A sermon preached by the Rev. Patrick H Wtisley, D.Min. on September 17, 2023.

Hear the main point of today’s message: God thrives in the messes we create for ourselves. God thrives in the messes we create for ourselves. Let’s look at how that is presented biblically.

One of the most owned but least read books in existence is the Bible; it’s on many nightstands or bookshelves but too often simply remains there. We have forgotten that an unread Bible on a shelf is nothing more than a book. It becomes holy scripture when and only when a person asks the Spirit for guidance as they open the pages and begin to engage with the words on the page. It has always fascinated me as a pastor with over three decades of ministry under my belt because the Bible is full of such “whopping good tales!” as my old Hebrew professor, David Gunn, would say. When people tell me that the Old Testament does not relate to them, I have to stifle a chuckle. Today’s reading is a good example of this.

Our Hebrew text actually begins back in chapter 37. 2 where we read, “This is the story of the family of Jacob” and it’s a story that spans the next 13 chapters of the book of Genesis. It describes a family system that models all families, really. Jacob’s family, frankly, puts the “fun” in the word dysfunction. Beginning with daddy Jacob himself who we have already learned has had a deceptive love/hate relationship with his own brother, Esau, and whose parents Isaac and Rebekah played their own sons off one another, the story of Jacob’s family simply perpetuates the family messiness onto a new generation.

Jacob has twelve sons of varying ages. Typically, the oldest son gets their daddy’s blessing and lion’s share of the inheritance, but Jacob has tossed that out the window and plays favorites. Genesis 37.3 tells us, “Now Israel, i.e., Jacob, loved Joseph more than all his other children.” Apparently, it was common knowledge in the family as we are told his brothers, “Hated him and could not speak peaceably to him” (vs. 4). Jacob even made Joseph an extravagant and flowing robe for him which was just a visible reminder of how much more loved he was by daddy. For today’s scripture text to make any sense, it’s vital we know the gist of this Story.

Daddy has the brothers out taking care of the livestock and we quickly learn that Joseph is a tattletale on a few of the brothers who were slacking off on their job (vs 37.2). I’m sure that went over well with his siblings. It was at this point that Joseph had a few dreams that indicated that in the future, all eleven of his brothers, even his mom and dad, would bow down in obeisance to him. This went over really well to the point Daddy Jacob chided him.  Over time, the 11 brothers are out tending the livestock and Jacob sends Joseph out on a mission to go check on his brothers and see how things are going.

The brothers see him coming in the distance and say to one another, “Here come that dreamer…let’s kill him and say some wild animal ate him.”  The eldest brother, Reuben, talked them down off that cliff and convinced them to simply rough him up a bit and sell him as a slave, which they did. They stripped him of his robe, threw him in a large pit, dipped his robe in animal blood to show Daddy Jacob what had happened, and sold Joseph to some foreigners who later sold him to some Egyptians.

Pharaoh’s captain of the guard bought Joseph for himself and was immediately impressed with the young man’s wisdom. The captain’s wife was impressed with what a good-looking, strapping young man he was and tried to seduce him several times, but Joseph stood his principles and said, “No!”  Frustrated, she lies and says Joseph attempted to be inappropriate with her by making unwanted advances and has Joseph thrown into prison.

There is a refrain throughout the Story where we read, “The Lord was with Joseph” (vss. 39.2, 21), and Joseph being Joseph, impressed the warden of the prison who essentially turns over the prison to Joseph to run and oversee.  Some thirteen years go by, and Joseph now 30, gets summoned to Pharaoh to interpret some of Pharaoh’s strange dreams. Joseph tells Pharaoh his dreams mean there will be seven years of agricultural abundance which will be followed by seven years of famine and drought. Pharaoh was impressed and put Joseph in charge yet again, and we read only Pharaoh was more powerful than Joseph. Joseph stores up grain for seven years and when the drought comes, we hear how the entire world in the Mediterranean basin came to Egypt to purchase food.

