Amen
The situation between Joseph and his brothers went beyond your garden variety sibling rivalry. Here we had family dysfunction taken to the nth degree. An overzealous father, Jacob loves his son Joseph above and beyond all the rest. Joseph and his brother Ben looked just like their mother , and Jacob missed her terribly. If Jacob just wouldn't have been so obvious about it. He was always buying those two presents; Joseph got that fancy coat with all the colors. An armchair family therapist could have predicted that there would be trouble. And Joseph, Joseph just soaked it in. He loved all the attention and he didn't miss an opportunity to point out to his brothers that he was after all the favorite. Was it any surprise then that the ten brothers, acting in concert, threw Joseph down a well and then got top dollar for him from some Egyptian traders who pulled him out. Bringing back just a piece of that beautiful coat to the father to prove he'd been eaten by wolves was just a bit melodramatic however.
Well Joseph had a long time to think about it while he served as slave to the Pharaoh. He could really mull over his anger and his bitterness and his hatred when he got thrown into prison unjustly for making a pass at the Pharaoh's wife. But times change and Joseph's dreams saved him.Who would have thought that he would end up Pharaoh's right hand man and that here his ten jealous brother's would be standing before him begging for food. Who would have thought? Certainly not his brothers--they didn't even recognize him. And Joseph would have never imagined that these brothers would have found their way all the way to Egypt. Here they all are together, perhaps held by that brotherly bond of blood on their hands. What to do? Do those angry bitter feelings choke Joseph's throat? Is his first reaction to call the guards and have them thrown into prison to suffer as he has suffered? Does he desire revenge, justice? What's the statute of limitations for throwing your brother down a well?
Surprisingly enough, shockingly enough, he kisses them and weeps over them and explains that God has sent him here so that at this moment their lives might be spared. And Joseph lives out his days in happiness and peace. Forgiveness, amazing forgiveness. Jesus says "Forgive and you will be forgiven."Who is the winner here? Who is the blessed? We seldom see Jesus being quite so directive, quite so preachy. Usually he puts the situation out there and lets us draw the proper conclusion. But in this lesson; it's all right there--this is the way you should live, "love your enemies, do good to those that hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."
We've heard a lot of news in the past few weeks from Israel. We hear news that would underscore historic hatred, retaliation and revenge. But there are other stories that we don't hear so much about. Stories that make what we read in the Bible about Joseph seem not so far-fetched. Hamas kidnaped and murdered Yitzhak Frankenthal's son, an Israeli soldier in 1994. Today Yitzhak brings together bereaved Israeli and Palestinian parents to issue a joint call for peace. During the recent unrest he was unable to organize an emergency meeting in Israel because Palestinians cannot enter Israel and Israelis cannot enter Gaza. Undeterred, Yitzhak convened the meeting in London. As far as Yitzak knows this is the first time in the history of wars that bereaved parents from both sides--while their peoples continued fighting --came together to project a genuine warm reconciliation. Their message was clear: "We who paid the dearest and most painful price of all sit together discussing peace. We lost a child yet we do not seek revenge, only peace. If we can sit and talk, so can anyone.
It seems to me that it is beyond our human scope to dictate to anyone else their need to forgive. Forgiveness is not something that can be meted out on demand. Until we have plumbed the depths of the pain and hurt and evil with another we cannot presume that we know what it takes to forgive and whether they even are able to forgive. Someone has spoken of the gift of the ability to forgive, the gift of forgiveness. Perhaps this comes closest to what Jesus wants us to understand from those very difficult words in our lesson today. To be able to forgive is a gift. Who hurts when there is no forgiveness, the one who has done the wrong, certainly...but probably just as realistically the one who has been wronged. The one who has been wronged is the one who holds the anger, the bitterness, the despair the hurt. No one wants life to be filled with that spiritual dross. Jesus gives us these words of admonition for our own well being. To be able to forgive is to be set free from that anger and bitterness and to live a fresh new life.
Dalia Landau of Ramle offered to give her house back to the Arabs that were evicted in 1948, even though it had been her home since childhood. She and her husband Yehezhel agreed with the original Muslim owners, the Al Khayri family, to make the house a day care center for local Arab children, and Ramle's only Jewish Arab community center. Open House now offers a summer camp for Arab and Jewish children a tutorial program, and special classes. With Michail Fanous, a Palestinian Christian, as co-director, Open House stands as a shining example of cooperation among the country's three religions. In the wake of the recent violence, there is much fear and hostility to overcome. "But at least there was no fighting in the streets between Ramle's two communities, as happened in other mixed cities. I'd like to think that what we've been doing in the last ten years helps to calm the atmosphere in our town."
We all know that life can be lived without
forgiveness. We can avoid. We can ignore. We can pretend. When
Joseph's brother's were before him he might have sought revenge,
he might have gone half way by giving them food and sending them
away, he might have let the moment pass, they not recognizing
him and life would have gone on as before. But in the moment,
having the choice....
Jesus' words point us to a better way. We know the way but we
don't always have the courage to make that choice, to take that
leap. The courage to forgive. That's what it would take--courage,
some supernaturally derived grace to go against our natural inclinations,
our innate desire for retribution. Joseph and all his brothers
were brought together so that their lives might all be fuller
and richer, so that history might be enriched, so that God's purposes
might be served. Life would have gone on without the forgiveness,
but Joseph won.
Life will go on without forgiveness being a
part of it, but Jesus knows life would be better if you forgave.
Only you know the secret hurts and pains you harbor. Only you
know the cost and the courage it would take. Perhaps that will
never happen. Pray for the courage.
Amen