[“The Story” page 39, bottom of 41-top 42
(Gen 45:1-8, Gen 50: 15-21)]
SERMON—introduction
We’ve been reading “The Story” now for three weeks. And this
chapter about Joseph has proven to be one of those chapters that I couldn’t
stop reading. Even though I know how it ends, I couldn’t put it down.
So that makes me wonder. What makes a good story, the kind
you can’t put down? What makes something the kind of story that you’ll stay up
all night reading? Or so that you’ll read it again?
Or, if reading’s not your thing, what kind of story does it
take that you HAVE to buy a movie when it comes out on DVD so you can watch it
over and over again?
Or, what kind of story will you listen to grandparent or
maybe a great-grand parent tell again and again and again?
What is it about a good story that makes you not want to put
it down?
(wait for answers--the story touches you or changes you in
some way; you learn something new about life or yourself; it has substance,
it’s not just about fluff--usually; it’s the kind of story that’s perfect for
you but maybe not for everybody else)
#1
One thing you must, must, MUST have for a good story is
conflict and resolution, right?[1]
There’s got to be a conflict between good guys and bad guys.
And most of the time, the bad guy (or bad girl) is created in such a way as to
be SO evil, SO rotten, SO despicable that it’s OBVIOUS we want to root for the
good guy (or good girl), who is usually created to be an underdog, a common
person who rises to an uncommon level of bravery or courage or even physical
strength in order to swoop in and save the day.
Think Batman and the Joker; the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Shredder; Jerry Seinfeld and Newman or the Soup Nazi; James Bond and any of the villains he pursued; Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker … the list goes on and on. You can fill in your own favorite here/villain duo.
In this chapter of “The Story,” the good guy is obviously
Joseph, just a kid, one of the youngest of a bunch of brothers. He is their
father Jacob’s favorite son, which I suppose is both good news and bad news.
Good news because as the favorite son, he is sure to get extra nice treatment
from his dad; bad news because as the favorite son, he is SURE to get extra
TERRIBLE treatment from his brothers.
If you read through this chapter about Joseph, the good guy,
you see that his brothers really are bad, bad guys: Joseph was beaten up by them,
thrown in a hole, and left for dead. Then they decided that that wasn’t
enough--they wanted to make a little money and sell him into slavery, and he is
taken away to Egypt. Oh yeah, they also took his very special coat of many
colors, covered it in animal blood, and took it home to their father saying,
“Father, we found this. Joseph your son is dead.”
These were some pretty bad dudes. But through all this
trauma, the Bible tells us that “the Lord was with Joseph,” the good guy. In
the hole, in slavery, in jail--everywhere, “the Lord was with Joseph.”
#2
And because “the Lord was with him,” it should be no
surprise that Joseph, despite all the circumstances being stacked against
him--another thing that makes a story great, right?--he rises through the ranks
of the Egyptian government until he finds himself in charge. Of pretty much
everything. Next to the Pharaoh, he’s the big cheese.
In fact, he ends up in the right place in the right time … to
meet his brothers again. There’s a famine in the land and his father Jacob
sends his brothers to Egypt--where Joseph is in charge!--to look for food.
So, here’s the biggest conflict of the story--the thing that
the whole big plot hinges on: What will Joseph do now? When they run into each
other--because in a good story, they good guy and the bad guys will ALWAYS run
into each other--will his brothers recognize him? How will Joseph react when he
sees them? How will they react when they see him? Will Joseph seek revenge on
his bad guy brothers … or will he show them mercy?
After his brothers arrive in Egypt, Joseph shows particular
attention to them, having several interactions with them, each time wanting to
tell them who he is but stopping himself before the words can pour out of his
mouth.
But then Joseph, the good guy, reaches his limit, and the
conflict is about to boil over …
Listen to these 2 parts of “The Story” -- “The Story” page
39 (Gen 45:1-8)
*****
45 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.”
******
Conflict over and they all lived happily ever after, right? All
is forgiven, right? Not so fast.
Joseph made his peace with his brothers … but his brothers
are still afraid of Joseph. What they’ve done is so awful, they just can’t
believe that he’s gonna let them off the hook. They think that it’s because
Joseph wants to see his father Jacob so badly that he’s sparing their lives.
But what happens when Jacob dies? They’re STILL afraid
Joseph will seek revenge on them. Listen to this last part of Joseph’s chapter
in “The Story.”
***** "The Story” page 41 (bottom) - page 42 (top) (Gen 50:15-21)
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father Jacob was
dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us
back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 16 So they sent word to
Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ‘This
is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and
the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive
the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to
him, Joseph wept.
18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down
before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in
the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it
for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So
then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he
reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
*****
So the conflict boils over … but not the way you’d expect.
Here, we find the REAL resolution of the conflict in Joseph’s story. And the
resolution is not found in anger and revenge … but rather with weeping tears of
joy and words of assurance.
Joseph is at peace, and finally his brothers believe that
instead of seeking revenge against them, he will provide for them and their
families.
It’s almost unbelievable how well things turn out--how, in this story, EVERYONE wins, the good guy AND the bad guys.
For twenty-two years, Joseph was separated from his family.
He could have chosen to stew and plot and plan for those 22 years of just how
exactly he’d get back at his family. But because the Lord was with Joseph,
that’s not what he chose--instead, he chose peace, forgiveness, and
reconciliation.
Because Joseph chose peace, everyone won.
#3
If there’s one thing you remember about Joseph’s story, I
hope it’s the amazing and puzzling and annoying and overwhelming thing he said
to his brothers: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.” You
intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.
Joseph’s brothers were looking to get rid of him, and God
used those bad guys to accomplish His plan, which was to save all those people
in Egypt from a famine. Countless lives were saved all because Joseph’s
brothers were so rotten to him.
Just imagine if our first thought when something bad happens--when someone does something intentionally to hurt us or when we find ourselves in a difficult situation--imagine if our first thought is to look for how God intends this for good, for this to be to our benefit.
Imagine how differently we would think about conflicts and
problems and difficulties and even the tragedies of our lives if we immediately
started to look for how God will redeem what was bad and make it something good.
That, my friends, is what finding your story in God’s story
is all about. In each of our “lower stories,” our individual lives, bad things
happen, and we are constantly looking for God’s “upper story” and how those two
things fit together.
That is how we begin to find meaning in events that seem
unbelievable and incomprehensible. Some tragedies we will never completely
understand but we can look for how God will take this bad thing and make it
into something good.
Someone or something may have intended to harm you, but God
intends it for good. Somehow. Some way.
SERMON—conclusion
Each of our lives is a story, written on a page in God’s
book of life. And in our stories there will be good guys and bad guys, heroes
and heroines, triumphs and tragedies, conflicts and resolutions.
We each have a great story to tell, a great story of how God
is reaching out to us personally and speaking to us through the circumstances
of our lives--the good ones AND the bad ones. What is YOUR story?
There’s just something about great stories--something in
them that affects us and resonates deeply with us and changes us forever.
Joseph’s story is like that. God’s great big story is like
that.
And I think, when you get the courage to share it with
someone else, your story will be like that too. Don’t be afraid to share it.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Amen.
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