I AM Sending You

August 31, 2014
Pentecost 12

Exodus 3:1-15

·        What do you see?

·        Why do you say that?

·        What do you think about it?

·        What do you see?
·        Still green.

·        Looks like its on fire, but doesn't act like it.

·        What do you think about it?

//

//

//

(Moses)

I am an Israelite.  Jacob is my ancestor.  I am of the house of Levi.  My people are slaves in Egypt.

That wasn't always the case.  When Jacob brought his family to the Nile River valley centuries ago, they were prosperous and respected.  Jacob's son Joseph was a high ranking official in Pharaoh's court.  Jacob's family prospered and grew - all the while retaining their faith in Jacob's God.  The Israelites were a distinct and unique people within Egypt.

It was exactly that fact, which motivated a new Pharaoh to enslave my people - to control us; to sap our energy for anything except manual labour; to make sure we could not rise up against Egypt. 

I was born into that world. I am a Hebrew Israelite.  I didn't always know this - I thought I was Egyptian: my name is Egyptian.  I thought my mother was the pharaoh's daughter.

It was only a few years ago, that I learned that , so great was Pharaoh's paranoia, that a brutal population control program was put into place.  New, Hebrew baby boys were to be killed as soon as they were born; and all boys who were less than two years old were to be rooted out and killed as well. 

I learned that my mother (my real mother) used to place me in a waterproof basket and hide me in the reeds every time the death squads came around.  My sister, Miriam, would keep an eye on the area until it was safe. I don't know how many times my mom and sister had successfully done this hide-and-seek trick before that day the princess pick that part of the river to bathe in.

She must have known exactly what was going on when she found my basket.  Clearly, she didn't have her father's hard heart.  She took me home and raised me as her child - ironically, my own mother was given the job of nursing me.

I knew nothing of this until I was an adult.

When I saw how the Israelites were treated, my heart went out to my hebrews - I began to question the entire way that Egyptian society functioned.  When I saw one of them being beaten by an Egyptian, my instinct was to put a stop to this injustice.  I did.  In the end, the slave was alive and his tormentor was not.

I was so afraid that I would be punished for this crime against a fellow Egyptian that I ran away - far beyond the Red Sea into the wilderness.  I started a new life.  I married. I had a child. I tend flocks on the hillsides.

It is not as glamorous as the palaces of Egypt, but it is good.  Maybe a bit boring and routine, but I can live my simple life without much concern.

At least, until today.

 //

[Exodus 3:1-15]

//

(comment)

Through the eyes of his up-bringing, the people of Israel/Jacob were a bit of an oddity within the Egyptian culture - they had a long history in the land, but they were clearly distinct: they had their own language; they worship some Canaanite god and not the gods of Egypt.  And it was assumed that they were "less" than the Egyptians: they were not as intelligent; they were not as artistic; they were feared, not to be trusted; they had to be controlled because if they weren't they would be a threat to normal society - the best they could hope to achieve was to live in peaceful subservience.  The Hebrews were indoctrinated to fear their taskmasters and to accept their lives as they were.

Okay, the biblical texts are not that specific, but I think it is a fair extrapolation.  I say that because we have seen this pattern throughout history - even in our own time.

When cultures and religions clash, one of the responses (on one or both sides) is fear - a fear that sometimes leads to dehumanizing behaviour and claims of superiority.

//

Yet, something inside Moses caused him to question the social order - he wanted to stop a small examination le of violence, but it lead to an even more violent confrontation.  Moses was just one person - what difference could he make?

//

I wonder if that went through Moses' mind when he was told to confront Pharaoh to let the Israelite people go.  Especially, when he realized that this God of the Hebrews was his God as well.  "I am the God of YOUR ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

Moses tried every excuse he could think off to avoid this task:

·        who I am to do this?

·        but, I don't know your name.

Which is another way of saying: ‘who am I to do this and who are you to tell me to?’

God’s answer to the name question has a wonderfully profound meaning:  “I Am”.
I am who I am; I will be who I will be.

I exist.

Later, the Hebrews will use “I Am” as the basis of God’s unique name - Yahweh - from the verb Hayah (to be).  God’s very name is
exisitance.

Who are you?

I am the one who is here; the one who exists; the one who is real.

//

//

Message:

·        God exists and is interested in the lives of people.

·        The name symbolizes this - I Am; Yahweh - to be - existence.

