent
me ahead of you. 6 For
two years now there has been famine in the land, and for
the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for
you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great
deliverance. 8 "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all
Egypt. 9Now
hurry back to my father and say to him, 'This is what your
son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don't delay. 10 You
shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me--you,
your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. 11 I will
provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all
who belong to you will become destitute.' 12 "You can see for
yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is
really I who am speaking to you. 13 Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down
here quickly." 14 Then
he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin
embraced him, weeping. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and
wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.
Last
we saw, Joseph was being led off in chains to slavery in Egypt. For the person
who never heard the whole story in Sunday school or Bible study, some confusion
might occur when jumping from last week's reading to this week's. In a
nutshell, Joseph is sold into slavery and purchased by a rich Egyptian official
by the name of Potiphar. Things go south when Potiphar's wife attempts to seduce
him. Joseph refuses, enraging her to the point that she accuses Joseph of trying to rape her. This lands Joseph in prison.
During this time he encounters two of Pharaoh’s servants (cupbearer and baker)
who have fallen out of favor. Joseph interprets both of their dreams
accurately. The baker is executed, and the cupbearer is restored to Pharaoh's
household, but Joseph is forgotten for another two years. Finally, Pharaoh
himself has troubling dreams and none of the magi can give him a satisfactory
explanation. At that time the cupbearer remembers the Hebrew he met in prison.
Joseph is summoned and brought into Pharaoh's presence. The dream and
interpretation are economic. There will be a famine. But first, there will be
seven good years--years of 'plenty.' This will be followed by seven years of
famine. Interestingly, Joseph not only interprets the dream but offers a
real-world strategy for dealing with the events foretold by the dream: ration
and store surplus during the years of plenty, then ration and survive during
the years of want. At least one commentator says that Joseph became the first
economist.
ALL
of that is somewhat necessary to understand in order to be able to enter the
narrative of this week's readings. It was this severe famine that led to
Joseph's brothers being sent to Egypt by their father in the hope of being able
to buy grain. It was this severe famine that led ultimately to their 'reunion'
with their brother. It was this severe famine that brought the chickens home to
roost on their old sin and deception of their father (how ironic, Jacob the
deceiver being deceived by his own sons).
As
far as what's going on in this particular slice of the story, it seems to me
that the theme of "God sent" is pretty prevalent. It appears 3 times
in one form or another. Joseph at this particular juncture of his life has two
important gifts: PERSPECTIVE and
ACCEPTANCE. Obviously neither of these gifts happened over night. It took both
time and hardship (years in an Egyptian prison could not have been much fun).
But now Joseph has the whole story; It's about survival...and not really the
survival of the Egyptian people, but rather the survival of Joseph's own family
...which means the survival of God's covenant promises.
PERSPECTIVE
is a wonderful gift. Sometimes it comes to us in a moment of quiet as we're
walking through the woods, or as we lay in bed at night trying to drift off to
sleep. At such moments we can almost discern a guiding hand from heaven...
opening some doors and closing others.... sometimes with our full compliance,
and at other times just the opposite. But perspective is like revelation. In it
we get a peak at what God has been up to--but it doesn't always make us happy.
The poster-child for unhappiness at God's plan is Jonah. Jonah had a full dose
of revelation and perspective from God, and he wanted absolutely nothing to do
with it. He hopped a boat for Tarshish... and then later sulked under a tree.
Perspective is eye-opening, but it's not always embraced. In a flash, in a
moment of enlightenment, understanding perspective can lead to disappointment;
bitterness; and even a sense of betrayal by God. Even with his new viceroy
status in Egypt Joseph could have immersed
himself in the why me question; why
couldn't it have been one of his other brothers? Why him? Why couldn't he still
be back home with his father dressed in the richly ornamented coat his father
made, and enjoying life on his terms?
This
is where the gift of ACCEPTANCE comes in. Perspective is a matter of the head.
It's knowledge, pure and simple. Acceptance is a matter of the heart. It is an
ability to willingly locate one's self in
God's plan. Back to the contrast with Jonah... Jonah had perspective, but I
don't think he ever had acceptance. Even the "success" of his mission
bummed him out. Joseph, on the other hand, not only grew to understand that it
was GOD who had so arranged the events to unfold the way that they did, but he
accepted himself as part of the plan. In our language today we'd say that
Joseph willingly became a team player
with God.
And
I think that's probably the biggest challenge of this passage today. We all
want God on our side and in our corner. We all want the magic prayer recipe that when used will guarantee
that things turn out our way. To the extent that we can have this, we're more than happy to partner up with God. This,
in reality, is just superstition; it's the belief that if we can find the magic
formula, life will unfold the way we want. Being in God's covenant, however,
isn't about life unfolding the way we want. It's about being part of God's plan
unfolding the way God wants. The good news is that God graciously invites ALL
of creation, and especially his own special creation of people to be a part of his
unfolding plan. However, this gracious invitation may include difficult and
dangerous assignments. It may include work with people we don't like or who
don't like us; it may include hardships and deprivations. The life of Joseph is
a good example. But from this week's passage it seems obvious that the twin
gifts of perspective and acceptance brought Joseph a sense of great fulfillment.
Most people seek the fleeting illusion of happiness in their lives. God
invites us into his covenant relationship, and offers something much more
lasting... fulfillment. May we always earnestly desire the twin gifts of
perspective and acceptance... and be fulfilled
in our role in God's work.
Cheers.
T.M.
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