Joseph

Sep

2023

Learning how to forgive

Readings for 16th Sunday after Pentecost, Sep. 17, 2023

Learning how to forgive — forgive freely, but not cheaply

by David Sellnow

We have a hard time with forgiveness. Maybe you have been on the receiving end of a grudge. You wronged someone. It was years ago, and they haven’t spoken to you since. Or maybe you’ve been the one holding a grudge. You’ve turned away from someone, ignored them, ghosted them, because they betrayed or disappointed you in some way. Or perhaps you haven’t gone that far. You’ve had your differences with a family member or friend or neighbor, and you’ve put up with them. You looked the other way; you said, “It’s OK.” Meanwhile, though, you kept a mental record of each and every infraction—what they did and when they did it. Whatever the issue or the behavior, you find yourself thinking: “How many times do I need to forgive? It’s been seven times already. Is seven enough?” Remember, though, Jesus’ response to that question: “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:22). Jesus does not want us putting limits and restrictions on how much we’re willing to forgive. Our God certainly has not set restrictions on his own capacity to forgive us.

Jesus illustrated the too-frequent difference between God forgiving us and us forgiving others with his parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:23-35). The servant had been forgiven by the king of a debt of 10,000 talents, an unpayable debt that was simply wiped off his record. That same servant turned around and pursued legal action against a fellow servant who owed him 100 denarii. In the Roman empire, a denarius was a coin used to pay a daily wage. A talent was a unit of weight for gold or silver, about 75 pounds. To add up to one talent of value, you’d need 6,000 denarii. So a debt of 10,000 talents would be 60,000,000 denarii. After having a debt of 60,000,000 denarii expunged by the king’s grace, the man harshly refused to show any leniency with a peer who owed him 100 denarii. How often are we like that? We forget how merciful God has been in his dealings with us, and we show little or no mercy in our dealings with others.

Sometimes too, we withhold forgiveness because we have invented our own infractions and cut people off for arbitrary reasons. We are like the early church folks who were judging each other for which days they observed as holy days or what foods they did or didn’t allow themselves to eat. Christ’s apostle needed to remind them: “Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another?” (Romans 14:2-4).

We get carried away in self-asserted certainties and punish people for going against our expectations—which may be far from God’s own commands. Some real-life examples:

A father hasn’t spoken to his adult son for decades, because the son joined a church of a different denomination. Is that man so sure God is present only in his own type of congregation and in no other places?
A friend has not forgiven a friend for accepting a position and moving to another part of the country. Resentment set in about being “abandoned”—as If the Lord God had issued commands that the friend should have remained forever in one place on this earth.
A student severed a friendship from a classmate who stopped letting them copy homework assignments, blaming the classmate when they failed the assignments.

Sometimes we are the ones sinning, holding grudges, creating or maintaining divisions. Yet we blame it on the other persons rather than admitting our own insincerities and inconsistencies.

I once attended a church elders meeting, where one elder came to the meeting concerned about all of the “deadwood” in the congregation (members who had not been to worship for a while). He had a proposal. He had prepared samples of a series of letters to send to people. The first letter would warn them about the dangers of not attending church. If they didn’t respond or return to worship within six weeks, the church would send the second letter, with stronger warnings. Then, if they didn’t respond or return to church within another six weeks, the church would send the third letter, informing the recipients that they would be excommunicated. All of this was planned without making any sort of personal outreach effort to those members: no phone call, no personal visit. Just a series of three form letters, then their names would be removed from the church roster. Thankfully, the other elders on the board spoke up before the pastor even had to say anything. This was not a gospel-oriented idea. This was not how they were going to do ministry. Still, the fact that the idea was raised says something about the way we sometimes feel—ready to write people off, be done with them, rather than continuing to extend forgiveness.

