#Blessed - A Sermon for Sunday September 27th 2026
(Slide 1 - Narrative)
Welcome to week 3 of the Narrative Lectionary.
The God of the Covenant.
We are moving quickly through the book of Genesis.
We heard the story of the Flood -
and about how God no longer
deals with corruption by corruption,
no longer violence for violence,
Instead God responds to the human condition
with dedication and commitment to God’s people.
We heard a little of the story of the call of Abram and Sarai.
God called them into faithfulness,
to take a leap of faith and go,
to trust God will provide children.
Theirs is a story of our God being irrevocably dedicated to them,
even with Sarai being barren,
and barrenness in ancient times being understood to be
shameful and akin to death,
Go’s commitment to God’s people
means God brings new life out of death.
Today we move to one particular story about Joseph.
(Slide 2 - Watercolour)
If you didn’t know, our JOY group had a painting event.
Thank you, Rose, for your presentation to the joy group
on creativity,
and inviting us to be creative ourselves.
Here is what I painted,
and it displays two things:
First - watercolour is not my artistic medium!
Second, I was thinking of Joseph,
and what it means for Joseph to be blessed.
Two key words for us today:
Forgiveness and Blessing.
We’re skipping too much of the story, really.
so here’s a brief refresher:
Abraham and Sarah had a child, Isaac,
God saved Isaac from being sacrificed.
Isaac and Rebekah had Jacob and Esau;
Isaac plays favourites with his children,
but through trickery,
Jacob becomes the favourite, not Esau.
Jacob is later named Israel.
Israel the person,
and Israel the nation; the people.
Jacob’s story is Israel’s story.
Part of the early story of God’s people
is that they have short memories.
Abraham used deceit
- so did his son, Isaac.
Isaac played favourites with his children,
Jacob and Esau.
Then Jacob is found playing favourites with his children -
and Joseph is the favourite.
Joseph’s brothers hated the favoured child.
And of course they did.
I’ve known people whose parents played favourites
and that resentment doesn’t just fade away.
So the lesson is - if you’re going to pick a favourite child,
don’t tell anyone who it is.
Or better - remember who God plays favourites with:
the outcast, the sinner,
the poor, the sick,
the widow, the orphan.
Anyhow - back to Joseph,
Joseph’s brothers conspired;
they took Joseph’s long robe with sleeves
(the technicolour dream-coat
or coat of many colours so to speak)
as proof to their father, Jacob - Israel,
that Joseph was dead;
killed by a wild animal.
They threw Joseph down into a pit,
but didn’t kill him.
They sold Joseph as a slave to the Ishmaelites
who took him to Egypt.
This is low.
This is as low as you can go;
down into the pit,
a slave to the Egyptians
who build giant monuments to their dead.
So much for being the favoured child.
Joseph was sold to Potiphar,
one of Pharaoh’s officials in Egypt.
This is where we enter the story
of the God of the Covenant today.
Invite Reader Forward
I invite you to consider Blessing and Forgiveness
with today’s text.
I think they are linked. I believe they’re linked.
It is a blessing to forgive.
to be forgiven is to be blessed.
As we forgive others,
as we forgive ourselves,
we are blessed to be a blessing.
Let us open our hearts and minds to God’s Word.
Reading: : Genesis 39:1-23
First Reading: Genesis 39:1-23
A reading from Genesis.
1 Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man; he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him; he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. 5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. 6 So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and with him there he had no concern for anything but the food that he ate.
Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking. 7 And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my hand. 9 He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” 10 And although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not consent to lie beside her or to be with her. 11 One day, however, when he went into the house to do his work, and while no one else was in the house, 12 she caught hold of his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and ran outside. 13 When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, 14 she called out to the members of her household and said to them, “See, my husband has brought among us a Hebrew to insult us! He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice, 15 and when he heard me raise my voice and cry out, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.” 16 Then she kept his garment by her until his master came home, 17 and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to insult me, 18 but as soon as I raised my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.”
19 When his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, saying, “This is the way your servant treated me,” he became enraged. 20 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; he remained there in prison. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. 22 The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s care all the prisoners who were in the prison, and whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The chief jailer paid no heed to anything that was in Joseph’s care because the Lord was with him, and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.
Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.
Word of God. Word of Life.
Thanks be to God!
(Slide 3 - Leo, Don & Joseph)
Joseph must be quite the character.
If Joseph were born today, I think he might look like
Leonardo DiCaprio meets Don Cherry.
Handsome. A dreamer.
