SCRIPTURE: Genesis 45:1-15
TEXT: 4Then 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. THEME: Forgiveness draws our relationships in closer to us. INTRODUCTION God has given Joseph dreams as indicators of God’s intent and presence. But when Joseph shared these dreams with his brothers, this gift did not foster his relationship with them. They create jealousy, animosity and anger towards Joseph which caused him pain and suffering at their hand. Joseph narrowly escaped with his life from being incarceration by them but now his enslavement begins. As a slave he has endured hardship, accusations, and imprisonments. But with God’s help, as he matures, there are opportunities for him to win favor, with his owner, a jailer and even Pharaoh. This leads to better treatment, relationships of trust and responsibilities that gives him authority, respect and power. God’s presence in Joseph’s life, builds an excitement about the future and hope. SCRIPTURE Noting the proximity of people to Joseph gives us a way to open up this passage. Everyone begins in audience with Joseph and his brothers. It just before the great reveal, that Joseph kicks ‘all those who stood by him’ out. Then, in the company of his brothers, he weeps and says, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” His brothers must have stepped back with that announcement, dismayed, confused and bewildered. Then Joseph says, “Come closer to me.” We can see the brothers stepping in closer, looking through the Egyptian garbed, into the face of their 17-year-old brother. Then Joseph draws them in closer as he recalls the truth of their treachery. “I am your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.”. Their history together of betrayal, lost love, hate and failure are cemented together. There is no denying, as they ‘own up’ to their part of this story. But Joseph draws them even closer, with their hearts, as he knows how they feel, distressed, angry with themselves, at what they did so long ago, which has haunted them ever since. So now Joseph draws them in closer through their spirit and their faith. For it is God who sent Joseph here, before his family, for their preservation. For this is God’s promise made to their family to be more than the stars in the sky. God sent Joseph to Egypt and made him a trusted official of the Pharaoh, Lord of Egypt’s commerce, for a time such as this (borrowed from Esther). There is another connecting piece. Their father back in famine ridden Canaan. Tell him Joseph is alive, Lord of all Egypt, and has a place to settle and live out the famine near to him in Egypt. Completely equipped to accommodate flocks and herds and all that they have. “Come down to me, do not delay.” Then finally Joseph brings them in closer through genetics. They are all half-brothers with the same dad, except for Benjamin. They are full brothers and have the resemblance of their father and their mother. Look at their eyes, and mouth you can tell that they are related. There is an undeniable family resemblance. This all culminates in an intimate hug with Benjamin and weeping and kisses of reconciliation with all of the brothers and healing conversations. Forgiveness gives us the power to draw others in, to come closer to us again. Forgiveness empowers us to let go of our pain, to reconcile relationships, to resolve the hurt and come closer to each other again. APPLICATION The forgiveness of Joseph, with his brothers provides food in famine, and shelter, but more importantly, this act of giving up his power to hurt back draws this family in closer to each other in love and into mission with God. How does forgiveness reframe the events of the past? What challenge does forgiveness present to those with power and to those without power? As Joseph looks back at his life, among the hardship, he is also able to sees God’s activity that helped him; first with the dreams, then with insight to interpret dreams, God has given him the ability to see things quicker than others and then the way the pieces fit together efficiently. Joseph learned how to use the gifts of God in ways that help people instead of showing only what he can do. Relationships are important to God. This is the story of reconciliation that does not need a sacrifice for forgiveness to take place. There is nothing that the brothers can do to merit forgiven for the injury they have caused to Joseph. Joseph’s love for his brothers and family is all that is needed to bridge the hurt with forgiveness. As with us, love is all we need to forgive someone for the hurt that they have caused us. Love can give us release of the restlessness of revenge that robs us of peace. God’s love for us can help us when our love is not enough. This is the pattern of the Gospel story, where God beckons us to come closer, not because of merit on our part or sacrifice to appease God, but because of God’s loving affection for us. We have God’s DNA from creation, we are family. Forgiveness take the hurt of the past and gives up the right to hurt back. What revenge or a court of law would do, to make us whole, forgiveness gives us a release to our spirit. Instead of revenge and the growing sense of animosity, there is a release for healing and a pursuit for justice. If we have hurt someone who has forgiven us for an offense, the next part of forgiveness is for action to do the work of retribution, to do what we can, to make a person whole. In part, when someone breaks the Law, there are times when they are required to perform hours of community service to help to bring about wholeness to the Community. If someone has hurt us, and we have forgiven them, we are giving up our right to hurt them back, just as much as they have hurt us, but justice and laws still must work to bring about acts of restitution to make us whole. If they don’t take actions to change the wrong, then there is work that need to be done. This is why, although the Civil War was won in 1860’s, there was a Civil Rights movement in the 1960’s because the remnants of slavery persisted and this is why the Black Lives Matters movement in 2020 has been fueled when law enforcement treats Black Lives differently from others. Forgiveness works to redefine our relationships with others with respect, love, wholeness and our coming into maturity in our relationship with God, with each other and with our selves. CONCLUSION This story is a happy ending, but it is only one high point in a long continuing saga of the People of God. This story line is repeated again, in other ways, in Israel’s long history with God, and through Jesus, where God is present, working in and behinds the scenes, helping and guiding the people of God. They again will be threatened with hardship and God will initiate a plan of provision, protection and salvation, that will draw them in closer to God’s self, in love, forgiveness, reconciliation and life.
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