Sermon 08-21-2011
Psalm 133 Genesis 45:3-18
“Joseph’s Identity”
What is reconciliation? Let us think for a moment about the meaning of this word.
Restoration (renewal, renovation, reinstallation);
forgiveness (pardon, absolution mercy, exoneration, clemency, pity, amnesty);
love (affection, adoration, care, to be fond of, to be in love with, to be devoted to);
unite ( to come together, to bring together, to join together, fuse, mix, bond,
connect, unify). To unite anew!
PRAYER
Two weeks ago we found a young Joseph. “His dreams were originally about him, and his supposed pre-eminence… His dreams were about the honors that should come to him. He might have developed into a vain self seeker.
Nevertheless Joseph was great, and great not in spite of being a dreamer but because of it… Therefore in God’s providence the story of his life had to enter into another and different chapter – a dark chapter before the possibilities could be fulfilled.
Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery, exiled into Egypt, beset by circumstances humiliating and almost hopeless, what would happen now? Will he become, a cynical and bitter person? Would he say that destiny has played him a dirty trick? Would he let both his hopes and his character disintegrate?
Here is the test of a man faced by difficulty and disaster. They might destroy him, on the other hand, it was possible that they might strengthen him.
It depended upon his internal qualities. What actually happened was that Joseph met his tests with courage and that made him a (better man).
(Last week let us) remember how in the midst of the apparent wreck of his life’s hopes Joseph kept his moral integrity. Remember the enlargement of his sympathies which came to him when he was shut up in Pharaoh’s jail. Remember, too, how the field of the exercise of ambition became larger and nobler in Joseph’s thoughts. He learned to be concerned not simply about himself but about the fate of a nation. So he was capable of becoming Pharaoh’s servant in the salvation of Egypt from threatened famine. He had won the right to have his life go forward into its final shinning chapter! (He was now in charge of the administration of all the land. God guided and used him to this point in his life, and now God is with him in this challenging endeavor). His brothers coming down to Egypt, desperately seeking food, were ushered into the presence of an official was Joseph, but they were unaware that it was he. They, like their father, supposed that it was dead.” (Interpreters Bible Dictionary, vol.1, pg. 802)
In today’s reading, Joseph finds himself face to face with his brothers, his tormentor’s who had sinned gravely against him and against God.
“Which of us, man or woman, does not need the spirit of Joseph… when in spite of reasons he had for returning hurt for hurt, his affection for his family is so clear and true that the one thing he is concerned with is to forgive and to restore.” (Idem, p. 800)
To the brothers who severely wronged him he did not say, “I am the authority that can break you;” he said, “I am Joseph your brother.” (Idem, p. 799)
“The movement towards reconciliation is filled with tender emotion. Joseph speaks to his brothers in Hebrew to reveal his identity, weeping. The brothers are asked to move “closer,” crossing the boundary of space customarily kept around a ruler. Joseph tells of his life in the intervening years, and moves to embrace Benjamin, (his younger brother) , then to kiss all the brothers. The kiss was an important sign of forgiveness and reconciliation” (Seasons of the Spirit, Cong. Life, Pentecost 1, pg.80)
and that is what Joseph offered them.
“Looking back, Joseph could say that the whole long course of his life had been shaped by God. It was God who had brought him to where he was, not chance, not men’s choices, not good or evil. Though it seemed that way now, it had certainly not always seemed so. (Did God) not appear concerned when his brothers put him in the pit? (Where was God) when the caravan took him into slavery in Egypt, or when a woman’s lies got him underserved disgrace, or when he lay in Pharaoh’s prison? Was God’s hand moving long before it was revealed? Yes, that was true with Joseph. The very things that seemed at the moment the blindest and most cruel strokes of fate had brought his life to its fulfillment…
If Joseph would have allowed the hidden working hand of God to frustrate him, he could have grown cynical by refusing to trust and wait. Are there no instances that comes to mind of contemporary people who began as idealists in political life or in social service, but turned into reactionaries, disillusioned and sometimes corrupt?...
If Joseph had spent time and energy nursing his grievance against his brothers, he would not have had the clear-eyed and controlled perception to recognize the new possibilities that God put in his way.
Joseph has grown because he dared believe in his dreams through the dark days. Not only was he exalted in Pharaoh’s favor, but that favor is also extended to all who belong to him. The fact that Joseph rediscovered his family pleased Pharaoh.” (I.B.D. p. 802)
“Pharaoh said to Joseph, tell your brothers to load their animals with grain and to go back to the land of Canaan. Bring your father and your households and come back to Egypt, so that I may give you the best (it has to offer) and you may enjoy the fat of the land.” (Gen. 45:17-18)
They left with Benjamin bringing an amazing message to their father. His father overwhelmed with joy accepted the invitation and he was blessed by the opportunity to see his son again.
Would Franklin Roosevelt have attained the degree of power and public influence that he did attain but for the self-mastery he learned in the long months of meditation when infantile paralysis seemingly had ended his career? God’s purposes, like grain, can grow in the dark as well as in the day, under rain as well as under sun.” (I.B.D. p. 800)
“The book, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation, and the 2009 motion picture, Invictus, tells of the long history behind and eventual power of the 1995 World Cup. Historically, the South African rugby team, the Springboks, embodied white supremacist rule. But through the teamwork of Nelson Mandela and team captain, Francois Pienaar, the 1995 World Cup victoriously reconciled and united South Africa in miraculous ways.
As the captain held the cup, Mandela put his left hand on the right shoulder, fixed him with a fond gaze, shook his right hand and said, “Francois, thank you very much for what you have done for our country.”
Pienaar, meeting Mandela’s eyes, replied, “No, Mr. President. Thank you for
what you have done for our country.” When have you seen bold moves towards reconciliation within a community or personal relationships? What made these moves possible? (Part of my own faith journey includes reconciling a relationship after 23 years!) What moves are needed for greater unity within our community? What insight might your experiences of restoration in the past provide?”
(Seasons of the Spirit, p. 83)
When we are able to identify ourselves with integrity for who we are in Christ, we are able to be honest with others, to forgive, and to find a common ground for reconciliation. Amen!
BENEDICTION
In Christ we find love, forgiveness and reconciliation.
Let us go out onto the world sharing and showing God’s transforming grace.
May God, the creator, Jesus our Savior and the guidance of the Holy Spirit
be with you now and forever more. Amen!