Wearing fancy clothes, and polarizing.
Joseph sounds like that kind of person
that is better than you at everything,
and it puts a target on his back.
But God is with him.
Joseph also sounds like the kind of person
who has those opinions you don’t like
but always seems to be right.
But God is with him.
That is the covenant in a nutshell:
God is with God’s people.
God blesses God’s people.
God is with you.
God blesses you.
So what does that mean?
First, let’s consider what blessing doesn’t mean.
(Slide 4 - #Blessed)
If you’re the kind of person who scrolls social media,
you’ve seen the hashtag and the associated photo
#Blessed.
You could search that hashtag,
and you’ll see photos of young fashion models
with glowing skin and expensive bikinis,
or someone with the brand new iPhone,
or someone on an exotic holiday,
or someone with a new car,
Or even a table with wrapped presents for a birthday party.
I’ve heard people say
“I have a good job, a nice home, a nice car…
I am blessed.”
So, does that mean that
women who don’t have glowing skin
and expensive bikini’s are not blessed?
What about people who use flip-phones
or or have no phone,
or those who can’t afford a holiday,
or those who can’t afford a car
or who didn’t get a birthday party -
are they less blessed by God?
We are quick to say no.
But we hesitate with the alternative.
God does not bless you with wealth.
God does not bless you with a car or income.
Consider Jesus’ teaching on blessing:
Blessed are the poor,
the hungry,
those who weep,
those who mourn,
the meek,
the pure in heart,
the peacemakers,
the persecuted.
Blessed are you who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
God blesses you to be a blessing.
God’s blessing is found in God’s presence:
God’s blessing is not what many think it is.
Joseph’s story teaches us
about what God’s blessing looks like.
But we need to weed through
some of the ancient interpretation in the text.
Verse 2: The LORD was with Joseph,
and he became a successful man.
Did Joseph become successful
because the Lord was with him?
I say no.
But I do believe God used Joseph’s success.
Fast forward to verse 21,
after Joseph has been imprisoned,
“But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favour in the sight of the chief jailer.”
Two key words here:
The first key word is But!
The people would expect the opposite.
If you’re in prison,
God must be cursing you
- BUT no - the opposite is true.
Joseph is blessed.
The second key word is favour.
That is another way of understanding blessing:
blessing is God’s favour poured out on you,
so that you might bless others
that they might experience God’s blessing,
God’s favour.
God was with Joseph when he was successful,
when he was in charge of the house,
and God’s blessings did not get erased
when Joseph wound up in prison.
God continued to bless Joseph.
(Slide 5 - Prison)
God’s blessing,
God’s gift of faith in Joseph
led him to decline the romantic affair
with Potiphar’s wife.
But prison is always a possibility
when you are blessed with God’s blessing,
And sometimes, you do the right thing,
and you still suffer.
Just ask the apostle Paul
or Dietrich Bonhoeffer
or Martin Luther King Jr.
Were they any less blessed
when they were (falsely) imprisoned?
No. God was with them.
Amidst false evidence against Joseph,
or against Paul or Bonhoeffer or King
for that matter:
God does not fight it with more corruption;
God deals with the corruption
through faithful presence,
through commitment to God’s people
through blessing.
God stays with Joseph.
God blesses Joseph.
I do not believe God wanted Joseph to be imprisoned.
I don’t believe God was behind
the false accusation against Joseph.
God doesn’t do tricks,
God brings the dead back to life.
Sometimes bad things happen to good people.
Sometimes good things happen to bad people.
So here is what God’s blessing does look like:
God uses what God is given for good, .
God takes that which is broken
and empty
and dead
and brings about new life in God’s way,
and in God’s time,
which we often find too slow.
God took the false accusation of Joseph;
the corruption,
and brought about blessing.
It took two years in prison before any fruits were seen,
but God worked with the corruption
that God was presented with.
God took the imprisonment of
St. Paul and Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King Jr
and brought about fruit -
even if it took time.
This is what God has been doing since the flood story,
Since Abraham’s deceit
and Isaac’s favouritism
and Jacob’s favouritism,
God does not battle corruption
and sin
and violence
with corruption
and sin
and violence -
God battles corruption with redemption,
violence with reconciliation,
God battles sin with blessing and forgiveness.
A brief pause, a faithful tangent:
(Slide 6 - #MeToo)
I don’t think you can talk about this particular story;
the false accusation of sexual assault
without acknowledging
how problematic this story is today.