·        Liberation is a natural way of God.

·        God cares and God acts.

·        God acts through us.
And that takes trust and courage (i.e. faith).

Let us pray:

God, when we feel alone, remind us that we are part of a vast family of faith.  When we feel inadequate, remind us that you work through us.  Amen.

#191MV “What Can I Do?”

WORTH REPEATING

August 24, 2014

Pentecost 11

Matthew 16:12-20

Romans 12:1-8

(prayer)

I saw this meme online the other day:    

I think that it is generally true that when we enjoy a book or a movie or a song or a story, we can continue to find value in it beyond the first time we read or hear or see it.

If you are a reader, you likely know what I mean.  I know that I can’t be the only who goes back and re-reads books I have read before.

Same thing with music or movies.

(now, I’m going to start sounding my age, but)  Kids today don’t know what it was like.  When I was younger, we didn’t have YouTube or Netflix or iTunes or on-demand TV and movies to be able to re-watch or listen again to something anytime we wanted (provided someone is willing to play the requisite fees).  If I wanted to see Star Wars four times in 1977 (which I did), I had to go to the movie theatre four times - and chances are it was only playing at one singled-screened theatre in town (it was the Paramount in Edmonton, if memory serves).

//

I suspect that you have had the similar experiences to me - that when I watch a movie again or read a book, it is not exactly the same.  First of all, chances are that I missed something the first time around.  But more so, it’s different because I am different.  How I think and feel about what I do now - can naturally be different from what was in my heart and mind before, because I look at my life and the world with my modern eyes, not the way I was.  Even small, largely un-noticeable changes in my context can affect how I react to new experiences - even experiences I have had before.

//

There is value in going back into the things that we have already come to know - to reclaim its value and to find new meaning (that we missed the first time, or that we have become open to since we saw it last).

//

The books of the Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible) in modern Christian bibles is largely the same as what was used by the teachers and scribes of Judea and Galilee during Jesus’ time.  The order of the books within The Law, The Prophets and The Writings was different, but (by in large) the content has remained unchanged in more than two millennia.

The books of our New Testament (or the uniquely Christian Scriptures) were all written sometime within 100 years after the 50s of the first century.  By the mid-200s CE, although the formal church Councils had not declared an official ‘canon’, much of what we now have in our Bibles was viewed as the sacred texts of our faith.

While it is true that various preachers and scholars over the centuries have raised questions over the worthiness of some of the books of the Bible, and there are continued discussions over translations and interpretations, the basic texts of our Scriptures has been the same for many, many, many, many years.

//

And yet, we still turn to them.

The passages we heard from Matthew 16 and Romans 12 have been heard before.  Even if some of this was new to you this morning - we can’t ignore that people have been reading the gospel of Matthew and Paul’s letter to the Romans for much longer than any of us has been alive.

Some things are worth repeating.

//

//

Today, this is not just a general comment about people of faith finding value in re-experiencing their scripture.  Both of the passages we heard today contain examples of things that were worth repeating.

//

Jesus is aware that people have been talking about him.  He suspects that the disciples have been following the rumours: "Who do people say that I am?" Tell me what you've heard that's worth repeating.

//

Paul's words of encouragement for the church in Roman was about unity.  He wanted people to appreciate the value they can experience by seeing themselves as part of a larger whole.  The Apostle reminded them that they have different gifts, including: faithful understanding; serving; teaching; preaching; generosity; leadership; and cheerful compassion.  These gifts serve the church as a whole just as various parts of a body function differently for the well-being of the whole body.

If this message to the Romans sounds familiar, it might be because, it is quite similar to part of a letter Paul sent to the Christians in Corinth.  Today's passage from Romans 12 is an abridged version of what is in First Corinthians 12.  The same chapter number is pure coincidence (since they were only added a dozen centuries later), but the same content is intentional.  Paul had a good, easily understood lesson to share - it was worth repeating to both church in Corinth and in Rome.  Although, the same basic teaching is not found in other New Testament books, it is extremely fair to assume that if Paul had a memorable message to share that resonated with his audiences, he used it often.  School teachers, stand up comedians, motivational speakers know this technique as well as preachers do.  If it's worth repeating... repeat it.

//

//

"Some say you are like John the Baptist, others say you are a new Jeremiah or one of the other prophets; some even wonder if you are Elijah returned from heaven on a fiery chariot."

