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Preserving the Promise

9/23/2016

 
Scripture:
Genesis 37:3–8, 12–14a, 17b–28, 31-34

Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because he was born when Jacob was old. Jacob had made for him a long robe. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of his brothers, they hated him and couldn’t even talk nicely to him.
Joseph had a dream and told it to his brothers, which made them hate him even more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had. When we were binding stalks of grain in the field, my stalk got up and stood upright, while your stalks gathered around it and bowed down to my stalk.”
His brothers said to him, “Will you really be our king and rule over us?” So they hated him even more because of the dreams he told them.
Joseph’s brothers went to tend their father’s flocks near Shechem. Israel said to Joseph, “Aren’t your brothers tending the sheep near Shechem? Come, I’ll send you to them.”
And he said, “I’m ready.”
Jacob said to him, “Go! Find out how your brothers are and how the flock is, and report back to me.”
So Jacob sent him from the Hebron Valley. When he approached Shechem,
The man said, “They left here. I heard them saying, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.
They saw Joseph in the distance before he got close to them, and they plotted to kill him. The brothers said to each other, “Here comes the big dreamer. Come on now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns, and we’ll say a wild animal devoured him. Then we will see what becomes of his dreams!”
When Reuben heard what they said, he saved him from them, telling them, “Let’s not take his life.” Reuben said to them, “Don’t spill his blood! Throw him into this desert cistern, but don’t lay a hand on him.” He intended to save Joseph from them and take him back to his father.
When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped off Joseph’s long robe, took him, and threw him into the cistern, an empty cistern with no water in it. When they sat down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with camels carrying sweet resin, medicinal resin, and fragrant resin on their way down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and hide his blood? Come on, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites. Let’s not harm him because he’s our brother; he’s family.” His brothers agreed. When some Midianite traders passed by, they pulled Joseph up out of the cistern. They sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver, and they brought Joseph to Egypt.
His brothers took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the robe in the blood. They took the long robe, brought it to their father, and said, “We found this. See if it’s your son’s robe or not.”
He recognized it and said, “It’s my son’s robe! A wild animal has devoured him. Joseph must have been torn to pieces!” Then Jacob tore his clothes, put a simple mourning cloth around his waist, and mourned for his son for many days.

Genesis 45:1–9, 11–13
Joseph could no longer control himself in front of all his attendants, so he declared, “Everyone, leave now!” So no one stayed with him when he revealed his identity to his brothers. He wept so loudly that the Egyptians and Pharaoh’s household heard him. Joseph said to his brothers, “I’m Joseph! Is my father really still alive?” His brothers couldn’t respond because they were terrified before him.
Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me,” and they moved closer. He said, “I’m your brother Joseph! The one you sold to Egypt. Now, don’t be upset and don’t be angry with yourselves that you sold me here. Actually, God sent me before you to save lives. We’ve already had two years of famine in the land, and there are five years left without planting or harvesting. God sent me before you to make sure you’d survive and to rescue your lives in this amazing way. You didn’t send me here; it was God who made me a father to Pharaoh, master of his entire household, and ruler of the whole land of Egypt.
 “Hurry! Go back to your father. Tell him this is what your son Joseph says: ‘God has made me master of all of Egypt. Come down to me. Don’t delay.
I will support you there, so you, your household, and everyone with you won’t starve, since the famine will still last five years.’ You and my brother Benjamin have seen with your own eyes that I’m speaking to you. Tell my father about my power in Egypt and about everything you’ve seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.”
 
Genesis 50:15-21 
When Joseph’s brothers realized that their father was now dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge against us, and wants to pay us back seriously for all of the terrible things we did to him?” So they approached Joseph and said, “Your father gave orders before he died, telling us, ‘This is what you should say to Joseph. “Please, forgive your brothers’ sins and misdeeds, for they did terrible things to you. Now, please forgive the sins of the servants of your father’s God.”’” Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
His brothers wept too, fell down in front of him, and said, “We’re here as your slaves.”
But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I God? You planned something bad for me, but God produced something good from it, in order to save the lives of many people, just as he’s doing today. Now, don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your children.” So he put them at ease and spoke reassuringly to them.

Look Up at the Stars

9/16/2016

 
Picture
“When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.”  
                                                  - Ralph Waldo Emerson

READING
Some time passed. One day, the word of the Eternal One came to Abram through a vision--a kind of waking dream. Do not be afraid, Abram. I am always your shield and protector. Your reward for loyalty and trust will be immense. Eternal Lord, what could You possibly give to me that would make that much of a difference in my life? After all, I am still childless, and Eliezer of Damascus stands to inherit all I own. Since You have not given me the gift of children, my only heir will be one of the servants born in my household. Immediately the word of the Eternal One came to him. No, Abram, this man will not be your heir. No one but your very own child will be an heir for you. God took him outside to show him something. Look up at the stars, and try to count them all if you can. There are too many to count! Your descendants will be as many as the stars. Abram believed God and trusted in His promises, so God counted it to his favor as righteousness.
                                             - Genesis 15:1-6 (The Voice)


REFLECTION
​I think I really began to understand the nature of biblical covenant when I was in graduate school. No offence to my professors, but I didn’t learn it in a seminar; and while I read several books each week, I didn’t glean this understanding from a book. it became clear to me in a conversation with a friend. It’s that simple.
 
