"Life is a Blessing" - The Rev. Dr. Kurt Gerhard, August 14, 2011

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Genesis 45.1-15

Peter von Cornelius, 1850

I can say with some confidence that we would never wish the luck of Job on anyone. Job lived a successful life and expressed faith in God (that wouldn’t be so bad), but then the parable tells us that he was tested greatly. He lost his herds, his property, his health, and his children. But no matter what happened to Job, he maintained his faith in God. Nonetheless, we don’t want to be like Job because of all the pain and suffering he endured to become the hero of his story.

Let’s be honest, the Job story speaks to the human condition. No matter how wonderful our life might appear on the outside, everyone, who truly lives, experiences periods of great hardship that test the very heart of  our human nature. When we find ourselves walking the familiar footsteps of Job, we are called to make radical choices to face the reality that life will be filled with occasions of pain, deceit, and treachery. When this happens to us, we could place blame on others and convince ourselves that there is no such thing as God’s blessing. 

Over the past several weeks, this country and many of the most developed nations in the world have been living in such a moment. We live in fear of what the stock market will do to our nest egg, and what the housing market will do to our property values. We fear losing what makes us most comfortable, that is, the confidence that we will have control over our future. I don’t have much in the stock market, but, for some reason, that doesn’t lessen my fears. I do own a house over a thousand miles away from here that won’t sell, so I know what that feels like. It is not something that makes me happy and joyful. 

In comparison to previous eras, it seems that the path ahead seems treacherous, at best.  Will I experience, as did Job, a waterfall of calamity, and, if so, will I be able to maintain my faith and principles? Or will I take a safer and often easier route? Will I favor my own security over the mounting concerns of my neighbors?

You might be saying to yourself, “What does this have to do with our lesson for today?” Has Kurt forgotten that St. Patrick’s is in the midst of a Genesis preaching series? Job isn’t in Genesis, so why is he mentioning Job? No, I haven’t lost my mind (in that way). Today, we hear the conclusion of a long story arc about Joseph and his relationship with his brothers. You could say that Joseph is a Job like character. See Joseph was proud of everything that he had, including the favor of his father, Jacob. Jacob gave him a special coat (a sign of a prince what Andrew Lloyd Weber called the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat). Joseph lived a most blessed life until, as we heard in last week’s lesson, ten of his brothers, who were rightly jealous of his favored status and dream that they were going to be bowing down to him, threw him into a pit and sold him to the Midianite slave traders (and then reported to Jacob that Joseph had been killed by wild animals). That is kind of Job-like. Joseph ended up in the land of Egypt in the household of Potiphar. There, Joseph became a trusted slave until he was seduced by Potiphar’s wife. Joseph refused her advances but then she turned around and accused him of the very thing she had done to him. 

This was a terribly horrendous thing for a slave to be accused of so Joseph was thrown into the jail of the Pharaoh where he continued to practice his greatest gift, the ability to interpret dreams (the same gift that infuriated his brothers). Again, in jail in the Pharaoh’s land, seems Job-like. When the Pharaoh was having trouble with a recurring dream, a servant remembered Joseph from jail and recommended him to Pharaoh. When Joseph interpreted the Pharaoh’s dream as a prediction of seven years of great abundance followed by seven years of famine, the Pharaoh placed Joseph as his supreme advisor and overseer of supplies. 

Again, Joseph did well. He carefully stored the abundance in preparation for the famine. When the famine hit, Egypt was prepared. All the other nations and people were left with nothing. We assume that their abundance had been wasted. All of Egypt’s neighbors, including Joseph’s brothers, came to trade for their survival. They didn’t recognize Joseph with all his fineries but Joseph recognized them. After leading them on and sending them back to Palestine to bring Joseph’s youngest brother, Benjamin, Joseph couldn’t hold back his feelings. He dismissed the interpreters and the other bureaucrats before weeping, so loudly, that everyone in the palace could hear him. 