When Jesus moves the conversation to what others are saying to what do they think, Simon proclaims Jesus to be 'The Messiah, the Son of the Living God.'

This particular conversation is often called Peter's Confession.  Although it is told in very similar ways in all three of the (so-called) Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), Matthew is the only one where Jesus speaks so glowingly about Simon and gives him a new nickname: "Simon, son of Jonah, you are Rock, and on this rock, I will build my church."

Because, the book of Matthew was written in Greek, the pun that the original audience read was "on this petra, I will build my church, so you are Petros."  Petra is greek for rock.  It is a feminine noun, so to make petra a man's name the suffix was adjusted to the masculine '-os'. 

The only other place in the gospels that this nickname conversation takes place is in John, chapter one, where the first time he meets his, Jesus calls Simon, the Rock - but the fourth gospel relays the nickname as it was probably spoken by Jesus and Simon: 'You are to be called Cephas' (rock in Aramaic) - but just to make sure that John's greek-speaking audience understood, the text inJohn 1:42 goes on to say, which is translated Petros.

It was a nickname that was worth repeating.  By the time the earliest writings of the New Testament were penned (20+ years after Jesus' lifetime for the earliest writings), this disciple was known as Peter.

//

If you were here last week, you may recall me mentioning the time where a gentile womon from Phonecia came to Jesus (who she had heard was a healer) because he daughter was sick.  Jesus refused to help her because she was not Hebrew - he likened her to a dog trying to steal children’s food.  But she counter with a request for just a scrap of that ‘food’.  And Jesus agreed.  I noted from that point on in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus is much more open in his ministry in non-jewish communities.

By the time Paul is writing to churches in places like Rome and Corinth, the make up of the community of Jesus-followers is diverse - people from many lands, cultures and religious backgrounds:  women and men; slave and free; gentile and jew. 

On the surface, the church was far from a homogenious entity.  And there were conflicts - cultural, social, spiritual.  In fact, much of what Paul writes is to help deal with these tensions that seemed common in most communities.

We can understand that.
//

So, what can we get out of repeating these bible stories today... in 2014?

The early followers of Jesus were challenged to see beyond what divided them and to see what unites them.  It was not as basic as only focusing on what they agree on - it was also appreciating the advantages of diversity.

Even today, I think it is good if we are challenged in this way.  Can we do more that tolerate differences?  Can we appreciate the possibilities that only diversity can bring.

If you come to the drumming workshop on September 4^th, you will experience a diversity of rythmns that are only possible when cultures interact.

But, you know that the issues are broader and we need to take Paul’s simple body metaphor deeper. 

We live in a world that is still divided by what makes us unique:  look at the artiliary fire in Gaza and western Isarale.  Look at the huge racial divide that has been highlighted on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri. 

We certainly have interfaith divisions - within Christianity, within Islam - in fact, most religious organizations argue amongst themselves.

Jesus’ Church divided - theology, music, exclusivity.  And some of these divisions highlight real disagreements on how best to follow Jesus today.  It’s not as easy as all being
one, for the sake of being one.

If there is a message that I want us to take out of Paul’s body metaphor today it is this - we don’t need to loos our uniqueness to be part of the body of Christ - we just need to expand our view of what Christ’s body looks like.

And that has never been a more challenging or daunting task that it is in our time, right now.

The dominante culture of our day, in our part of the world is the primamcy of the individual.  Look out for number one.  Self preservation.  Me and Mine.

//

Does a message of a multiplicity of gifts working together have ears today?

I want to believe yes.  I hope so.  I have seen hints of it.  So, I repeat it.

We are more than our own selves alone; and together we are more than the sum of our parts.

//

Romans 2:²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. 

Let us pray,

We thank you God for the gifts we have because of your grace.  We thank you for the opportunity to use them to live in Jesus' Way.  Amen.

#660VU "How Firm a Foundation"

JOSEPH - PART TWO: RESTORATION

August 17, 2014

Pentecost 10

Psalm 105:16-22

Genesis 45:1-15

(prayer)

When we last left the story of Jacob’s son, Joseph, his brothers had just sold him to Midianite slave traders and Joseph was in the process of being carted off to Egypt for a life of indentured servant.  His father, Jacob, was told that a wild animal had attacked and killed his second youngest child.

