A Sermon by Brent J. Eelman
Covenant Presbyterian Church, Scranton
Sept. 6, 2020
Genesis 45:1-15
Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, ‘Send everyone away from me.’ So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?’ But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.
Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come closer to me.’ And they came closer. He said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, “Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there—since there are five more years of famine to come—so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.” And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.’ Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.
Every family has its legends and stories. They are often used to explain relationships and realities that exist within the family. One of our family legends focuses on my relationship with my older brother, Bruce. The story goes that when I was brought home as a newborn from the hospital I was presented to him. His comment: “I don’t want him. Take him back!”
This legend of sibling rivalry blossomed ten years later in an incident that occurred at our summer home in western New York. I was 9 years old at the time and my brother was 14 and had recently acquired a new bright red bathing suit. It was drying on the clothes line and was too big a temptation for me to pass by. I grabbed it, went into my bedroom and put it on and proceeded to parade past him. He immediately responded by chasing me into the lake, and when I was out of reach, he began throwing stones, while I teased him from a safe distance in the water.
My father would often tell this story, amplifying the chase and the anger felt by my brother to legendary status. He told how my legs “went like pistons” as I dashed to safety in the lake. Soon this story was often told to illustrate the sibling rivalry that existed between the two of us. The red bathing suit came to define our relationship.
This is a picture of my family, at our summer home on Lake Chautauqua. My grandmother is with us. I am on the far right and my brother, Bruce is behind me in the "red bathing suit."
Today’s story from the book of Genesis about Joseph and his brothers is also a legend illustrating sibling rivalry. It is the final chapter in the story of a dysfunctional biblical family. It is a lengthy narrative about an ineffective parent who favored one child over an other. It is the story of plots, intrigue and attempted murder. It is a tale that turns more times than a TV soap opera. Therapists would have a field day with it.
But it is also a story about the triumph of grace, and we need grace in this world.
We live in a world of envy, jealousy, dysfunction and revenge.
We live in a world that requires us to adopt certain types of behavior for our own protection and health.
We live daily with what can only be called dysfunctional behavior, whether it is in our own families, on the job, in the media, in the stock market, in the halls of government, and even our own religious institutions.
We live in a world where simple courtesies have disappeared; where civility in dialogue has been abandoned as a sign of weakness; where “trash-talk” is often the favored means of expression.
The result is a pervading cynicism about life and the human prospect. I fear the angels of our better nature have flown away.
We need grace in our world.
This story of Joseph and his brothers is also one of the most hopeful stories in the entire Bible because it declares that things don't need to be this way. It is a story about the triumph of grace. Let's take a journey through this story of Jacob's children and learn what it has to say to our generation.
I
The scripture lesson today is only the conclusion of a long familiar story. It was one of the early bible stories that I learned and it was popularized by the musical, "Joseph and the Technicolor Dream-coat." It begins with Jacob and his 12 sons.
Jacob was not a good parent. He played his children against each other. He had a favorite child, Joseph. Joseph, not the oldest, was the chosen child: the one who received more, be it affection, opportunity, or trust. It was all symbolized in the beautiful coat that Jacob gave to him. It was better than what the other brothers had. They could say with some veracity, "Father always liked you best." The brothers were understandably jealous and consequently conspired against Joseph. They threw him into a well imprisoning him and ultimately sold him to slave traders.
From there, Joseph was hauled off to Egypt where he was sold to the Pharaoh. To make a long story short, he rose to a position of power in the Egyptian hierarchy because of his ability to interpret dreams. Joseph would have been a good broker in the commodities market because he predicted a 7 year boom in wheat production and then a devastating famine. The Egyptians prepared for this and consequently they were the only ones with food during the lengthy famine.
In the midst of this famine, Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to plea for food. It was an interesting and involved encounter. Joseph, the one who was thrown into the well, the one who was despised and sold into slavery, was now in charge of Pharaoh's grain stores. Joseph recognized his brothers. They, however, didn't recognize him. The encounter was building to a climax.
Let's consider Joseph's options: The roles were reversed. He was the one with power. He had the control over his brothers’ fate. It was a perfect opportunity to get back. It was a classic "gotcha" moment. The evil brothers were there, cap in hand, begging for what only Joseph had: food. Joseph could have strung them along a little longer. He could make them dance for him, building up their hopes, only to make his moment of revenge sweeter. He could have gouged the price and made a pile of cash from them. “Karma, Baby, Karma!”
What an incredible hand fate dealt to Joseph. How would he play his cards?
Then comes one of the most dramatic moments in the Hebrew Bible. Let me read it again:
Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, ‘Send everyone away from me.’ So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?’ But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.
