Grace, Mercy, and Peace be unto you from God our
Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Amen
When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they
said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that
we did to him.”
In the Name of Jesus
What a
horrible sin Joseph’s brothers committed, not only against their brother, but
also against their father and against their whole family. Out of their jealousy, out of their perceived
notion that their father loved Joseph more than he did the rest of them, they
wiped Joseph from their family. They
sold him to a group of Ishmaelite’s who were wandering through the desert, they
took his robe, which he received from their father they tore it, dipped it in
goats blood and told their father that Joseph had been killed by wild animals. They did everything in their power to kill
him without actually killing him.
If they
didn’t suffer from horrible guilt right away, I am sure it kicked in after they
see the reaction of their father. Their
father, Jacob, upon seeing the robe said a
fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph
is without a doubt torn into pieces.
Then Jacob tore his robes and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for
his son many days. All his sons and all
his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted saying,
no, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.
At the point of our Old
Testament reading for today then, the brothers found themselves backed into a
corner. Going to Egypt for food during
the famine was bad enough. They knew it
was a long shot, but it was also their only shot at surviving the famine. They needed food to make it through. They knew where the food was. They knew where to go.
Now when his
brothers sold him, Joseph was 17 years old.
When he came to power in the land of Egypt he was 30 years of age. Add on the seven years of plenty and the
seven years of famine that would put Joseph around 42 years old when his
brothers see him. They did not recognize
their brother; he was ruler in a foreign land speaking a foreign language.
Things only got more
complicated for them, more of a long shot, when they realized who was in charge
of distributing the food during the famine.
None other than their brother Joseph.
The one they ruthlessly sold into slavery, the one whom they had
convinced their father died while tending to his sheep. What was a long shot before now seemingly
becomes impossible.
What would you expect? Put yourselves in the place of the
brothers. When you are at a seemingly
low point in life, suffering, starving for food, in dire need, who might be the
last person you want to see? The one you
sold into slavery over, the one you sinned again the one who you betrayed in
the past!
Just because we haven’t
sold a sibling, or other family member into slavery, doesn’t mean we aren’t
free of guild for turning on family, a loved in the same manner. While we have not sold anyone into slavery,
because of the sin we have committed, one man was put to death. And we have the promise in Scripture that our
God will repay each person for what they have done. I, the
Lord, your God and a jealous God visiting the iniquities of the father on the
children of the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. Again he says vengeance is mine I will repay, for the time when their foot shall
slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly. Yet again, Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who
keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who live him and keep his
commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who
hate him, by destroying them. He will
not be slack with one who hates him. He
will repay him to his face.
The hard
truth is that every time we sin we have put ourselves in opposition to God and
His will. We set our course to the ways
of this world and become distant from our Father. And when, through the Law, we are shown our
sins, we are left to live in fear of our God handing down the just punishment
for our actions, just as Joseph’s brothers lived in fear of receiving what they
deserved from their brother.
We admitted
in our confession that we are by nature sinful and unclean. That we have sinned against God by thought,
word, and dead, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved Him with our whole heart
and we have not loved our neighbors as our selves. And we admitted that we justly deserve God’s
present and eternal punishment. What
hope do we have but to live out our days in fear of God’s wrath and
punishment?
Not only are
we no better than Joseph’s brothers, but we are no better than the unforgiving
servant from our Gospel parable either.
Who has his large debt erased by his master but refusing to let go of a
smaller debt owed to him and even turns violent on his debtor.
Which makes
what we were taught to pray in the Lord’s Prayer much more daunting. And
forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. How quick are you to forgive? Is it easy to say to the one who has wronged
you, it’s okay, I will forgive and forget?
I think if we are honest with ourselves, this is a scary thing. We know how we forgive and we know what we
deserve.
Brothers and
Sisters in Christ, fear not. God’s
wrath, his punishment, the eternal condemnation meant for us has indeed been
handed down already. Yes we have sinned
against our heavenly father and because of our sins his son was put to
death. His son lived the perfect life,
the life which before the fall we were capable of. And even though his son was perfect in every
way, he took our sins upon himself and died on the cross. God turned his anger away from us sinners and
toward his only son. He despised his son
on the cross which leaves him to cry out on the cross the words from Psalm 22, My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving
me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry
by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.
In the midst
of our tumultuous life, a life full of sin against our neighbor and sin against
our heavenly father, our judgment has gone from God condemning us to hell where
we suffer for eternity, to him welcoming us into his heavenly kingdom as his
perfect children. While we should be the
ones crying out in agony my God my God why have you forsaken me, we cry out in
wonder and amazement, my God my God why have you NOT forsaken me? Why would you spare the life of us sinners
yet send your son to his death.
God took the
evil that Joseph’s brothers committed against him and turned it into good. Because he was sold into slavery and then
rose to power in the land of Egypt, many people were saved. Through God’s power he interpreted Pharaoh’s
dreams about the seven good years and the seven years of famine, then stored up
food for the region, and saved them in the years of famine. No longer did his brothers need to live in
fear. Joseph showed mercy on them time
after time.
The same is
true for us. God took the evil Adam and
Eve committed, caused his son to die because of that sin, and by doing so
brought life to all men because of it.
We no longer need to live in fear because God’s wrath upon us has been
diverted. He now sees us in light of his
son. This is the grace we live in. This is the peace which we have even in the
midst of the most difficult times.
And yet
there are many in this country who live in a state of fear. This past Thursday we remembers the 13th
anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New
York. Now more than ever people live in
fear what will happen if, it might not even be an if but a when, another
terrorist attack happens in this country.
They fear what will happen in their lives from day to day. They fear death because they fear God. But you and I have the privilege of knowing
and living in the love of the one who tells us fear not. It is our privilege to live in his presence
and witness and proclaim his underserved Gospel.
May God fill
you with this undeserved peace as we not only remember such events like 9/11,
but as we daily remember and repent of our sins before our God and Father. May he cause such abundant faith to be worked in us that we live out our
days confident in him when he says as Joseph said, do not fear, I will provide for you and your little ones.
Amen
+SDG+
No comments:
Post a Comment