//

The biblical account of Joseph is a difficult story filled with deceit and dysfunction.  Perhaps that is why it was a natural libretto for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical.  I wonder why it is that dysfunction and deceit peeks our attention and invites us to watch further to see how messy things will get?

//

When I get the chance to watch TV, I tend to gravitate to three kinds of programs (football games, news or - I confess - the reality shows: Survivor and Big Brother.  I admit that I have been hooked on these two shows since they first started airing in the year 2000.  And I think it is that ‘on-looker curiosity’ that makes that genre enjoyable for me.

I mean like this past week, when Frankie told everyone that he had been lying about what he does for a living and that he as a famous popstar as a sister - it was riveting.

One thing that I have noticed that is consistent in these group-self-eliminating kind of reality shows is that successful players seldom tell the ‘whole truth’, but getting caught in a lie is seen as almost unforgivable by the other players.  People get genuinely ‘upset’ when they realize that they have been lied to.

That’s part of what makes it interesting to watch.

//

//

Once in Egypt, Joseph, the son of Jacob of Canaan, is sold as a household servant to a high-ranking official in the Pharaoh’s court: Potiphar, the captain of the guard.

Joseph, the story goes, was good at what he did - soon, he was Potiphar’s chief servant, managing all of the details of ways of the household and of all that belonged to Potiphar.

It seems that there was someone in the house that wanted Joseph to expand the things he looked after - Potiphar’s wife found this good-looking servant from Canaan very attractive and made several ‘passes’ at Joseph.  According to the text, Joseph refused all of her advances - even when she got close enough to grab him by the coat: “lie with me!!”.  Joseph slipped out of the coat and left her just holding it as he refused her advances once again.

That was enough for Potiphar’s wife.  If Joseph wasn’t going to play along, she didn’t want him around at all.  She showed the coat to her husband and made up a story that Joseph had treated her harshly and insultingly.  Based on her report, Potiphar had Joseph sent to prison.

Even in jail, Joseph excelled - soon the chief-jailor had Joseph looking after the management of the prison population.

//

Joseph was in prison for a long time and had dealings with all other prisoners as they came and went. 
One day, two of the Pharaoh’s chief servants arrived in the jail.  Genesis doesn’t tell us what they did other than to say that Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker had offended the king of Egypt in some way. These two new prisoners began having strange recurring dreams:

     The cupbearer dreamed of three vines of grapes - from which he made wine and gave it to the Pharaoh.

     The baker’s dream had him carrying on his head three baskets of baked goods for the Pharaoh - but on the way, birds were swooping down and eating the cakes from the top basket. 

Joseph offered his interpretation of the dreams: the three vines and three baskets referred to three days.  At which time, both of these prisoners would be brought before the Pharaoh.  Joseph said that that the cupbearer would be restored to his position (like the wine being accepted by Pharaoh in the dream), but that the baker would executed and his head left out in the public square for the birds to peck at (like the cakes in the dream).

Joseph asked one favour of the cupbearer: “when you are restored, please plead my case to pharaoh to get me out of prison”.

//

Three days later, things happened just as Joseph had said.  However, the cupbearer forgot to mention anything to the king: he didn’t intentionally break his promise to Joseph, he just forgot. 

Until two years had passed and... 

Word spread around all of Pharaoh’s household that the king had been having some very curious dreams that no one could figure out: 

1.   Out of the Nile River, Pharaoh dreamed of seeing 14 cows coming out of the water - seven were healthy and fat; seven were sickly and thin.  But (in a true scary dream plot twist) the
fat cows were devoured up by the thin ones.

2.   Pharaoh also dreamed of a harvest-ready stock of grain that held seven plump ears and another seven ears that were wind and sun ravaged.  Like the cows, the drought-ridden grain devoured the bumper crop.

//

Based on the better-late-than-never report of the cupbearer the Pharaoh sent for Joseph to interpret the dreams.

//

Joseph told the king that these two dreams both meant the same thing: there would be seven years of highly successful crops in the land of Egypt, but they would be followed by seven years of devastating drought. Joseph suggested that 20% of the harvests in the first seven years be stored away for the Pharaoh to distribute in the coming lean years. 

Joseph was given the job of overseeing this massive project.  It had been 13 years since his brothers had sold him into slavery and lied about his death to Jacob.