Now, let’s get back to Daddy Jacob and those amoral brothers. Verse 42.2 has Jacob telling his treacherous boys, “I hear there’s grain in Egypt. Why do you keep staring at one another – get down there and get some provisions!” They do. When they arrive, they don’t recognize their baby brother; the baby brother, however, recognizes his brothers and is bilingual now as well. Joseph speaks Egyptian and Hebrew and knows all too well what the brothers are up to. For the next several chapters Joseph manipulates his brothers by holding one of them hostage while they go home and tell Daddy Jacob all that’s going on. Joseph later learns how hard all of this has been on his daddy, tricks his brother one more time by hiding money and a silver cup among their supplies, and has them arrested and brought into the palace. He watches all his brothers groveling about and pleading for mercy that there is a big misunderstanding and it’s at this point, Joseph loses it. He has a breakdown and comes clean with his brothers about who he is. “I am Joseph. Is daddy still alive?” The brothers had nothing. They were speechless. He reassures them, “Don’t be angry with yourselves…God sent me here before you to preserve you. God sent me before to preserve you a remnant on earth and to keep you alive…so it was not you who sent me here, God sent me before you” (45.4-12).

In an incredible act of grace and forgiveness, Joseph forgives them and has them go and bring their father and their families back to Egypt for their survival. This brings us to our text for the morning in Genesis 50.15-21. Hear the Word of God:

Genesis 50:15-21

¹⁵Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?” ¹⁶So they approached Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this instruction before he died, ¹⁷‘Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.’ Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. ¹⁸Then his brothers also wept, fell down before him, and said, “We are here as your slaves.”¹⁹But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God?²⁰Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. ²¹So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones.” In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.

Even after all Joseph has done, even after all those years the families lived in Egypt together, his brothers still didn’t trust him. The make up a lie to say, “Daddy gave us this instruction that you are to forgive us.” Lawd. Really? And once again, Joseph assures them it’s all okay. He reminds them, “Am I in the place of God? Even though you intended to do me harm, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people.” Scholar John Wright comments, “The eleven sons of Israel lie in their apology to Joseph. In fear for their well-being, they create a fictitious account of their father’s petition to Joseph. They manipulate Joseph so that he might not retaliate against his earlier mistreatment.^[1]

I began this message with the comment that God thrives in the messes we create for ourselves. Our Story this morning bears that out. Joseph’s brothers intended to harm him stemming from their jealousy. Yet, we learn through the entire Jacob family narrative that “The Lord was with Joseph.” God never left Joseph’s side and was in the thick of the mess his other brothers were stirring up.  The word “intended” in Hebrew has several nuances to it. On one hand, it can mean “planned” to do Joseph harm. Yet, the same Hebrew word can be interpreted as “imputed” or “reckoned” so that God took what the brothers planned but transformed it into something positive.^[2]

Beloved, reflect upon the messes in your own life. Perhaps they were caused because of poor decisions you have made in the past. Perhaps like me, you come from a family who puts the ‘fun’ in dysfunction and suffer trauma from abuse, neglect, or rage. Maybe you’ve lived a healthy life only to find out you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, and you look heavenward and say, “Really, God? What’s up with this?” Whatever mess you have been in, are in, or will ever be in pales with what God is doing in and through that mess.  God is in the midst of redeeming that mess and turning it into good just like the Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 8.28 that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose…if God is for us, who is against us? Who will separate us from the love and forgiveness of Christ? Shall hardship, distress, persecution, famine, poverty, cancer diagnosis, dysfunctional family systems, a rotten boss, or violence? No! Nothing can thwart the redemption of all these things! God is working in our messes helping us to make sense of the nonsense. Isn’t that what Good Friday and Easter are about? God works in the midst of our brokenness to bring about new life. Easter gives us new eyes to see the subtle movements of God’s loving Providence and care.

Poet/author/professor Patricia Schneider wrote a book about this entitled, How the Light Gets In. Writing as Spiritual Practice. In a poem called, Ending, she writes, “Beginning is a gift that comes unbidden, but ending can be crafted as an art.”^[3]

Beloved, through Christ, we’ve been given new eyes to see God working in the messes of our lives. Let’s ask the Lord to help us craft those messes into art, into something that is beautiful and useful. In the Name of the One Who is, was, and ever shall be. Amen.  Pray with me…

© 2023 Patrick H. Wrisley, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, 400 Glen Street, Glens Fall, NY 12801. Sermon manuscripts are available for the edification of members and friends of First Presbyterian Church, Glens Falls, NY, and may not be altered, re-purposed, published, or preached without permission. All rights reserved.

[1] Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship: Year A, Volume 3, Season After Pentecost by Joel B. Green, Thomas G. Long, et al. See https://a.co/2mDu6Xn.

[2] See Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 4: Season after Pentecost 2 (Propers 17-Reign of Christ) (Feasting on the Word: Year A volume) by David L. Bartlett, Barbara Brown Taylor. https://a.co/6eETDm

[3] Patricia Schneider, How the light gets in. Writing as spiritual practice (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), 200.