The Message: "Loving With God's Heart," August 20, 2023, Genesis 45:1-15

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
August 20, 2023

 

“Loving With God’s Heart”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Genesis 45:1-15

            The story of Joseph is a fantastic story! It is one of the most dramatic stories in scripture. It has everything … family, love, betrayal, subterfuge, mystery, surprise, disappointment, triumph, grace, reunion. The story would make a great movie … or even a Broadway musical starring Donnie Osmond!

            The passage that I just read is the culmination of the Joseph narrative. It was that moment when Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers and gave them the gift of life. Of course, I cannot offer a message that begins at the end. And the story is so long that I cannot really tell the whole thing … “Previously, in the Book of Genesis …”

            But, as we heard in the Children’s Message, Joseph lived a very dramatic and eventful life.

            Loved and favored by his father, Jacob.
            Despised and envied by his brothers.
            Gifted with the ability to interpret dreams.
            Thrown into a water cistern while the brothers plotted his demise.
            Sold into slavery … carried away to Egypt … but then brought into a household where he found favor with his master, Potiphar.
            Thrown into prison because of false accusations made by Potiphar’s wife.
            Interpreted more dreams while in prison … but lingered there because Pharoah’s cup-bearer forgot to tell Pharaoh about Joseph’s gift. Brought before Pharaoh after he had strange dreams and suddenly the cup-bearer remembered, “Oops! I was supposed to tell Pharaoh about Joseph two years ago!”
            Given a powerful position in Pharaoh’s court. In fact, the most powerful man in all of Egypt other than Pharaoh!
            Pharaoh’s dreams … as interpreted by Joseph … foretold of a terrible famine that would last seven years, but they had seven years to prepare. Joseph, in his wisdom and position, prepared Egypt for the famine.
            Meanwhile, Joseph’s family back in Canaan was suffering in the famine, so Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy grain … where the brothers encountered their long, lost … perhaps thought to be dead brother … whom they did not recognize.

            And that is not even all of it! After wrangling and negotiating with his brothers, Joseph sold them the grain and actually gave their money back to them hidden in the grain sacks. Our encounter in this morning’s passage occurred when they returned a second time to purchase more grain.

            I am certain that those of us gathered here this morning come from a wide variety of family situations. Some of you … hopefully most of you … come from happy, loving and caring families. There may be some that come from difficult family situations. Some of you may resonate with feelings of anger, envy and hostility. Some of you may have been badly mistreated by members of your family.

            I want to stop and acknowledge those feelings; stop and give space for the pain or the sorrow that you hold in this moment. Know that we hold you in our hearts …

            Also, know that pain is not God’s intention for any of us.

            Joseph’s pain was not God’s intention either. But God did use Joseph’s situation. As I have said many times, God takes the long view. God’s purposes extend from the dawn of Creation toward some point in the future. And as we know from our reading and study of scripture, Joseph’s family is part of God’s purpose. God made a covenant with Abraham. Abraham would be the “father” of a great nation. He would be a blessing to the nations. Therefore, God needed Abraham’s family … Joseph’s family … to survive.

            The circumstances of Joseph’s life resulted in him being in a position to save his family. We can be fairly certain that he did not feel as though he was part of God’s plan when he was thrown into the pit. He probably did not feel God as he was sold into slavery or thrown into prison.  He probably did not feel blessed by God as he lingered in prison for two years.

            But what he, and we, come to find out was that Joseph was held in God’s favor even in the midst of his most trying moments. Joseph’s gift of dream interpretation contributed to the anger and envy of his brothers. But it was the same gift that elevated him to favor with pharaoh. Then God used Joseph’s gift to save and bless his family.

            God’s purpose was bigger than the anger of Joseph’s brothers.
            God’s purpose was bigger than any bitterness that Joseph may have harbored against them.
            God’s love is the foundation of the grace the Joseph ultimately offered his brothers.

            Now, my story is not nearly as dramatic as Joseph’s, but there is a parallel.

            I went off to college and majored in Physics. I chose physics because my physics teacher in high school was cool. My tenure as a student of physics was not successful and I flunked out of college. Needless to say, it was not a positive experience in my life. I was embarrassed … humiliated. I had not been thrown in a pit and left to die, but I was not proud of my situation.

            I did not linger in prison for two years, but I did spend three years figuring out what I was going to do with my life. I returned to school with a new vision, a new plan, and it went well. I was successful the second time around. I graduated summa cum laude. Upon completion of my degree, I went to seminary … and here I am today! Lord of Egypt … or Saco … or First Parish Church.

            Just like Joseph, God did not cause my circumstances. God did not cause me to flunk out of school. That was entirely my doing. God did use my circumstances. I am certain that God could have used me as a physicist, but this may be a better use of whatever gifts I may possess. The day that I heard God’s call, my life changed. I felt peace settle upon me and within me.

            God was not pulling the strings in my life. God was not pulling them in Joseph’s life either. God did not make any of those things happen to us. Human behavior and decisions are still very much free … and very much human. And because of that, we can … and do … find ourselves in very difficult, sometimes painful, even horrific circumstances. What we hear and learn in Joseph’s story … and in our own … is that God is with us in those circumstances. God can work with and through human action. God can even use the dark side of human action and planning.

            The image on the cover of the bulletin this morning is striking. The piece is called, “God’s Love Shines Through the Darkness.” That is the power of God’s love. That is the breadth and depth of God’s heart.

            God’s love shines through the darkness. God’s love creates newness. God’s love can redefine the present moment … any present struggle that we may be experiencing … and open a new future. God’s purpose is ultimately gracious. God wills life, and love, and joy for all of God’s children, not death; not pain, not struggle.

            Admittedly, God’s purpose is often hidden or mysterious. When we are in the midst of pain or struggle, we may not see or understand God’s plan or purpose. However, the purpose of God does not depend upon our ability to understand. God does not need our permission. The reality is that God does not need our willing participation. God’s plan and purpose unfold on their own.

            Yes, as surprising as it may be for us to hear, God’s purpose is bigger than us. The ways of God do not fit our understanding or our preconceptions about how life ought to be. Listen to what God said through the Prophet Isaiah:

            “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
            “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

            Joseph did not see God’s purpose until he stood before his brothers. As they stood before him, any bitterness or anger, and feelings of revenge or retribution that Joseph may have been feeling slipped away. In their place was grace.

            Even though the life and experiences are likely far more dramatic and extreme than anything that we may have experienced, we can still see ourselves in narrative of Joseph and his brothers. Every now and then we get the realization that whatever it was that we were going through has profoundly changed our lives. We may also realize that we have come through those experiences with a new strength or wisdom that we did not possess before. Hindsight often reveals something about ourselves that we did not know previously.

            And as we look, we can also see where God may have been working in those moments of struggle. We can see the ways that God cared for us in the midst of pain. We can feel the truth of God’s promise to be with us until the end of the age.

            God’s love shines through the darkness. What we discover at the end of the day is that we have the ability to love as God loves; that our hearts beat in rhythm with God’s heart. God’s heart shines through us and will shine through any darkness. Amen.

BACK