//

The famine was, indeed, as grievous as Joseph had predicted - it affected not only Egypt but the whole region, including Canaan.

People from many lands came to Egypt to buy grain - and when they did, it was Joseph they dealt with.

//

You know where this is going... Jacob sent ten of his sons to by grain - after Joseph’s death, he could not bring himself to risk any harm to Benjamin, his youngest son (Joseph’s full-brother born to Jacob’s beloved wife, Rachael).

//

When the son’s of Jacob appeared before Joseph, they did not recognize him (it had been at least 20 years since they saw him as a teenager).  Joseph knew immediately who they were, but didn’t let one.

“You are spies”, he accused them.  They insisted that there were simply a hungry family of 12 brothers from Canaan.  “But there is only 10 of you.”  One brother is ‘no more’ and the youngest is at home with our father.

Joseph put them all in prison for three days and then proposed a test of their loyalty: “leave one brother here and the other nine can return home with grain, but with the promise to retrieve the youngest brother and return with him.”

Simeon stayed in Egypt while the others went home.  Jacob did not let Benjamin leave.  It wasn’t until they needed more grain that they returned to Egypt with Benjamin this time (hunger won out).

Joseph maintained the rouse when his brothers returned, but he invited them to a grand feast.

The next day, when their sacks were filled with grain, Joseph instructed his stewards to secretly place a silver cup in Benjamin’s bag.

It was another trick - when the sacks were searched, Benjamin was accused of stealing.  Joseph detained his younger brother and let the others go.

This was their father’s greatest fear - that he would lose Benjamin too.  The brothers bagged Joseph not to put their father through this grief.

//

That’s where we picked up the story today.  Joseph could no longer contain his secret; he was overwhelmed with emotion; he no longer wanted revenge, he wanted restoration - he revealed himself to his brothers and told them to go home and bring Jacob and all of their families and livestock to Egypt, where they will be sheltered from the remaining famine and they will live well - because Joseph was so well regarded in Egypt.  The Pharaoh even gave them several carts to take with them to help with the move.

And so after many years, the family of Jacob prospered; and the people of Israel multiplied in the land of Egypt.  Until... many, many years later, a Pharaoh came to power who did not know the story of Joseph.
//

We’ll talk about that in a couple of weeks.

//

//

Restoration can follow brokenness.  But it requires a change in how we feel about the brokenness.  To be able to reconcile what has been broken, often there needs to be a change of mind and/or a change of heart. 

     Mind: we need to understand things differently - that usually involves some level of a maturity that can lead to a new perspective.

     Heart: we need to feel differently about things - that usually involves some level of forgiveness.

//

//

There is a story in the gospel of Matthew, where a foreign woman asks Jesus to heal her daughter who is sick, but he refuses because she is not Jewish.  It is fair to say that the relationship between the Hebrew people and other peoples and cultures was one of brokenness and isolation.  Jesus compares her to a dog who is trying to steal the children’s food.  The mother wisely retorts that even the dogs can eat the crumbs off the floor.

And a restoration of cultures is possible because Jesus changes his mind.  He offers a healing (that up to this point in the gospel has only been available to his own people) to a foreign girl from Phoenecia.  Countless sermons have been preached on why Jesus did this - was he testing her faith with the initial reject or was Jesus actually convinced by her to break with cultural traditions.  The reality is that - Jesus’ ministry did expand beyond Judea and Galilee; and this event may been the point of divergence.

//

Restoration is deeply longed for.  It is (I believe) naturally longed for.  We are wired to seek peace and reconciliation - to not abide in anger, mistrust.  In fact, situations have to be pretty bad for people to consciously resist the longing to reconcile and say “no, I will not ever change how I think and feel.”

But even so, when we make that hard decision to leave things broken, most of us accept a measure of regret that goes along with that decision.

//

Joseph - at 17 - must have been very angry with his brothers.  They openly considered murdering him; even their kinder option tore him away from everything he loved and knew.  He was a favoured son of a self-made man.  He had (what he had to have thought of as a good life); then he was forced to work for strangers as an indentured servant.

Genesis doesn’t tell us how much he thought of home during those first two decades in Egypt, but I have to imagine that the transition to this new life had to be aided by the fact that he was able to be so successful in the work he was given to do.  Joseph excelled in Potiphar’s house, he was entrusted with great responsibilities in prison and he rose to become a top bureaucrat in the king’s court.