We are not far removed from the viral #MeToo movement
If you are not familiar with the term #MeToo
It’s only a decade old,
October 15, 2017
following the sexual misconduct allegations against
Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
#MeToo was and is a way for victims
of sexual assault and sexual harassment
to share their stories.
It revealed just how prevalent the problem is,
particularly in the workplace,
globally and locally.
According to wikipedia:
“The phrase "Me too" was tweeted by Alyssa Milano around noon on October 15, 2017, and had been used more than 200,000 times by the end of the day,[19] and tweeted more than 500,000 times by October 16.[20] On Facebook, the hashtag was used by more than 4.7 million people in 12 million posts during the first 24 hours.[21] The platform reported that 45% of users in the United States had a friend who had posted using the term.
It is problematic to hear a story in our bible
about a false allegation made by a woman.
I am confident that this story
has been used as justification by some
to ignore allegations
of sexual assault and harassment
made by women.
It is also problematic that Joseph didn’t receive justice
being falsely imprisoned
for a crime he didn’t commit.
I know we live in a nation where
you are innocent until proven guilty;
which if we are truthful is a sham:
the alleged are always guilty
in the eyes of public opinion.
Yet this is a time for believing the accusers
and believing the alleged victims
of sexual harassment and assault.
I encourage you to join the #ThursdaysInBlack movement
and the #MoosehideCampaign
Both are movements to raise awareness
towards a world without rape and violence,
in particular towards women.
A large part of the problem is power.
Sexual assault or harassment is a crime committed
by those with power over the other.
God battles corruption with redemption,
violence with reconciliation,
sin with blessing and forgiveness.
That’s what God’s work in the world is all about.
This happened in Joseph’s story.
He may not have ever received deserved justice,
God remains present with God’s people
when they are powerless.
God takes the situations that we create,
the sin, our sin,
the corruption,
the violence
And God redeems,
even if it takes a lifetime.
(Slide 7 - Joseph)
The story of Joseph does not end in prison.
As the story continues,
He tries to find his way out of prison
by interpreting dreams,
but Joseph is forgotten.
Two years later, still falsely imprisoned,
Joseph is asked to interpret Pharaoh’s dream.
He impresses so much that Joseph is given authority
over all the land of Egypt.
Once again, Joseph climbs out of the depth of the pit
and into the highest of heights.
Joseph was able to predict from the dreams
that there will be 7 years of plenty
followed by 7 years of drought and famine.
Because of his economic wisdom,
Joseph is able to be a blessing to other nations.
During the years of drought,
he is able to sell grain and seed
to nations in the famine.
Now, he didn’t give the grain away,
but he could have stored up all that grain
only for Egypt’s benefit
and not sold it.
I’m sure Egypt fared very well financially
but the ability to buy the food during famine
was a blessing to many others.
God saved others through Joseph.
God’s work eventually brought Joseph
to a place of forgiveness and faithfulness.
I don’t believe God caused Joseph
to be a financial success,
But I believe God used that situation
to bring about new life for the people.
Face to face with his brothers,
the ones who threw Joseph in the pit,
who faked his death,
and sold him into slavery,
Joseph said to them
“..now do not be distressed, or any with yourselves, because you sold me here;
for God sent me before you to preserve life.”
After Jacob, Joseph’s father died,
the brothers again feared Joseph,
but he said “Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God?
even though you intended to do harm to me,
God intended it for good,
in order to preserve a numerous people,
as God is doing today.
So have no fear, I myself will provide for you
and your little ones.”
God’s work in Joseph
God’s blessing in Joseph
moved Joseph to chose forgiveness
not revenge.
Joseph forgave his brothers
who sold him into slavery.
The story isn’t so much about
Joseph’s moral behaviour,
it’s about what God was doing through Joseph.
God can take the worst situations
we put ourselves and others into
and bring new life out of them.
Life is unfair.
We are deceived.
We deceive.
We are corrupt
and corruption happens to us.
God is with you.
You suffer. Others suffer.
Sometimes it is others who make you suffer
and sometimes you cause it.
God is with you.
Sometimes we find ourselves in prison cells of our own making,
God is with you.
God did not simply pull Joseph out of his dark valleys.
We can’t always say why
bad things happen to good people
or why good things happen to bad people.
But God is with you amidst the unfair,
and the broken
and the corrupt.
When suffering happens,
whether you caused it
or someone caused it to you
expect God to bring new life.
May you see the signs of this new life
in your dark valleys.
May God give you the faith and courage you need
to choose forgiveness
over revenge and bitterness.
May you be blessed to be a blessing.