I wonder how such a series of letters would have affected a church member I met in a different congregation. When I came to the congregation as the new pastor, I made an effort to visit each member’s home. There were, of course, plenty of members who had not been active in church for some time. One woman had been absent for years after having been very active previously. When I asked what had caused her to pull away, she described how it had happened after she and her husband had lost a child. The experience strained their marriage. She and her husband eventually divorced. Immediately after the child’s untimely death, church members showed her much caring and concern. But as time went on, she grew tired of facing people in the congregation, who always greeted her with such a sad look, always so worried about her. It was almost pushing her to continue to dwell in the grief and loss and pain. She just couldn’t handle that anymore, so she stopped coming. She’d visited some other churches along the way, but had not felt at home yet anywhere else. It was good that I went to visit her, and it was time that she was ready to return and become part of that church family again.

We don’t always know what is going on in someone else’s mind or heart. We should not rush to judgment about their seeming lack of expression of faith, or sins or troubles they seem to keep stumbling into. Far better that we be patient with them, with everyone—as we would want people to be patient with us—when struggling through something damaging or difficult.

Think of the Lord and his dealings with Israel. The Lord did not support their patterns of wandering and straying from his side. Yet at the same time, he was always in a posture of forgiveness, ready to embrace his people when they returned to him. Think of the picture Jesus gave us of the father of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). The father kept waiting for his son to come to his senses, to want to be home. He was watching and hoping every day for that change of heart. That is the stance of our God. He is not glad that we are doing wrong or living in senseless ways. He is always ready to grant us a place at his table and a celebration when we are back in his home and his family. As one of our most treasured psalms says of the LORD’s way of forgiveness: “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always accuse …. He does not deal with us according to our sins …. As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him” (Psalm 103:8-13).

We pray that our ability to forgive will grow more and more like the compassionate heart of the LORD our God.

Having said that, let’s remember something else about the Lord’s way of forgiveness. Giving the gospel to someone who keeps wallowing in their own mud, refusing to repent, is like tossing pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). While our usual failing is that we are too slow to forgive, there are also times when Christian people can be too quick to forgive. Excusing those who aren’t aren’t really ready for forgiveness can be harmful. We are seeking real restoration in our relationships, not simply sweeping hurts and abuses under the rug.

Let me offer an example, from a social worker in a domestic violence shelter. This was in the Bible belt; the majority of women who sought shelter there from brutal abuse were deeply religious persons. Most of the staff were not church people, though, and they were frustrated by a pattern they were seeing. The religious women believed they had to forgive immediately. The minute their man would say, ‘I’m sorry,’ they’d go back to him. The shelter would see them again within days or weeks, beaten up worse than the last time. According to Domestic Shelters.org, most women return to an abusive relationship six or more times, for various reasons, repeatedly subjecting themselves to the violence. At this Bible belt shelter, the averages were driven even higher by the religious conviction, “‘I must forgive,” pulling women back to their partners prematurely. In her work at the shelter, the Christian social worker of my acquaintance was asked to offer her perspective and counsel these women. She began pointing the women to the meaning of the word “repentance,” which indicates a change of heart and mind. It is a transformation, a turnaround, moving in new directions. As John the Baptist emphasized, those who repent will “bear fruit worthy of repentance” (Matthew 3:8). The women also needed to be reminded of how Joseph dealt with his brothers. Joseph’s brothers had sold him to slave traders when he was a teenager (cf. Genesis 37). By God’s providence over many years, Joseph went from being a slave in Egypt to becoming a government official, second only to the pharaoh himself. Then, when a famine hit, Egypt was the only place with storehouses of food. Joseph was in charge of the food program. When Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy food (and didn’t recognize Joseph), he put them through quite an ordeal to test them. He wanted to verify that they were different than they had been. He didn’t rush to reunite with them. He made sure they were repentant first. So, when he did reveal his identity to his long-lost brothers and welcomed them with open arms, the reunion was real. He had the whole family come down to live in Egypt, including his aged father. Then, when father Jacob died, the brothers became worried that Joseph’s kindness to them would stop, that he had only been showing them mercy because of their father’s presence. But Joseph again reassured them and spoke kindly to them. Joseph modeled his forgiveness after the forgiveness of God himself. (Cf. Genesis 50:15-21.) God had brought about good for Joseph, and Joseph was glad his relationship with his brothers had been healed.