Joseph’s tears were of joy and love for these brothers who once demonstrated their hate for him by selling him into slavery. Joseph announced himself to them and then shared his theology, the faith that kept him going through the many trials of his life. He said that the life dealt to him at the hand of humans (being sold into slavery, being imprisoned by Pharaoh) were opportunities God used to keep the children of Jacob alive. In the final verses of the Book of Genesis (shortly after the death of Jacob), Joseph tells his brothers that God’s love could “turn evil into good.” (Robert Alter, The Five Books of Moses, p. 295) 

So here we are again. Joseph experienced Job-like luck, yet he kept doing his best. He focused on the gift of life, knowing that God would be with him. When he was confined in the slave caravan or in the Pharaoh’s jail, Joseph never lost his faith in himself and in God. He didn’t live a life of fear about what could happen, but instead capitalized on the opportunities of the present. Along the way, he was a gifted servant (to Potiphar), a generous friend (to his fellow prisoners), and a faithful manager (to Pharaoh), and a loving brother (to his family). 

Let’s return to what is happening today. When we read or listen to the news, we are overwhelmed with the anxiety that exists in the world around us. We fear that the riots in London might spread to the cities of this country, maybe even the streets of this city. We experienced, this week, the ups and downs of the stock market which might affect our retirement or future retirement. Over the past several weeks, the rhetoric expressed by our leaders has been filled with fear. Yes, I heard some talk about the apocalypse. (“If our enemies get what they want, then the world, as we know it, will end.”) All of these uncertainties force us to evaluate our own loss of control which leads to a certain amount of trembling. 

As a people of faith, we are called to accept that life will deal us ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ and that wisdom is found in realizing that we aren’t in control. The words of Reinhold Neibuhr’s Serenity Prayer are important reminders of our position in the world. He prayed:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

We will grow in Spirit if we practice this prayer and Joseph’s example in our life. They teach us to live in God’s time and not our own. Consider these three points: (1) Live each day with an eye toward optimizing every opportunity. (2) Live in peace by letting go of the fear that is beyond us. (3) Live in the realization of our many blessings. 

Our 401Ks might be in trouble and we might have to work a few more years to make sure ends meet, but we have food on the table, we have a roof over our heads, and we feel safe. There are many people around the world who can’t count on those blessings. For those in places rife with violence and war, for those who have lost their homes, and for others experiencing famine; those are the people who need our love today. 

Joseph could have hoarded the supplies saved up during the seven years of abundance in Egypt. Instead, he carefully shared it with those who needed it. In Wednesday’s This Week at St. Patrick’s newsletter, I noted the needs of the people of Somalia. Actually, Sandy Chamblee-Head brought it to my attention a few weeks ago. Somalia is not that far from Egypt. Somalians are not only experiencing a terrible famine, they are in fear for their safety due to armed insurgents. In the midst of our many worries, the news from the other side of the world might have been overlooked, but instead of fretting about the possible loss of our luxuries, I hope that we can support the needs of those in Somalia who have no luxuries to lose. They need our abundance so that they can live. 

The Social Concerns Committee of St. Patrick’s has set up a fund to match the first $1000 given for Somalian relief through St. Patrick’s. (You can make out a check with a memo line “Somalia” or make an online donation on our website.) The money will be sent to Episcopal Relief and Development who has partners on the ground in neighboring Kenya where over 800,000 Somalian refugees have fled. 

Joseph rejoiced in life. He saw God’s work in the world when he saw his brothers alive in Egypt. He lived every day like it was his last. He responded to the needs of those around him: his fellow slaves, his fellow prisoners, his brothers, or the foreigners in Egypt. He knew that God makes good out of evil. We can learn from this example to seek God in the everyday. Even when it seems desperate, we can find life and we can share life with others. 

Our faith will feed us during difficult times just as it makes the joy of the best of times that much more full. That is our greatest blessing and the one that we will never lose. 

The Rev. Dr. Kurt Gerhard (kurt@stpatrickschurchdc.org)

St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church (www.stpatrickschurchdc.org)

Proper 15A

August 14, 2011