Thanks be to God. Amen. (Slide 1 - Narrative)
Welcome to week 3 of the Narrative Lectionary.
The God of the Covenant.
We are moving quickly through the book of Genesis.
We heard the story of the Flood -
and about how God no longer
deals with corruption by corruption,
no longer violence for violence,
Instead God responds to the human condition
with dedication and commitment to God’s people.
We heard a little of the story of the call of Abram and Sarai.
God called them into faithfulness,
to take a leap of faith and go,
to trust God will provide children.
Theirs is a story of our God being irrevocably dedicated to them,
even with Sarai being barren,
and barrenness in ancient times being understood to be
shameful and akin to death,
Go’s commitment to God’s people
means God brings new life out of death.
Today we move to one particular story about Joseph.
(Slide 2 - Watercolour)
If you didn’t know, our JOY group had a painting event.
Thank you, Rose, for your presentation to the joy group
on creativity,
and inviting us to be creative ourselves.
Here is what I painted,
and it displays two things:
First - watercolour is not my artistic medium!
Second, I was thinking of Joseph,
and what it means for Joseph to be blessed.
Two key words for us today:
Forgiveness and Blessing.
We’re skipping too much of the story, really.
so here’s a brief refresher:
Abraham and Sarah had a child, Isaac,
God saved Isaac from being sacrificed.
Isaac and Rebekah had Jacob and Esau;
Isaac plays favourites with his children,
but through trickery,
Jacob becomes the favourite, not Esau.
Jacob is later named Israel.
Israel the person,
and Israel the nation; the people.
Jacob’s story is Israel’s story.
Part of the early story of God’s people
is that they have short memories.
Abraham used deceit
- so did his son, Isaac.
Isaac played favourites with his children,
Jacob and Esau.
Then Jacob is found playing favourites with his children -
and Joseph is the favourite.
Joseph’s brothers hated the favoured child.
And of course they did.
I’ve known people whose parents played favourites
and that resentment doesn’t just fade away.
So the lesson is - if you’re going to pick a favourite child,
don’t tell anyone who it is.
Or better - remember who God plays favourites with:
the outcast, the sinner,
the poor, the sick,
the widow, the orphan.
Anyhow - back to Joseph,
Joseph’s brothers conspired;
they took Joseph’s long robe with sleeves
(the technicolour dream-coat
or coat of many colours so to speak)
as proof to their father, Jacob - Israel,
that Joseph was dead;
killed by a wild animal.
They threw Joseph down into a pit,
but didn’t kill him.
They sold Joseph as a slave to the Ishmaelites
who took him to Egypt.
This is low.
This is as low as you can go;
down into the pit,
a slave to the Egyptians
who build giant monuments to their dead.
So much for being the favoured child.
Joseph was sold to Potiphar,
one of Pharaoh’s officials in Egypt.
This is where we enter the story
of the God of the Covenant today.
Invite Reader Forward
I invite you to consider Blessing and Forgiveness
with today’s text.
I think they are linked. I believe they’re linked.
It is a blessing to forgive.
to be forgiven is to be blessed.
As we forgive others,
as we forgive ourselves,
we are blessed to be a blessing.
Let us open our hearts and minds to God’s Word.
Reading: : Genesis 39:1-23
First Reading: Genesis 39:1-23
A reading from Genesis.
1 Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man; he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him; he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. 5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. 6 So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and with him there he had no concern for anything but the food that he ate.
Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking. 7 And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my hand. 9 He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” 10 And although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not consent to lie beside her or to be with her. 11 One day, however, when he went into the house to do his work, and while no one else was in the house, 12 she caught hold of his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and ran outside. 13 When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, 14 she called out to the members of her household and said to them, “See, my husband has brought among us a Hebrew to insult us! He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice, 15 and when he heard me raise my voice and cry out, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.” 16 Then she kept his garment by her until his master came home, 17 and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to insult me, 18 but as soon as I raised my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.”
19 When his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, saying, “This is the way your servant treated me,” he became enraged. 20 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; he remained there in prison. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. 22 The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s care all the prisoners who were in the prison, and whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The chief jailer paid no heed to anything that was in Joseph’s care because the Lord was with him, and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.
Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.
Word of God. Word of Life.
Thanks be to God!
(Slide 3 - Leo, Don & Joseph)
Joseph must be quite the character.
If Joseph were born today, I think he might look like
Leonardo DiCaprio meets Don Cherry.
Handsome. A dreamer.
Wearing fancy clothes, and polarizing.