When it comes to forgiveness, much of the time we are too slow to forgive, too arbitrary, too stingy. We are too easily like the unmerciful servant Jesus described, wanting to take people by the throat and demand, “Pay me what you owe me!” (cf. Matthew 18:38). Other times we are too quick to forgive, too enabling, too carelessly handing out pardons while the crimes are still being committed. Our Lord, Jesus, has instructed us to “be as wary as serpents, and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16 NASB). Learning how to forgive is an uphill journey for us. But with the Spirit’s wisdom guiding us on, we can learn how to forgive so that relationships are fully healed, families and friends genuinely reunited.

May God give us the wisdom to be careful when unrepented sin must be confronted with strength, and also the grace to give wholehearted forgiveness to fellow sinners in need of mercy. May we show mercy to our fellow servants of God, our King, in the same way that God, our King, has shown mercy to us (cf. Matthew 18:33).

Scripture quotations, except where otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Dec

2022

Truths to ponder in our hearts — and tell to the world

Thoughts in reflection on the Christmas gospel

Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them (Luke 2:19-20).

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A traditional storyteller beginning In the Arab world goes, “This happened or maybe it did not. The time is long past and much is forgot” (The Paris Review, 2018). When a story starts in such a way, like, “Once upon a time,” you know right away that it’s a fable.

When the account of Christmas starts out, “And it came to pass in those days” (Luke 2:1 KJV), I suppose some might think it one of those fanciful sorts of stories. But if you listen closer, that’s not what the Gospel writer intended us to think:

“In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered” (Luke 2:1-3).

Luke strove to recount history as it had actually happened. Luke was a studious man, a physician by training. He investigated everything carefully, in order to relate events “just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses.” His goal was “to write an orderly account,” wanting us to “know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed” (Luke 1:1-4).

I will admit, you’ll find all sorts of debates as to whether Luke got the historical details right. Was his timing off as to when Quirinius governed the province of Syria and when Caesar Augustus put orders in motion for registering the populace in that part of the Roman world? I’d not worry yourself over whether Luke’s historical record aligns exactly with other ancient historical records. It is good simply to take in and understand that what Luke reports to us is a historical record. This isn’t a story of “there was (or maybe there was not) a child born in Bethlehem.” This isn’t “once upon a time.” This is the account of how God came into our world in an astonishing way, in the birth of the Christ child. It is an account that shows how God has accomplished great wonders in and through the lives of ordinary people. It is an inspiration to us today, as we continue to live under God’s grace, knowing that God came to be with us, among us, in person, in Jesus Christ. It is a truth that moves us to live in service to others and with confidence in our eternal future.

When we hear miracle stories from the Bible, we may come away with the impression that supernatural things were being seen and heard all the time in those days. But bear in mind, the record of the Bible tells of hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years of human history. There were miraculous happenings at key times in that history, and those events etch themselves in our memories. But mostly, for God’s people long ago, just like for us today, most days things would appear more ordinary. In the book of Samuel, we are told, “The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread” (1 Samuel 3:1). When God began speaking to Samuel as a prophet, that was highly extraordinary. Samuel’s mentor, Eli, had to help him understand what was happening, as it was so totally unexpected (1 Samuel 3:2-18). We’re typically not looking for the interventions of God in our lives. We often don’t recognize God’s interventions when they happen in the course of ordinary events. And even when God has acted in special, miraculous ways, it intersects with the actions of ordinary people in the regular course of their lives.