All the dysfunction, all the animosity and enmity, all the desire for revenge dissolved into a moment of amazing grace. It was amazing because the cycle of revenge and retribution was broken in that one moment.
When the psalmist wrote: "Behold, I make all things new." He was referring to moments like this. A new foundation was created for that family as they were gathered there. Reconciliation occurred. Brothers were reunited. Joseph, who they believed was dead, was alive. It was another chance to be together. Community was restored! Amazing!
II
How does this speak to us today? I believe it operates on many different levels: inter-personal, familial, community, and even national. On the personal level it declares that broken relationships can be mended and rebuilt. It tells us that the foundation of friendship, indeed any type of human relationship is graciousness: grace manifest in forgiveness and love.
It speaks to families. I personally hate the word dysfunctional. I am pretty sure that I can make a case that most families are characterized by some dysfunction. Some children are favored over others. Think about it: parents take on the huge responsibility of raising children without any training or guidance. We learn on the job. Mistakes in judgement are constantly made. A number of years ago, when our child was an adolescent, I remarked jokingly to a colleague who also had an adolescent child, "I don’t think that we are doing anything to our children that 10 years of psychotherapy cannot undo. "
I look back on my own family situation and my parents. They had their flaws, some big, but by the grace of God, they were good enough: not perfect by any means, but good enough. Grace.... It needs to be part of our family life. There we learn to forgive. There we learn to love others when they are most unloveable. There we discover that reconciliation can indeed happen and that enmity and all the other things that divide people can be overcome.
It speaks to communities. Neighborhoods, clubs, organizations, and yes even churches need to be characterized less by righteous judgment and more by loving, forgiving grace.... the grace of God that was embodied in Christ. The grace of God that Joseph showed toward his brothers who betrayed him.
It speaks to churches. How often do church people conflict and fight in righteous indignation.... dividing the Church that Christ called together as one. The motto of the church of Jesus Christ is not “We’re right and you’re wrong.” It is “Come to me all who are overburdened and I will give you rest.”
It speaks to nations. A "Christian nation" will be characterized by grace in its discourse, in its policies, and in its common life. When I hear the rhetoric of hate and division that is fomented at every level on our society; when I observe the intolerance, the racism and the vitriol that have become commonplace; When I read the morning newspapers, I fear we are a long way from embodying the grace of God. But we need to!
In this story of Joseph and his brothers, we discover that the grace of God is not always easy to embody. The theologian Paul Tillich wrote:
Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness.
It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of a meaningless and empty life.
It strikes us when we feel that our separation is deeper than usual, because we have violated another life, a life which we loved, or from which we were estranged.
It strikes us when our disgust for our own being, our indifference, our weakness, our hostility, and our lack of direction and composure have become intolerable to us.
It strikes us when, year after year the longed-for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage....
We cannot force ourselves to accept ourselves. We cannot compel anyone to accept himself. But sometimes it happens that we receive the power to say "yes" to ourselves, that peace enters into us and makes us whole, that self-hate and self-contempt disappear and that our self is reunited with itself. Then we can say grace has come upon us. (Paul Tillich, The Shaking of the Foundations, pp. 161-62.)
Grace came upon Joseph and “he could no longer control himself.
III
I will conclude with a personal comment. This is why I do what I do. Stories and moments like this. I am retired and spend a good deal of my time reflecting upon 44 years of ordained ministry. It was not about running a church. It was not about meetings, building projects, fund drives, and all the other things that consumed my hours and days. All those things are part of any social organization….No.
It is all about and only about grace. The grace of God that welcomes us with open arms, as Joseph welcomed his brothers. It is about the grace of God that breaks into our common life and restore wholeness, meaning, acceptance, and hope. That is the core of ministry and the lifeblood of the church. If grace is not present, the whole enterprise is a sham and a sell.
The story of Joseph and his brothers is an amazing story that gives me hope.... and at its core is the grace of God that came upon Joseph and restored that family. Our challenge is to embody this same grace in our lives.
I didn’t finish the story about the red bathing suit. Truthfully, my brother Bruce and I weren’t particularly close after that event. We developed a tacit truce that enabled us to coexist, but seldom spent a great deal of time together or had much in common. On the occasion of my 40th birthday, my wife hosted a family party. Members of the family, my brothers and sister and their families brought the usual gag gifts… a walking cane, arthritis ointment, memory pills and the like. The gift from my brother Bruce was (you guessed it) a red bathing suit. It was a symbolic gift that embodied the grace of God. Since that day, we have never been closer. Our challenge is to embody this same grace in our lives. We can. This is Good News. Amen.
On my 40th birthday, I am opening the gift from my brother, Bruce. A red bathing suit!
