Genesis 50,15-21 3721
4. Trinitatis 049
Crescens, 2 Timothy 4,10
27. Juni 2021
1. O Lord God, Heavenly Father: who is merciful, and through Christ did promise us, that You will neither judge nor condemn us, but graciously forgive us all our sins, and abundantly provide for all our wants of body and soul: We pray, that by Your Holy Spirit You will establish in our hearts a confident faith in Your mercy, and teach us also to be merciful to our neighbor, so that we may not judge or condemn others, but willingly forgive all people, and, judging only ourselves, lead blessed lives in Your fear. Amen. (Veit Dietrich)
2. »When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said: „It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.“ So they sent a message to Joseph, saying: „Your father gave this command before he died: ‘Say to Joseph, Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.“ Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also approached and fell down before him and said: „Behold, we are your servants.“ But Joseph said to them: „Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.“ Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.«
3. Joseph’s brothers were in a precarious situation when their father Jacob died. Of all his 12 sons, Jacob favorite Joseph the most. His older brothers resented that and so they had sold Joseph into slavery and convinced their father that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. Joseph ended up in Egypt, serviced Potiphar, was unjustly thrown in prison for several years, but then becomes a trusted advisor to pharaoh, eventually becoming second in authority of all Egypt as pharaoh’s right hand man.
4. Joseph is a typical Biblical example of a truth St. Paul proclaims it his epistle: »The Holy Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose« (Romans 8,27-28)«. Jesus also taught in our Gospel pericope: »Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you« (Luke 6,36-38). Joseph’s brothers were unmerciful and harshly judged their brother in how they treated him. A common proverb in the Middle East is: an eye for an eye. Joseph’s brothers rightly fear that with Jacob dead, there is no one to stop Joseph from extracting his vengeance upon them, and as the second most powerful man in Egypt Joseph had the State of Egypt behind him to punish his brothers.
5. The brothers of Joseph merited vengeance from Joseph. They had sold him into slavery, had him removed from his family and told their father he died. What they did was despicable and horrible; to see them as wicked men is justifiable. As vile as the actions of Joseph’s brothers were, we live in a fallen world where such actions occur on a daily basis. Mankind’s sinful nature will judge a person by the color of their skin, their religious beliefs and the nature of their philosophy with the same harshness that Joseph’s brothers show to him.
6. How did Joseph respond to his brothers’ wickedness against him? A: he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. You meant for evil, but God meant it for good so that many would be saved: the Egyptian’s, the surrounding nations and the family of Jacob. God showed His mercy to people, both Jew and Gentile, through Joseph.
7. Thousands of years later God showed his love to the world through Jesus. »And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His Glory, Glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ« (John 1,14.16-17).
8. We are merciful, even as our heavenly father is merciful (Luke 6,36). For the measure we use will be measured back to us (Luke 6,38). Joseph’s brothers measured things with Joseph through the law and reciprocity; they expected to be paid back in kind as they had done to Joseph their brother. Joseph, however, measured things through grace and forgiveness; he paid back his brothers with mercy and love.
9. Such is the state of a fallen world in which we live. Jesus calls us to a life of loving-kindness, to a righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees who only did things through the lens of the law. Jesus exhorts us to strive for mercy and reconciliation. The world often does not comprehend such an approach because the world often approaches equity and justice through the lens of the law. To be sure, some improvement may be made this way but such an approach does not address the heart of the matter. Mercy and loving-kindness get at the heart of the matter, because at the heart of every human relationship is one between fallen, sinful people who often do sinful things to one another because they are fallen people. What is needed is a change of heart, a heart that has been changed by Jesus, so that it approaches the situation through mercy and forgiveness. Joseph could have been a bitter and vindictive man because of his brothers and treated them in kind. But Joseph was not for, like his descendent David, he had a heart after God’s heart (1. Samuel 13,14). God’s heart is this: »For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him« (John 3,16-17). May the Holy Spirit give us a heart like God, a heart that is merciful, forgiving and charitable. Amen.
11. Let us pray. O Lord You are good and gracious; give us a heart devoted to You, a heart like Joseph, like David, like Jesus, so that we praise Your Merciful Name. Amen.
To God alone be the Glory
Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm
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All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2019 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern.
VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2020 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands.
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