Joseph sounds like that kind of person
that is better than you at everything,
and it puts a target on his back.
But God is with him.
Joseph also sounds like the kind of person
who has those opinions you don’t like
but always seems to be right.
But God is with him.
That is the covenant in a nutshell:
God is with God’s people.
God blesses God’s people.
God is with you.
God blesses you.
So what does that mean?
First, let’s consider what blessing doesn’t mean.
(Slide 4 - #Blessed)
If you’re the kind of person who scrolls social media,
you’ve seen the hashtag and the associated photo
#Blessed.
You could search that hashtag,
and you’ll see photos of young fashion models
with glowing skin and expensive bikinis,
or someone with the brand new iPhone,
or someone on an exotic holiday,
or someone with a new car,
Or even a table with wrapped presents for a birthday party.
I’ve heard people say
“I have a good job, a nice home, a nice car…
I am blessed.”
So, does that mean that
women who don’t have glowing skin
and expensive bikini’s are not blessed?
What about people who use flip-phones
or or have no phone,
or those who can’t afford a holiday,
or those who can’t afford a car
or who didn’t get a birthday party -
are they less blessed by God?
We are quick to say no.
But we hesitate with the alternative.
God does not bless you with wealth.
God does not bless you with a car or income.
Consider Jesus’ teaching on blessing:
Blessed are the poor,
the hungry,
those who weep,
those who mourn,
the meek,
the pure in heart,
the peacemakers,
the persecuted.
Blessed are you who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
God blesses you to be a blessing.
God’s blessing is found in God’s presence:
God’s blessing is not what many think it is.
Joseph’s story teaches us
about what God’s blessing looks like.
But we need to weed through
some of the ancient interpretation in the text.
Verse 2: The LORD was with Joseph,
and he became a successful man.
Did Joseph become successful
because the Lord was with him?
I say no.
But I do believe God used Joseph’s success.
Fast forward to verse 21,
after Joseph has been imprisoned,
“But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favour in the sight of the chief jailer.”
Two key words here:
The first key word is But!
The people would expect the opposite.
If you’re in prison,
God must be cursing you
- BUT no - the opposite is true.
Joseph is blessed.
The second key word is favour.
That is another way of understanding blessing:
blessing is God’s favour poured out on you,
so that you might bless others
that they might experience God’s blessing,
God’s favour.
God was with Joseph when he was successful,
when he was in charge of the house,
and God’s blessings did not get erased
when Joseph wound up in prison.
God continued to bless Joseph.
(Slide 5 - Prison)
God’s blessing,
God’s gift of faith in Joseph
led him to decline the romantic affair
with Potiphar’s wife.
But prison is always a possibility
when you are blessed with God’s blessing,
And sometimes, you do the right thing,
and you still suffer.
Just ask the apostle Paul
or Dietrich Bonhoeffer
or Martin Luther King Jr.
Were they any less blessed
when they were (falsely) imprisoned?
No. God was with them.
Amidst false evidence against Joseph,
or against Paul or Bonhoeffer or King
for that matter:
God does not fight it with more corruption;
God deals with the corruption
through faithful presence,
through commitment to God’s people
through blessing.
God stays with Joseph.
God blesses Joseph.
I do not believe God wanted Joseph to be imprisoned.
I don’t believe God was behind
the false accusation against Joseph.
God doesn’t do tricks,
God brings the dead back to life.
Sometimes bad things happen to good people.
Sometimes good things happen to bad people.
So here is what God’s blessing does look like:
God uses what God is given for good, .
God takes that which is broken
and empty
and dead
and brings about new life in God’s way,
and in God’s time,
which we often find too slow.
God took the false accusation of Joseph;
the corruption,
and brought about blessing.
It took two years in prison before any fruits were seen,
but God worked with the corruption
that God was presented with.
God took the imprisonment of
St. Paul and Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King Jr
and brought about fruit -
even if it took time.
This is what God has been doing since the flood story,
Since Abraham’s deceit
and Isaac’s favouritism
and Jacob’s favouritism,
God does not battle corruption
and sin
and violence
with corruption
and sin
and violence -
God battles corruption with redemption,
violence with reconciliation,
God battles sin with blessing and forgiveness.
A brief pause, a faithful tangent:
(Slide 6 - #MeToo)
I don’t think you can talk about this particular story;
the false accusation of sexual assault
without acknowledging
how problematic this story is today.
