Payback Time
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series VI, Cycle A
Object:
If there was ever anyone who had an excuse to look for revenge, it was Joseph. As you recall from your earliest Sunday school days, young Joey was his father's favorite son, a bitter enough pill for his brothers to swallow, but the boy did everything he could to rub their faces in it, and the result was that his fed-up siblings took matters into their own hands and sold him into slavery. (And you thought you had a dysfunctional family!)
The Midianites who bought the boy were on their way to Egypt where they would soon sell Joseph once more, this time to a man named Potiphar, the head of pharaoh's security force. Joseph did well, under the circumstances, eventually being placed in charge of Potiphar's entire household, an incredible honor for a slave. But Potiphar's wife had her own ideas about honor -- she tried to seduce the young man, and when he refused her advances, she yelled, "Rape!"
Joseph was in jail, once again the victim. But here again, he prospered, gaining the respect of fellow prisoners and guards. Eventually two of pharaoh's servants found themselves behind the same bars where they all became friends. This was a scenario that (after a few dream interpretations) eventually led to Joseph's release.
To make a long story short, pharaoh had an eye for talent and made our Hebrew hero the prime minister of Egypt -- from the jailhouse to the penthouse. Not bad for a bratty kid who had been sold into slavery by his brothers!
A famine settled on the near East. Jacob told his sons to go to Egypt to buy some grain. They did, and in the process they met Joseph -- only they did not know it was Joseph. It happens twice. Finally, Joseph revealed his true identity. The brothers were shocked and rightly scared -- payback time! But Joseph did not do that. In fact, he stunned them with these words:
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. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.
The story goes on. The brothers went back to Canaan and told their aged father that Joseph was still alive. He could not believe it, but eventually they convince him to go to Egypt with them. He made the trip and was reunited with the son he had given up for dead so many years before. Then he met the pharaoh who offered to let Joseph's family settle in for as long as they like. The family moved to Egypt and lived in peace there for many years. Finally, Jacob died at the ripe old age of 147.
Then it was just Joseph and his brothers. Again they feared payback time -- with Jacob gone, brother Joe would be free to take his revenge. So they told Joseph, "Oh, by the way, before Dad died he told us to tell you to treat us kindly."
Listen to Joseph's gracious response: "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them (Genesis 50:20-21).
The world could use a few more Josephs, couldn't it? It is pretty mean out there, and people can be incredible.
Someone has suggested that sermons from Christian pulpits about forgiveness should include some instruction as to how to go about it. That is a good idea. Here are some points from the literature of one of the twelve-step programs:
1. Write down in black and white the reasons why we are angry with (someone). Writing clarifies emotions that have been confused and buried in us, sometimes for years. Also by setting down our grievances in black and white, we place a boundary around them. Our grievances are only so big and no bigger. The hurt had a beginning and it can have an end.
2. Consider "giving away" (telling) what we have written to some trusted person. Consider symbolically releasing the hurt, such as by burning or tearing up the paper.
3. Pray. Pray for willingness to forgive, and pray for the person who has wronged us, daily, asking God to bless them with good things we want for ourselves. If we keep praying for them faithfully, sooner or later our feelings will change. When our feelings change, when we find ourselves being sincere in asking God to bless our former enemies, then we will know we have forgiven them.
Payback time. As a flesh-and-blood victim of a horrible crime, Joseph had all the reason in the world to look for his chance. But there is a better way. Joseph knew it. And we know it.
The Midianites who bought the boy were on their way to Egypt where they would soon sell Joseph once more, this time to a man named Potiphar, the head of pharaoh's security force. Joseph did well, under the circumstances, eventually being placed in charge of Potiphar's entire household, an incredible honor for a slave. But Potiphar's wife had her own ideas about honor -- she tried to seduce the young man, and when he refused her advances, she yelled, "Rape!"
Joseph was in jail, once again the victim. But here again, he prospered, gaining the respect of fellow prisoners and guards. Eventually two of pharaoh's servants found themselves behind the same bars where they all became friends. This was a scenario that (after a few dream interpretations) eventually led to Joseph's release.
To make a long story short, pharaoh had an eye for talent and made our Hebrew hero the prime minister of Egypt -- from the jailhouse to the penthouse. Not bad for a bratty kid who had been sold into slavery by his brothers!
A famine settled on the near East. Jacob told his sons to go to Egypt to buy some grain. They did, and in the process they met Joseph -- only they did not know it was Joseph. It happens twice. Finally, Joseph revealed his true identity. The brothers were shocked and rightly scared -- payback time! But Joseph did not do that. In fact, he stunned them with these words:
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. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God.
The story goes on. The brothers went back to Canaan and told their aged father that Joseph was still alive. He could not believe it, but eventually they convince him to go to Egypt with them. He made the trip and was reunited with the son he had given up for dead so many years before. Then he met the pharaoh who offered to let Joseph's family settle in for as long as they like. The family moved to Egypt and lived in peace there for many years. Finally, Jacob died at the ripe old age of 147.
Then it was just Joseph and his brothers. Again they feared payback time -- with Jacob gone, brother Joe would be free to take his revenge. So they told Joseph, "Oh, by the way, before Dad died he told us to tell you to treat us kindly."
Listen to Joseph's gracious response: "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them (Genesis 50:20-21).
The world could use a few more Josephs, couldn't it? It is pretty mean out there, and people can be incredible.
Someone has suggested that sermons from Christian pulpits about forgiveness should include some instruction as to how to go about it. That is a good idea. Here are some points from the literature of one of the twelve-step programs:
1. Write down in black and white the reasons why we are angry with (someone). Writing clarifies emotions that have been confused and buried in us, sometimes for years. Also by setting down our grievances in black and white, we place a boundary around them. Our grievances are only so big and no bigger. The hurt had a beginning and it can have an end.
2. Consider "giving away" (telling) what we have written to some trusted person. Consider symbolically releasing the hurt, such as by burning or tearing up the paper.
3. Pray. Pray for willingness to forgive, and pray for the person who has wronged us, daily, asking God to bless them with good things we want for ourselves. If we keep praying for them faithfully, sooner or later our feelings will change. When our feelings change, when we find ourselves being sincere in asking God to bless our former enemies, then we will know we have forgiven them.
Payback time. As a flesh-and-blood victim of a horrible crime, Joseph had all the reason in the world to look for his chance. But there is a better way. Joseph knew it. And we know it.
