24^th August 2011

Rev Dr Max Champion at St John's UCA Mt Waverley Sunday 14 August 2011

Lessons -- Genesis 45:1-15; Matthew 13:54-58

Joseph said (to them), 'I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into
Egypt. Now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves, because you
sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.' (Genesis
45:4b,5 NRSV.)

This morning we have received Emily Chard into 'the faith and family of Jesus Christ' and commissioned 'Kids Hope' volunteers to support children who are unsettled. How fitting that the reading is about Joseph and his somewhat dysfunctional family!

This family saga, which occupies nearly ten chapters of Genesis, is one of the most moving in all literature. It is full of intrigue, drama and suspense. It lays bare the effects of jealousy, cruelty, deception and guilt. It ends unexpectedly.

Remember that Joseph was very unpopular with his brothers. He was the favourite son, being treated like royalty (with a coat of many colours) as the first born son of Rachel, for whom Jacob had been forced to wait fourteen years to marry. Joseph had infuriated his brothers by 'dobbing on them' for poor work and by interpreting two dreams to mean that he would come to have authority over them. They were so angry that, after planning to murder him and throw him into a pit, they sold him to slave-traders heading to Egypt. Then they deceived their father Jacob by dipping Joseph's 'royal robe' in goat's blood and telling him that Joseph had been killed by savage beasts.

Unbeknown to them, Joseph prospers. He is appointed to a responsible position in an Egyptian household. After being falsely accused of adultery, he is thrown into prison. There he correctly interprets the dreams of two senior bureaucrats, the chief butler and chief baker.
Eventually, after warning the Pharaoh that great prosperity would be followed by severe recession, he is released. His organisational skills are recognised. He is appointed as Prime Minister, Head of Treasury and Chief Executive Officer to take steps necessary to minimise the impact of the impending crisis.

Like all good stories, it rings true to life. Family squabbles, political intrigue and economic disasters are part and parcel of our world, too -- as seen today in the famine in Somalia, riots in England, family breakdown, and more.

And, like all good stories, it draws us into the drama, compelling us to identify with various members of the character's family.

* We sympathise with the brothers' resentment against Joseph and desire for revenge. We too know what it is like to be treated unfairly -- in the family and elsewhere.

* We understand Joseph. It is not his fault to be born into this 'blended family' as the first child of Rachel -- Jacob's true love. Joseph should not have been mistreated, sold into slavery and treated as if dead.

* Nor should his father have had to suffer such sorrow by being so cruelly misled about his son's fate.

* We are delighted when the 'tables are turned' and Joseph 'makes good'.

This thriller has a complexity and subtlety that holds our interest from beginning to end. We feel the tension as the plot unfolds. And, like a good novel, the climax is unexpected and profoundly moving, forcing us to reassess our attitudes when family and other close relationships break down.

The finale is unbelievable (Genesis 45:1-15)! The resentful brothers, who had behaved so appallingly years ago, are now in desperate need. The drought is severe. Global warming has done its worst. When they come to Egypt looking for food, Joseph recognises them but they do not recognise him. So he plays an elaborate trick to see whether they have learned anything since their mistreatment of him years earlier. He tells them to leave their youngest brother, Benjamin, in Egypt as collateral for payment for wheat. Everything suggests that the brothers are going to get their just deserts.

Remarkably, however, Joseph forgives them! He reveals himself to his brothers in a heartfelt display of affection. They see who he is when he weeps with joy and kisses and hugs them in a spontaneous act of reconciliation. He tells them not to be hard on themselves. The wrong they have done him is forgiven and the guilt they have borne is removed by Joseph's astonishing act of grace.

Moreover, he tells them that their angry, jealous, bitter and devious behaviour has not thwarted the good purposes of God. Not only are they now reconciled to each other, but God has used the one who was given up for dead 'to preserve life' (vv 5,7). In, through and despite their base actions, God 'preserves' the life of the world -- represented by the Egyptian empire, and the life of his covenant people -- represented by Jacob and his devious sons. Despite the worst that humans and nature can do to destroy life, God provides what is most necessary to preserve life:
reconciliation and nourishment, forgiveness and daily bread, as the Lord's Prayer says.