Think, for instance, of what transpired for Mary and Joseph leading up to the birth of Jesus. Mary received a miraculous visit from an angel, informing her that she, an ordinary young woman, had been chosen to be the birth mother of God incarnate. A child conceived by the Spirit of God himself would grow in her womb (Luke 1:26-38). Understandably, Joseph had a hard time believing that story about his fiancee–until an angel convinced him also that the supernatural really was happening (Matthew 1:18-25). But then, things went back to normalcy. Joseph and Mary began everyday life together in the northern town of Nazareth. And during the first months of their marriage, a very this-world sort of event interrupted their plans. The government imposed a registration. We find it inconvenient when the government imposes an annual tax filing deadline on us. When a census is done every ten years, we may find that inconvenient too. Imagine if the federal government required not just a mailed or online filing of forms. Imagine if you had to travel to wherever your family’s ancestry was first established in this country and register in person. That was the way Rome did things back in the empire days. Registrations were a sort of census-taking, for various purposes (cf. Bible Archaeology Report, 2019). Rome did several official “lustrums” (as they called them) during Augustus’ reign to register people for the purposes of taxation. It seems most likely, though, by the timing, that the registration that made Joseph and Mary travel to Bethlehem was a special registration for a different reason. Rome was commemorating the 750th anniversary of its founding and the 25th anniversary of Augustus’ reign as caesar. The Roman Senate had given Augustus the title, “Father of the Fatherland” (Pater Patriae), and Augustus called for all persons across the empire to sign their allegiance to him and to Rome (An Unusual Census Decree, 2018, also Christianity.com, 2010). So, Joseph had to go with Mary, who carried the very Son of God in her womb, on a trip of 90 miles, to comply with an earthly government requirement.

In the midst of what seemed the standard course of human events, God was intervening in a way few were aware of. While the powerful in this world were taking a headcount to reassert their power and control over people’s lives, God was carrying out his own plans to bring grace and hope to people’s lives–through the coming of the Prince of Peace.

God would show the blessing and strength of his plans during the course of Jesus’ life and in what transpired afterward. Jesus brought good news to the poor (Matthew 11:5). Jesus showed himself to be the way, the truth, and life (John 14:6). Under the weight of the Roman Empire and its power, Jesus was put to death–crucified–though he had committed no sin. But God raised him up again, “because it was impossible for him to be held in death’s power” (Acts 2:24). And because of what they had witnessed in Christ and in his resurrection, those who knew him as their Savior began “turning the world upside down,” because they knew there was “another king named Jesus” (Acts 17:6,7)–more important and more worthy of our allegiance than any caesar or earthly ruler.

Christ’s first followers testified, “We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16). The gospel of Jesus was no fantasy story or hoax. The miracle of Christ’s birth and of his life on this earth and his death and resurrection–these earth-changing events were the best of good news. Convinced of the truth of Christ’s story, we today will continue spreading the good news of great joy that was first heard from angels on Christmas eve. Peace and good will from God, in Jesus, for all people on earth!

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May

2020

Pray for good government

Give wisdom to those who govern

by David Sellnow

An account has come down to us from the ancient world. The pharaoh ruling over Egypt had a pair of dreams that frightened him. In one dream, seven healthy, well-fed cows appeared. Immediately afterward, seven scrawny, starving cows came up out of the Nile River and devoured the healthy cows. The second dream was similar. Seven healthy ears of grain were consumed by dry, withered heads of grain.

The pharaoh sought someone to give meaning to his dreams. He found Joseph, who had a prophetic gift. Joseph said, “What God is about to do he has declared to Pharaoh” (Genesis 41:25). Seven years of abundant harvests were coming. Then seven years of desperate famine would follow. Joseph advised the pharaoh to collect and store twenty percent of the kingdom’s harvests over the next seven years to prepare for anticipated years of food shortages. The pharaoh followed Joseph’s advice and put Joseph in charge of the kingdom’s emergency preparedness program.