We are not far removed from the viral #MeToo movement
If you are not familiar with the term #MeToo
It’s only a decade old,
October 15, 2017
following the sexual misconduct allegations against
Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
#MeToo was and is a way for victims
of sexual assault and sexual harassment
to share their stories.
It revealed just how prevalent the problem is,
particularly in the workplace,
globally and locally.
According to wikipedia:
“The phrase "Me too" was tweeted by Alyssa Milano around noon on October 15, 2017, and had been used more than 200,000 times by the end of the day,[19] and tweeted more than 500,000 times by October 16.[20] On Facebook, the hashtag was used by more than 4.7 million people in 12 million posts during the first 24 hours.[21] The platform reported that 45% of users in the United States had a friend who had posted using the term.
It is problematic to hear a story in our bible
about a false allegation made by a woman.
I am confident that this story
has been used as justification by some
to ignore allegations
of sexual assault and harassment
made by women.
It is also problematic that Joseph didn’t receive justice
being falsely imprisoned
for a crime he didn’t commit.
I know we live in a nation where
you are innocent until proven guilty;
which if we are truthful is a sham:
the alleged are always guilty
in the eyes of public opinion.
Yet this is a time for believing the accusers
and believing the alleged victims
of sexual harassment and assault.
I encourage you to join the #ThursdaysInBlack movement
and the #MoosehideCampaign
Both are movements to raise awareness
towards a world without rape and violence,
in particular towards women.
A large part of the problem is power.
Sexual assault or harassment is a crime committed
by those with power over the other.
God battles corruption with redemption,
violence with reconciliation,
sin with blessing and forgiveness.
That’s what God’s work in the world is all about.
This happened in Joseph’s story.
He may not have ever received deserved justice,
God remains present with God’s people
when they are powerless.
God takes the situations that we create,
the sin, our sin,
the corruption,
the violence
And God redeems,
even if it takes a lifetime.
(Slide 7 - Joseph)
The story of Joseph does not end in prison.
As the story continues,
He tries to find his way out of prison
by interpreting dreams,
but Joseph is forgotten.
Two years later, still falsely imprisoned,
Joseph is asked to interpret Pharaoh’s dream.
He impresses so much that Joseph is given authority
over all the land of Egypt.
Once again, Joseph climbs out of the depth of the pit
and into the highest of heights.
Joseph was able to predict from the dreams
that there will be 7 years of plenty
followed by 7 years of drought and famine.
Because of his economic wisdom,
Joseph is able to be a blessing to other nations.
During the years of drought,
he is able to sell grain and seed
to nations in the famine.
Now, he didn’t give the grain away,
but he could have stored up all that grain
only for Egypt’s benefit
and not sold it.
I’m sure Egypt fared very well financially
but the ability to buy the food during famine
was a blessing to many others.
God saved others through Joseph.
God’s work eventually brought Joseph
to a place of forgiveness and faithfulness.
I don’t believe God caused Joseph
to be a financial success,
But I believe God used that situation
to bring about new life for the people.
Face to face with his brothers,
the ones who threw Joseph in the pit,
who faked his death,
and sold him into slavery,
Joseph said to them
“..now do not be distressed, or any with yourselves, because you sold me here;
for God sent me before you to preserve life.”
After Jacob, Joseph’s father died,
the brothers again feared Joseph,
but he said “Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God?
even though you intended to do harm to me,
God intended it for good,
in order to preserve a numerous people,
as God is doing today.
So have no fear, I myself will provide for you
and your little ones.”
God’s work in Joseph
God’s blessing in Joseph
moved Joseph to chose forgiveness
not revenge.
Joseph forgave his brothers
who sold him into slavery.
The story isn’t so much about
Joseph’s moral behaviour,
it’s about what God was doing through Joseph.
God can take the worst situations
we put ourselves and others into
and bring new life out of them.
Life is unfair.
We are deceived.
We deceive.
We are corrupt
and corruption happens to us.
God is with you.
You suffer. Others suffer.
Sometimes it is others who make you suffer
and sometimes you cause it.
God is with you.
Sometimes we find ourselves in prison cells of our own making,
God is with you.
God did not simply pull Joseph out of his dark valleys.
We can’t always say why
bad things happen to good people
or why good things happen to bad people.
But God is with you amidst the unfair,
and the broken
and the corrupt.
When suffering happens,
whether you caused it
or someone caused it to you
expect God to bring new life.
May you see the signs of this new life
in your dark valleys.
May God give you the faith and courage you need
to choose forgiveness
over revenge and bitterness.
May you be blessed to be a blessing.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