In this moving story we are invited to see that, in hidden ways, God acts in public events to 'preserve the life of the pagan and non-pagan world'.
God does not turn away from the Egyptians nor idealise the Jews.

Despite the unconscionable behaviour of Jacob's family, reconciliation takes place and this little 'remnant' of hope (v 7) is reminded that they exist only because they are 'recipients of grace'. As such, they are to be a sign to others, including their pagan neighbours, that our broken world is ultimately preserved from destruction by the reconciling mercy of God.

Similarities between Joseph and Jesus are inescapable! Both are ostracised by their families (Matthew 13:54ff). Both are abandoned to death by their brothers and disciples. Both provide food for the hungry and show mercy to the sinful. Both respond to mistreatment without resentment. Both eat and drink with those who have wronged them.

They invite us to see 'that human affairs are not ultimately governed by the evil designs of men and women, or by horrendous material and economic deprivation, but by the over-ruling providence of God who makes all things serve his good purposes' (B Anderson, The Living Word of the Old Testament, p224, para).

Joseph is a kind of 'Christ figure': a brother who embodies the 'life- giving love of God for the family of nations and preserves its life from being utterly annihilated by resentment, jealousy and hatred'.

The crucial difference is that Jesus 'preserves the world' from the cross!
He does not escape death. He is abandoned and crucified without honour or position. He lets evil do its worst to him in order to demonstrate both the serious effects of our resentment towards God -- that the Son of God is crucified, and the power of God's love -- that the Son of God is raised
from the dead.

It is 'in Christ', therefore, that God 'preserves the life of the world'
by defeating all that seeks to destroy life. 'In him' the most powerful sign of hope is embodied in our strife-torn world.

Faced with heart-wrenching malnutrition and the appalling effects of resentment in human affairs it is hard to see the preserving love of God for his children. Life often seems ruled by a heartless, capricious Fate.
We often seem incapable of showing mercy (to those who have wronged us) or compassion (to the needy).

That is why we all need to hear the word of God's reconciling grace spoken through Joseph and supremely embodied in Jesus Christ! We do not naturally forgive others. When people wrong us we usually 'stand on our dignity', 'hold grudges', insist on our 'rights' and harbour thoughts of revenge.
And we do not usually think that we have a responsibility to do what we can to 'preserve the life of the world' and so stand up against the many destructive forces in our society. We prefer to blame others for the miserable state of the world.

Because our natural instinct is not to forgive others or take responsibility for our own actions, we must learn to pray, as Christ taught his disciples, 'to forgive us our sins as we forgive ... ' and to let that prayer shape our lives in the world.

How do we do that? When we know that the crucified and risen Jesus, the Son of God, is our 'Brother' who forgives us and loves us eternally, then we will be free, like Joseph, to relate to our brothers and sisters on the basis that God preserves the necessities of life -- the necessities of daily bread and forgiveness.

As members with Emily of the 'faith and family of Jesus Christ' who, at this time in our congregational life, have been called to stand beside children and families suffering distress, we gladly acknowledge the gracious providence of God who has given Christ to be our Brother -- expressing gratitude that, despite the terrible effects of human sin, the vagaries of nature and our own palpable failings as a church, God
preserves the life of the world.

This would be a callous and unbelievable word if not for the fact that it is the rejected, crucified and risen Christ (Son of God) who is our Brother. His compassion for us and all people frees us to act boldly in preserving the world today and enables us to look forward to that day when, in line with the mercy displayed in Joseph and supremely embodied in the crucified and risen Jesus, resentment and hunger on the earth shall cease.

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Rev Dr Max Champion is minister in the St John's Uniting Church, Mt Waverley, Victoria, Australia. Dr Champion is Chair of the Assembly of Confessing Congregations within the UCA.