Let me set the stage. I was going through a particularly difficult time with my faith. There was so much I couldn’t make sense of; so much I found hard to believe; and I found myself skeptical of and painfully doubting much of the foundation of faith. I happened to mention this painful experience to a friend, who gave me his advice. If your faith is causing you so much stress, he said, why not just abandon it, just forget all about it? But what about the commitment I have made to God? I responded. I’ll never forget what he said next. It’s just a commitment, an agreement, and all you have to do is change your mind.
 
Was it that easy? Could I really abandon my faith at a moment’s notice? That’s when it hit me; I couldn’t just change my mind and leave my faith behind. With my commitment I had entered into a covenant with God, and one can’t just walk away from a covenant. I had entered into a relationship with God and, thus, was bound to God. I couldn’t let go of the covenant, because it wouldn’t let go of me. I could abuse it, I could be unfaithful to it, I could even try to hide from it. But none of that would make it go away.
 
Abram went through much the same thing in today’s reading from Genesis 15. He was skeptical, and doubted God’s ability to do anything for him. It had gotten dark in Abram’s spirit – the proverbial dark night of the soul - but God knew something he didn’t; something well expressed by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.”
 
I take this to mean that when we wrestle honestly and deeply with our doubts, fears, and skepticism; when we own them and trust God despite their best efforts to foil faith; God invites us outside to see a glorious sight; all the stars in the heavens sharing their grace and beauty with us. All the stars in the heavens revealing the promise of covenant, God’s faithful love and care.
 
We will take a closer look at the covenant between Abram and God on Sunday morning – its challenges and promises – and I hope you will plan to join us at 8:30 or 10:30.
 
Bo 

The First Act

9/10/2016

 
Picture
All beings are words of God, His music, His art.          
        - Meister Eckhart


​
READING
Genesis 1.1  - 2.4a  (selections) The Voice
 In the beginning, God created everything: the heavens above and the earth below. Here’s what happened: At first the earth lacked shape and was totally empty, and a dark fog draped over the deep while God’s spirit-wind hovered over the surface of the empty waters. Then there was the voice of God.
God: Let there be light. And light flashed into being. God saw that the light was beautiful and good…
God: Let there be a vast expanse in the middle of the waters. Let the waters above part from the waters below. So God parted the waters and formed this expanse, separating the waters above from the waters below. It happened just as God said…
God: Let the waters below the heavens be collected into one place and congregate into one vast sea, so that dry land may appear. It happened just as God said… And God saw that His new creation was beautiful and good.
God: sprout green vegetation! Grow all varieties of seed-bearing plants and all sorts of fruit-bearing trees. It happened just as God said.
God: Lights, come out! Shine in the vast expanse of heavens’ sky dividing day from night to mark the seasons, days, and years. Lights, warm the earth with your light. It happened just as God said… And God saw that His new creation was beautiful and good…
God: Waters, swarm with fish and sea creatures. Let birds soar high above the earth in the broad expanse of sky. So God created huge sea creatures, all the swarm of life in the waters, and every kind and species of flying birds… And God saw that His new creation was beautiful and good…
God: Earth, generate life! Produce a vast variety of living creatures—domesticated animals, small creeping creatures, and wild animals that roam the earth… It happened just as God said... God saw that His new creation was beautiful and good. And God paused.
God: Now let Us conceive a new creation—humanity--made in Our image, fashioned according to Our likeness. And let Us grant them authority over all the earth—the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, the domesticated animals and the small creeping creatures on the earth… So God did just that. He created humanity in His image, created them male and female… The crown of God’s creation is a new creature, a creature that can sound the heartbeat of its Creator. That creature, made male and female, reflects God’s own relational richness. The human family is to join God in the ongoing work of creation. The earth below and the sky above with all their inhabitants are too beautiful and too good to be left alone. They need the tender care and close attention that only God’s favored creature can give… And it happened just as God said. Then God surveyed everything He had made, savoring its beauty and appreciating its goodness… So now you see how the Creator swept into being the spangled heavens, the earth, and all their hosts… 


REFLECTION
The sermon I will offer tomorrow is entitled The First Act. Since it is based on Genesis 1.1-2.4a, the first creation story, most if not all will easily recognize that to which the title refers; the creation of all things by the spoken word of God. And they would be right. This reference, however, doesn’t stop there. It refers as well to a saving act of God; the first in a long line that are woven into one central narrative that finds its fulfillment in the life and ministry of Jesus.
 
This overarching narrative is woven together of many biblical stories that can easily be recognized as one narrative that runs through the bible. Some call this the history of Salvation, and that seems to be an appropriate title. Looking back from the end of the story, we can recognize act after act in which God works to save God’s people. Some of these acts are simple, others complex; some are easily recognized, others hidden from the naked eye. But together they lead, in the fullness of time, to the fullness of salvation. Now that’s quite a story!
 
Starting tomorrow, we will begin use of a fairly new lectionary, the narrative lectionary, that will help us recognize and more clearly understand the one overarching story that runs through our bible. We hope you will join us at 8:30 or 10:30.

Bo 

    Permission to use and stream music in our worship services obtained from ONE LICENSE #A-730652
    and CCLI #36152
    and CSPL #143030. 
    All rights reserved.
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​7600 West 75th Street
Overland Park, KS  66204
(913) 677-4646
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