Love Beyond Our Means

Genesis 45: 3-11 & 15

Roger Lynn

February 16, 2020

(CLICK HERE for the audio for this sermon)

No one would have blamed him if he had sent them all packing. In fact, he had enough power to do a lot worse than that to them and no one would have objected. Joseph went way beyond the expected with his treatment of his family. But to understand the full implications of what he did, it might be helpful to make a quick review of what led up to the piece of the story we heard this morning. 

You may recall that Joseph was the favorite son of Jacob, which made him rather unpopular with many of his eleven brothers. One day when he went out to the fields to see his brothers they ambushed him, dropped him in a pit and sold him to a passing caravan of traders headed for Egypt. Not the sort of treatment designed to endear you to your siblings. Once in Egypt a variety of calamities befell him which eventually landed him in prison. It was there his ability to interpret dreams brought him to the attention of the Pharaoh, leading eventually to being entrusted with a great deal of responsibility overseeing the management of resources in preparations for the coming famine. It was in this context that his brothers finally encountered him when they came to Egypt in search of relief from the famine which had spread even to their home in Canaan. When they first come before him he recognizes them but they do not recognize him. It had, after all, been a long time and he had changed a great deal. In addition, they were not looking to find him in charge of Egypt’s food supplies. In those early encounters with his brothers, Joseph is not entirely kind. He doesn’t tell them who he is. He plays tricks on them. He leaves them to suffer in uncertainty and fear. In other words, he proves that even the good guys in the Bible are only human. But finally he relents. He reveals his identity to them. He promises them relief from the famine and invites them to return home and bring their father and the whole family to live safely in Egypt. He rejoices with them over the re-uniting of a divided family. In short, he lets them off the hook. He not only forgives them, but he goes out of his way to help them and embrace them as family, whole and re-united.

Who would have blamed him if he had sent them away? Who would have blamed him if he had locked them up and left them to rot? Most of us have just enough sense of “give ’em what they deserve” that we are tempted to question the credibility of this story. We can sometimes be a bit cynical of people’s motives. After all, nobody can be that good, can they?

Well, this very ancient story answers “YES!” and then goes on to offer hints about how such goodness is possible. The clue to comprehending the plausibility of this whole story is found in Joseph’s perspective. The frame of reference from which he views all of life shapes both his attitudes and his actions. This attitude is revealed in the midst of his speech to his brothers following his self-disclosure. “And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.” (Genesis 45:5) Joseph understood his life to be in the hands of God. I suspect he would have been very comfortable with Paul’s words to the church in Rome, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to God’s purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Such thinking does not mean that everything is God’s will or that everything is good. But if we can begin to trust that God is able to transform even the tragedies and injustices of life and give them positive and meaningful purpose, then the need for vengeance or retribution fades away. From a purely human point of view this sounds rather unreasonable and perhaps even a little bit foolish. Left to our own devices we are probably not up to the challenge, but we need not approach life on our own. When we allow ourselves to trust in God, then all sorts of new possibilities begin to open up to us, including the freedom from our own fears and distrust of others. When we begin to allow God to lead us, we start to take on the qualities of God.

This is by no means easy. We live in a world where bad things happen. Sometimes such things involve large numbers of people, while at other times they strike only a few. Sometimes they are of a violent nature, involving physical pain, suffering, and even death. At other times they are more emotional in nature. Such times represent life at the edges, and I know that many of you have spent some time at those edges. Some of you may still be there. And it is precisely when we find ourselves at the edge that we most need this kind of faith perspective. But when we take it seriously, we can find ourselves being called to places which frighten us as much as the edge.

There is a story about a man who fell off a cliff. Fortunately, there was a branch sticking out about ten feet below the edge and he was able to catch it as he fell. As he hung there he quickly realized that he was still in trouble. He could not climb up and he could not hang on forever. So he prayed to God for help. To his surprise, God answered his prayer. A voice came down from above him, saying, “I have seen your problem and I will help you.” The man managed to shake off his amazement enough to thank God for coming to his rescue. He then asked, “What do you want me to do?” to which God replied, “Just let go.” After a moment of silence the man responded, “Is there anyone else up there who can help me?”

We want to put our faith in God, but we aren’t always willing to risk letting go enough to allow God to work. When we find ourselves at the edge, we want to ask why. Why are such bad things happening to us and why are they not happening to the people who really “deserve” such bad things? Why does life seem so unfair? Why doesn’t God do something? The challenge of faith is to trust that God is, in fact, doing something, even when it doesn’t seem so. God invites us to let go of the bitterness and the hurt and the resentment, let go of the fear, let go of being in control, and trust that God is, indeed, at work in this and every situation, and will finally bring nothing less than abundant life to all concerned. We are invited to  trust that God’s grace will finally prevail, even when such faith seems to be just so much foolishness. When we let go of the weight of the bad things which we can’t control anyway, we find ourselves freed to notice the good things in life which would otherwise evade our attention. 

When we strive to live our lives relying solely on ourselves to survive, then such an attitude doesn’t make much sense, and, in fact, is not possible. But when we allow our survival to rest in the care of a loving and gracious God, then forgiveness and foolish kindness become very reasonable options for living. And keeping score becomes one less thing to worry about. It all begins with letting go and trusting God. From there the possibilities are endless. May we allow God to help us love beyond our means. It is not easy, but it is worth the risk.