Friday, March 5, 2021            (today’s lectionary)
Follow your dreams
Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age.
God gave Joseph the gift of interpreting dreams, but Joseph often got in the face of his brothers with dreams about his own greatness.
And his brothers (actually his half-brothers) hated him because of it. “Here comes that master dreamer! Come on, let us kill him and throw him in the well. We’ll see what comes of HIS dreams … No, let’s not kill him. Let’s sell him instead, since he is our brother.” So they sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver.
And so off Joseph went to Egypt, where even as a slave he flourished at first, but then languished in prison after being falsely accused of rape. In prison he interpreted more dreams, and soon he was released and eventually became a favorite of the Pharaoh.
When the Lord called down a famine on the land and ruined the crop that sustained them, God sent a man before them, Joseph, sold as a slave. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
At a men’s meeting this week we ate sausages, salad and beans, and stood outside in the evening while the warm March weather turned much colder. One of the guys wore much brighter clothes than the rest of us ruffians. He reminded me of Joseph. I wondered about his story. Later he talked about discovering fraud in his business and making the painful choice of separating from the person committing the fraud. He lost a friend, and he knew his business might suffer. He also knew he had done what he had to do.
Later some of us prayed for him. I thought again of Joseph, and the family and friends who turned against him. Over and over Joseph was thrown into the arms of God by the dreams he had, relying only on the assurances of his Creator.
Things are not as bad as they seem, Joseph. Trust me. Listen to me with your inner ear. Follow your dreams.
We humans are a motley crew of starters and finishers, creators and organizers, leaders and followers. But when Jesus tells the parable of the vineyard and its tenants, he calls out selfish people, who have taken themselves too seriously and sacrificed the well-being of others for the sake of their own. None of us need be cruel, arrogant or selfish. None of us need be killers of the son.
Jesus told the elders of the people, “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”
Jesus knew the story of Joseph. I wonder if Jesus had issues with others in his family, competitions with his friends. Was he a Superchild? Were others jealous of him?
We don’t know, but what we know about Joseph and about Jesus, is that in the fullness of time they both became bearers of salvation and tidings of great joy.
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.
(Genesis 37, Psalm 105, John 3, Matthew 21)
#