I have to think that Joseph’s ability to forgive was helped by his good life.  I wonder how he would feel about his brother had his time in Egypt been filled with experiences of pain and hurt. 

//
The truth is (in spite of the ironic language) that real life is not like a reality TV show.  When seldom get to simply watch dysfunction play out before us - if it is close enough to witness, we are probably living it in some way.  And so, we want to move beyond the dysfunction and deceit.

//

Yes, real-life reconciliation may come easier in some cases than in others.  But, I would guess that the change of heart and/or mind that reconciliation needs is generally, not easy work.

Time may help; maturity may help, but reconciliation is not going to come easy for most of us.

//

I can’t tell you that you have to forgive everyone and every situation that has brought brokenness into your life.  I don’t know if I could do that in every circumstance.

But I know that changes of heart and mind are possible - especially given some time and maturity.

And this will be true on all sides of the brokenness. 

When I have been the primary cause of the brokenness, it may require my recognition of the hurt and pain I have caused.

When the pain and hurt was thrust upon me, I may need to let go of my anger - my need to see the other person suffer out of a desire for revenge.

Reconciliation is hard work.

//

May God be with us as we struggle to heal.

Let us pray:

Help us God, to be open to our own struggles as we learn about the struggles of others.  In your love, invite us to change the brokenness in our lives.  Amen.

#578VU (tune #374) “As a Fire is Meant for Burning”

JOSEPH - PART ONE: BROKENNESS

August 10, 2014

Pentecost 9

Genesis 37:1-4,12-28

(prayer)

So far this summer, the series of Bible readings we have been given by the Revised Common Lectionary have had us working through some of the stories of the first Generations of the Hebrew Patriarchs beginning with Abraham and Sarah’s journey to the land of Canaan.  In fact, by the time the book of Genesis ends, we have some details of four generations.

Last week, I did a bit of an overview of the third generation - looking at Jacob’s life from the time of his birth up until he wrestled with an angel by the River Jabbok, when Jacob was given a new name: ‘The God-Wrestler’ - Israel.  In the future, his descendants would be known as the People of Israel.

//

Today, we move into generation four.  If you are familiar with Jacob’s family, you might recall  that it’s make up bears little resemblance to most of our family experiences.

The love of Jacob’s life was his cousin, Rachel - daughter of his Uncle Laben.  Laben promised Jacob her hand in marriage for the small price of seven years of labour on the family estate - which Jacob eagerly did.

After the wedding, when Jacob and his bride retreated to the marriage tent, he discovered that his father-in-law-uncle had tricked him into marrying Rachel’s older sister, Leah. 

Eventually, Jacob did get to marry Rachel as well... after another seven years of service.

I’m sure that it was not for a lack of trying, but Rachel was not able to have any children.  It was through Leah that the fourth generation of Abraham’s family began.  Jacob and Leah had four sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah (Gen29:32,33).  Sadly at the time, some believed that the purpose of marriage was to bear children - Rachel felt unworthy of Jacob because she couldn’t do that and she was deeply envious of her sister for her success in this regard.  But Rachel had a back-up plan - she would give her maidservant Bilhah as a wife/surrogate mother (another sad aspect of the time that Rachel could decree that her husband could ‘Here
is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, that she may bear upon my knees and that I too may have children through her.’). 

Bilhah gave birth to two sons - whom Rachel gave names to: Dan and Naphtali (Gen30:6,8).

It gets even weirder: Leah had stopping have children at this point (again not for lack of trying), so she pulls a Rachel - Leah gives her servant, Zilpah to Jacob to have marital relations with.  The result was two more sons for Jacob with what was - in effect - his fourth wife: Gad and Asher (Gen30:11,13).

Leah’s barrenness was temporary because she gave birth to three more children: sons Isshcahr and Zebulan and the family’s only daughter Dinah.

Just to complete the picture, when Jacob was already becoming an old man, Rachel was finally able to conceive and she gave birth to two final sons for Jacob: Joseph and Benjamin.  [Tragically, Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin.]

So, to sum up... Jacob had 13 children with four wives:

©     Seven children with Leah;

©     Two with Bilhah;

©     Two with Zilpah; and

©     Two with Rachel.

//

As I said, Rachel was Jacob’s first and true love, so he held a special place in his heart for the children she gave birth to: Joseph and Benjamin.  These two sons play key roles in this two part sermon that will continue next week.

