Genesis 45:3-8a, 15 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
“What Does Loving Forgiveness Look Like?”
Epiphany 7 February 24, 2019
What is the worst thing that someone has ever done to you? Maybe that is a difficult question, and you can’t think of something that sticks out in your mind that was particularly hurtful or difficult for you to deal with. On the other hand, maybe someone did something to you that was so painful and difficult that when you hear the question, it immediately comes to mind. In either case, you probably can think of times when people have wronged and hurt you. You can understand what a challenge it is that Jesus gives when he tells his followers to love their enemies and do good to those who hate them. You can appreciate how difficult it is to show love and forgiveness in the most extreme circumstances. You can look at the life of Joseph as a shining answer to our question, “What does loving forgiveness look like?” Now, our First Lesson on which this sermon is based, gives just a brief glimpse of Joseph’s interactions with his brothers. In order to appreciate the lessons here, we’ll have to review the life of Joseph up to this point. Joseph was born into what we would definitely call a dysfunctional family. His mother was one of four women who had children with his father. She was also dad’s favorite among the four, so Joseph, her older son, was also dad’s favorite. Joseph was one of twelve sons born to his father, Jacob. As you might expect when dad shows favoritism, the other brothers were jealous of Joseph. To make things worse, Joseph talked about dreams that seemed to imply that his family members would bow down to him. Joseph’s brothers hated him. And one day, they found the opportunity to show their hatred. Joseph came out to check up on them while they were tending flocks. They saw him coming and at first thought that they would kill him. Instead, they captured him and eventually sold him to slave traders in a caravan that was passing through. I think that it is safe to say that if we could ask Joseph what the worst thing was that anyone had ever done to him, this would be it: his own brothers sold him as a slave, and he was taken to the land of Egypt. In Egypt, Joseph worked as a household servant. He was reliable and trustworthy, and his master put him in charge of the whole household. We’ll save a little time now and not dwell on all the details, but he was wrongly accused and then put in prison. While in prison, he helped two men understand the dreams that God had allowed them to have, dreams that foretold their futures. And exactly what Joseph told them would happen did happen. Finally, Pharaoh himself, the King of Egypt, also had some disturbing dreams. One of the men from the prison remembered how Joseph had interpreted his dream, so Pharaoh sent for Joseph. God allowed Joseph to help Pharaoh understand the meaning of his dreams, and Pharaoh rewarded Joseph by placing him into a very high position in Egypt. The only person above Joseph was Pharaoh. And the dreams that Joseph had interpreted foretold seven years of abundant crops followed by seven years of extreme famine. This warning allowed Pharaoh and Joseph and the Egyptians to prepare for what was coming. They stored up grain for food and would be able to use it when the famine struck. And that is exactly what happened. Well, the famine wasn’t only in Egypt where Joseph now lived. It affected that entire region, including the Promised Land where Jacob and his other sons lived. Word came to them that the Egyptians had food, and so the brothers made a journey to go buy food. Again, for the sake of time we won’t consider all that happened, but we note that Joseph recognized his brothers, and they did not recognize him. Our lesson this morning describes how Joseph shared with them who he was. We read, “Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?’ His brothers could not answer him, because they were terrified by his presence.” Now put yourself not in the position of Joseph, to whom the brothers had done wrong. Put yourself in the position of the brothers. Joseph, whom they had sold into slavery, had become the second most powerful man in the whole world. They were absolutely reliant on him for food, for their very lives. He