We may wish a prophet had predicted our current crisis in the modern world. Had we known a deadly pandemic would be unleashed, we could have done more to prepare. Then again, there were voices that gave advance warning. They weren’t divinely inspired, but they were quite prescient in their projections. After the Ebola scare of 2014, Bill Gates gave a TED Talk in 2015 titled, “The Next Outbreak? We’re Not Ready.” In 2016, the National Security Council developed an extensive Playbook for Early Response to High Consequence Emerging Infectious Disease Threats and Biological Incidents. In September 2019, the US Naval War College ran a pandemic wargame that foreshadowed much of what we are experiencing now with COVID-19. There is a human tendency, however, to avoid dealing with things we hope won’t happen. When the novel coronavirus began its global spread in recent months, governments around the world were challenged beyond their readiness. And people who normally didn’t want governments to play too large a role in their lives found themselves wanting and needing government agencies to do more.

Another human tendency–during good times–is to want government off our backs and out of our pocketbooks. We don’t like high taxes or a proliferation of regulations. It’s easy to see government as an obstacle that gets in the way of personal liberties and the pursuit of profits. But when a crisis comes along, then we expect government to be there, protecting citizens, preserving stability, providing basic necessities. Even politicians who typically have fought tooth and nail over the purpose of government came to quick agreement when pressed by a pandemic. An enormous rescue measure passed by a vote of 96 to 0 in the Senate, and subsequent aid packages passed with similar wholehearted support. The fourth such bill was passed in the Senate by unanimous consent and a vote of 388 to 5 in the House of Representatives. When the situation is dire, the need for intervention by government becomes immediately apparent.

In my days teaching history and religion, I used to assign the following take-home question to ministry students: In explaining the Lord’s Prayer petition, “Give us this day our daily bread,” Martin Luther said one of the things we pray is that God would give us “good government.” Using examples from history, compose an essay that attempts to answer the question: “What constitutes good government?”

Respondents to that question tended to focus on key common factors such as:
– Providing equal justice for all persons, without favoritism;
– Showing concern for the people and acting in the interests of all the people;
– Leadership and guidance during times of stress and crisis;
– Keeping citizens safe (criminal justice, national defense, public health);
– Building and maintaining infrastructure (roads, utilities, etc).

Their answers echoed things said by ancient prophets. Amos decried those in positions of power who abused the people under them. He said, “Hate evil, love good, and establish justice in the courts” (Amos 5:15). Moses stated these basic principles for government officials: “You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality. You shall not take a bribe …. You shall follow that which is altogether just” (Deuteronomy 16:19,20). Governing authorities are servants of God, set in their position for the good of the human community (cf. Romans 13:4). We are grateful when government serves its purpose well. We pray “for kings and all who are in high places” (1 Timothy 2:2), so that we can live peaceful lives on this earth.

When Solomon became king in Israel after the death of his father David, he prayed for his own capability to govern. He asked God, “Give your servant an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil” (1 Kings 3:9). The Lord approved of Solomon’s prayer. “God said to him, ‘Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have you asked for riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice … I have done according to your word. Behold, I have given you a wise and understanding heart” (1 Kings 3:11-12).

Let us pray today for wisdom as we face a difficult test of people’s mental, physical, financial, and social well-being. Pray for local leaders in towns and cities and counties. Pray for those serving at the state level, supervising laws and programs and human services. Pray for national officials who provide oversight for countries–our own as well as other nations. Pray for the work of global institutions in guiding collaboration to develop strategies and solutions. And pray for yourself and your neighbors, that we all may learn to love our neighbors as ourselves and do our best for one another. As we are being reminded often during this international health emergency: We are all in this together.

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Prayer: On Memorial Day, we remember those who have died in active military service. Lord, fill us with gratitude for such dedication by members of the armed forces that serve and protect our nation. At the present time, make us mindful and thankful also for essential workers in healthcare, food production and grocery work, mass transit and other roles, hundreds of whom have lost their lives to the coronavirus pandemic. Help our communities, country, and world to find wisdom and strength to navigate the present challenges. May governments do the work you have established for them to do, good Lord, in the interests of all people. Amen.

[Bible quotations taken from World English Bible.]

