Loving God, you continue to walk with us through Jesus Christ, carrying us when things grow too difficult.  Grant us an awareness of your blessings, even in the difficult times, and teach us to be a blessing to others; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            Have you ever heard the expression: “the more things change, the more they stay the same”?... Should you doubt this in any way, consider all of the things from Genesis 39 that are still going on today. Genesis includes human trafficking and unjust imprisonment.  It includes lust and corruption among the powerful.  It includes false accusations and assumed guilt.  And – unlike so many situations today – it includes somebody who acts with integrity.

         That somebody is Joseph, and what we heard today is only a small part of his story.  When we look at Joseph’s life as a whole, there are so many ups and downs that it might as well be a roller coaster ride.  He starts out as a bit of a spoiled brat and his father’s favourite son.  Then he plummets to rock bottom when his brothers despise him so much that they sell him to some slave traders.  Then, in today’s reading, he arrives in Egypt and enjoys a fair bit of favour as he manages Potiphar’s household.  Then it is down into the dungeon again as he is falsely accused and thrown into prison.

         Joseph remains in prison for several years, having been essentially forgotten there with no means of appeal.  Then, eventually Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams gets Pharaoh’s attention, and Joseph is let out of prison and enters Pharaoh’s service.  As the second most powerful man in Egypt, Joseph rescues the Egyptians as well as some surrounding nations from seven years of famine. And eventually his life comes full circle, with his brothers coming to him to beg for food and for mercy.

         One of the things that is repeated in today’s reading is how the Lord was with Joseph and made everything that Joseph did prosper.  Now, really, how many people would believe that the Lord was with them after being sold into slavery by their family?... And how many people would believe that the Lord was with them after being falsely accused and thrown into prison with no trial or conviction?... Would you perceive God’s blessing or God’s presence in these events?...  My suspicion is that most of us would have a hard time believing that God’s blessing was upon us.

         We might have a similar hard time perceiving God’s blessing if the things mentioned in today’s gospel were happening to us.  “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account,” says Jesus (Mt. 5:11).  In fact, this is an occasion to rejoice and be glad. Why?... Because “your reward is great in heaven” (Mt. 5:12).  However, if we are to believe the story of Joseph, God’s blessing also applies to this life.

         Had Joseph not been a person of faith, it is unlikely that he would have been a blessing to anyone. However, in spite of the calamities that had befallen him, he was a blessing to those around him no matter where he ended up.  In fact, even in prison God continues to work through Joseph in order to bless the people around him.  Joseph, it seems, made a choice.  He decided to make the best of his situation no matter where he ended up, and he continued to worship God and to believe that God was still with him.  

         We also have a choice to make when we face trials in our lives.  We can choose to believe that God has abandoned us.  We can decide that we simply don’t believe in God any more.  We can stomp our feet and demand that God change things for us.  We can spend our time grieving and asking, “Why me?”  Or, we can look for God’s blessings in the midst of whatever situation we might be in, trusting that God continues to love us and bless us and care for us.

         While there are undoubtedly many people of faith who have been thrown into prison over the years, one in particular comes to mind.  I think of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was a Lutheran pastor and theologian in Germany around the time of WWII.  Because of his Christian faith, he became part of the resistance against Hitler.  He spent some time in prison in Tegel, was eventually sent to a concentration camp, and was executed there just two weeks before the camp was liberated in 1945.

         While Bonhoeffer wrote many books, Letters and Papers from Prison contains many of the things he wrote while in the camp and the prison.  He is one person who continued to bless those around him, both in person and through his writings.  He also never lost his faith in Jesus Christ and knew that God was with him, even in prison.

         I also think of people who have ended up in the hospital or in care homes.  I think especially of those who become a blessing to the hospital or care home staff, and to visitors, and to other residents or patients. Some people, as soon as they are ill or are forced to move to a care home, become focused only on themselves and how they really don’t want to be there.  However, others, because of their faith in Jesus, decide to make the best of things and allow God to continue to work through them.

         The gospel of Matthew insists that we are blessed even when we mourn, or when we hunger and thirst for righteousness, or when we are persecuted and falsely accused because of our faith in Jesus.  This blessing is perhaps because when we are in such situations, we know how much we need God.  Some of us would probably never rely on God’s power at all if we weren’t forced into it due to difficult circumstances.  However, when we do rely on the Holy Spirit and put our faith in Jesus, and God actually carries us through those difficult times, that is when we realize how fully and deeply we have been blessed. May we, like Joseph, continue to experience God’s blessing in our lives, even as we pass on that blessing to others, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Pentecost 18 (NL 1)                                    Genesis 39:1-23

September 23, 2018                                   Matthew 5:11-12

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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