Through the summer season earlier than my junior 12 months in highschool, my father required main surgical procedure. He had ignored the signs of an sickness for a very long time, so there was not excessive confidence that this process would save his life. Nonetheless, he needed to do the whole lot that he may to place himself for a superb consequence.
On the night earlier than his surgical procedure, I arrived on the hospital to spend time with him and my mom, and from down the hallway I may hear laughter coming from his room. I acknowledged the voices of my mother and father, however there was one other voice mingled with theirs. After I entered the room, I used to be shocked to see my older brother, Gary. For greater than 5 years my brother and my father had not spoken a phrase to one another. However my father’s sickness introduced them again collectively, and I beheld the stunning sight of Gary standing at my father’s bedside, reconciliation underway in its toddler levels, the 2 of them laughing as that they had laughed previously.
“I’m your brother, Joseph.” On this Sunday’s story from Genesis, these few phrases discover their manner by means of years of separation and estrangement and contact the hearts of Joseph’s brothers. Perhaps my brother spoke comparable phrases when he first noticed my father after their lengthy separation. I’m your son, Gary.
The human capability for forgiveness is on full show within the biblical story about Joseph and his reunion together with his brothers. It was advised tons of of years earlier than Jesus broadcast love for enemies as a cornerstone of his educating, many centuries earlier than Martin Luther King Jr. made the watchword “love your enemies” a driving philosophy of the civil rights motion.
However a part of the enchantment of Joseph’s story is that one other characteristic of his character can be worthy of celebration. Joseph mentions twice to his brothers that their reunion is going down towards the backdrop of a seven-year famine, of which 5 years stay. He shares this data to not alarm them however to allow them to know that he has used his place to arrange for the chance of such a menace. The meals reservoir put aside for the nation will final, as a result of the chief who wanted to guide by diligently making ready for the devastating affect of a famine has accomplished his job effectively. Joseph’s brothers at the moment are seeing two expressions of affection in motion: forgiveness on a private stage and prudent planning on a nationwide stage.
Joseph’s agricultural coverage is probably not as attention-getting as his almost inconceivable act of forgiveness, however it’s no much less important. By way of vigilant stewardship Joseph saves the lives of 1000’s of individuals, together with these of his previously estranged household.
Joseph has rather a lot to show us about the usage of energy. And there’s no doubt that he sees himself as an individual in whom a lot energy has been entrusted. He describes himself as “lord of all [Pharaoh’s] home and ruler over all of the land of Egypt.” And he ascribes his place and authority as a divine mandate: “God has made me lord of all Egypt.”
So in some methods he is identical outdated Joseph. He’s nonetheless ensuring that everybody is aware of how cool he’s, how he’s on prime of the world. However he has come to grasp energy in a brand new manner: as one thing that’s for the frequent good, not simply private glorification. He understands that energy may give us the braveness to forgive those that damage us. He understands himself as an agent of God, and he understands that the aim of that company is to do the sorts of issues that nice leaders do, like serving to a nation survive a catastrophic famine.
This story reveals us a person who has matured from his early years, who has met many challenges and located a solution to transcend them, who’s able to love within the type of private forgiveness in addition to love within the type of sensible stewardship over nationwide sources. This can be a type of maturity that we ache to see in our political leaders as we speak.
In a prayer that my congregation in Connecticut makes use of as an everyday a part of its weekly worship, we ask God to “make every one in all us an instrument in thy palms for good” and to “make us earnest and true, sensible and prudent.” On this manner we declare our God-given energy to be a power for good. And we rejoice that outdated New England advantage of prudence, which supplies us the self-discipline and persistence essential to be good stewards of God’s presents for the lean instances. Joseph superbly exemplified these dimensions of nice management. Now it’s our flip.