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As was read this morning (Gen37:3): [Jacob] loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a [special robe].  The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain - based on early greek translations of the Hebrew, the traditional description of the robe is that it was a coat of many colours.  More recently, scholars think it may have simply referred to a long sleeved coat.  Etymology aside, the coat was clearly a unique and special gift that was given to Joseph alone -
because he was his father’s favorite.

The coat was symbolic of what seemed true within the family dynamics - that (in many ways) Joseph was set apart from his older brothers. 

We didn’t read it this morning, but there was also a time when Joseph had a couple of vivid dreams of stars and sheaves of wheat - which he interpreted to mean that one day his brothers would bow down to him. 

As we heard in what we did read this morning, none of this sat very well with Joseph’s brothers.

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You heard what happened when 17 year old Joseph was sent by Jacob to check up how the brothers were doing with the flocks out near Shechem and Dothan.  When Joseph was still a ways off, the brothers conspired to kill him and blame it on an animal attack - ‘we shall see what will become of his dreams!’.  It was the oldest brother Reuben who tried to talk them out of murder - he suggested that they simply teach Joseph a lesson by abandoning him in a dry well.  They stripped off that wretched coat and tossed him in, but it’s not clear if murder was completely off the table.  While the brothers (minus Reuben) ate their supper, the fourth oldest, Judah, got the idea to sell Joseph into slavery instead of murder.  That’s what they
did.  For 20 pieces of silver, Joseph became the slave property of some Midianite traders heading to Egypt.

Later, the brothers would go with the animal attack story with their father - they stained the fancy coat with blood and described the tragic death of their brother. 

Jacob vowed to spend the rest of his life in mourning for his beloved son.

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It is hard to foster perfect relationships - I suspect it is impossible.  Even with the most compassion-filled relationships, there are difficulties.  The deeper the love, the harder we work to get through the problems and conflicts that occur.

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There is an old saying that goes: you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family.

When family dynamics are such that relationships become broken - it can be especially difficult, because there is this expectation that (even though you can’t choose your family), you are supposed to ‘love’ them.

I’ve heard some people try and walk this tightrope by saying - of course I love my family; but I don’t really like them.

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Jacob’s children were part of a very complicated family.  There was the complexity of the four mothers (the competition among them and the picking of favorites) - the over abundance of testosterone must have had its impact.

Some of you may have read Anita Diamant’s 1997 novel, The Red Tent, which (although primarily focusing on Jacob and Leah’s daughter Dinah) fills in some of the gaps of the biblical stories of Jacob’s family with an interesting narrative of the various relationships and dynamics of this fourth generation of the Hebrew patriarchs.  I quite enjoyed her take on the various personalities and relationships.

Who knows what the real family dynamics were like beyond the few stories in Genesis, but we can say (with confidence) that there was a lot of brokenness in that fourth generation.

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It is hard to live in brokenness.  It is one of life’s most difficult chapters - for some of us these chapters are debilitating and dominate the anguish we feel.

I believe we are made to desire wholeness and completeness - and so when there is brokenness, we feel that there is something missing in life.

To be fair, sometimes circumstances make brokenness unavoidable.  We accept broken relationships because there is sometimes more distress trying to keep things together.  Sometimes accepting brokenness is the best a number of bad options.  I have some friends that the best hard decision they ever had to make for themselves and their family was to divorce.  Sometimes the brokenness is worse when we have trouble recognizing how broken things really are.

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Throughout the Jacob family narrative is the sense that God is intimately involved in the joys and struggles in their lives.  In a way, Jacob’s love for Rachel - in spite of the societal expectation that she should be bearing children for her husband - is a metaphor for God’s love for all of us.  Jacob’s love for Rachel was not dependant on her ability to ‘pump out puppies’.

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We worship a god of the whole and a god of the broken: a god of birth and death; of crucifixion and resurrection.

We are not alone. 

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As we leave the Jacob story today, we do not have a neat, happy ending.  The text ends today with need for healing - need to deal with the brokenness.

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Many of us have moments like that (from time to time) too.  The goodnews is that our God is the god of the broken.  Our God is a god of presence in time of joy and sorrow. 

We are not alone.

Thanks be to God.

Let us pray:

(ad lib)

Amen.

#642VU “Be Thou My Vision”