Jan

2020

Precious Lord, Take My Hand

Originally published on The Electric Gospel on March 30, 2017, from a chapel message delivered on a college campus.

Precious Lord, Take My Hand

by David Sellnow

Thomas Dorsey’s father was a preacher and a sharecropper. His mother was a church organist. Already from the time he was a boy, Thomas wanted a career in music. At age eleven, he left school to take a job in a local vaudeville theater in Atlanta, Georgia – where the family was living. From ages twelve to fourteen he was earning a living playing piano in bars and brothels and for house parties. By the time he was seventeen, he headed to Chicago to pursue his music further. After working for a time in a steel mill in Gary, Indiana, Dorsey studied music at the Chicago School of Composing and Arranging. He found success in the music business in Chicago as a composer and arranger and piano player. He was known as “The Whispering Piano Player” from playing after-hours parties where the music had to be kept quiet enough so as not to attract the attention of the police.

Dorsey was so frantically engaged in his musical life that at age 21, he suffered a nervous breakdown. He went back home to Atlanta to recuperate. His mother wanted him to stop playing the blues; he should “serve the Lord,” she said. He didn’t listen. He went back to Chicago. Coming to be known as “Georgia Tom,” he amassed even greater musical success as a sought-after band leader or accompanist for blues performers such as Ma Rainey, Tampa Red Whittaker, Scrapper Blackwell, Big Bill Broonzy, Frankie Jaxson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Memphis Minnie, and Victoria Spivey.

In 1925, Dorsey married his sweetheart, Nettie Harper, who was Ma Rainey’s wardrobe manager. But Dorsey continued to struggle with depression and mental stress and suffered a second major breakdown in 1926. He was suicidal and unable to compose or perform music. Doctors didn’t seem to help. Taking time off didn’t fix things. His sister-in-law urged him to come to church, and he did. He even visited a faith-healer, who told him, “Brother Dorsey, there is no reason for you to be looking so poorly and feeling so badly. The Lord has too much work for you to let you die.” From then on, Dorsey began to do what his mother had always wanted – write and play music for the Lord. He saw connections between the blues and gospel music. He once said, “If a woman has lost a man, a man has lost a woman, his feeling reacts to the blues; he feels like expressing it. The same thing acts for a gospel song. Now you’re not singing the blues; you’re singing gospel, good news song, singing about the Creator. But it’s the same feeling, a grasping of the heart.”

But most churches didn’t want his music. From 1928-1931, as Dorsey tried to sell his gospel music to churches, he was rebuffed. The churches didn’t like how he infused sacred music with blues and jazz. His music didn’t align with the conservative culture preachers were trying to promote. Dorsey had to return to composing and playing the blues in order to make a living. But he kept working on his gospel-based music at the same time.

In August, 1932, Thomas Dorsey had gone to St. Louis where he was to be the featured soloist at a large church revival meeting. His wife was in the last month of pregnancy with their first child. While he was in St. Louis, he received a telegram. Nettie had gone into labor and had died in childbirth … and the baby died too. The man was overcome with grief. It took many days before he could to pull himself together at all. When he did, it was by playing piano. And at the piano, about a month later, in the midst of all that grief, he wrote the most famous song of his musical career: “Precious Lord, Take My Hand.” In the years to come, Dorsey continued writing songs for the church and influencing church music. Writer of around 800 songs in his career, he became known as the father of gospel music in America.

The circumstances of our lives don’t always go in the direction we envision. We have hopes. We have dreams. We have plans and ambitions. And then things don’t go as we plan. Life takes turns in directions we didn’t expect. Sometimes everything comes crashing down around us. Our lives collapse in on top of us. Problems pile up to where we can’t see past them. We find ourselves shaken, confused, wondering what happened, wondering where was God. We so often don’t see what God plans to do for us and with us as he shepherds us through the valley of the shadow of death or whatever turmoil he lets us go through. What we do know is that God intends always what is good for us, that in all things he is working for our good – for our eternal good, in line with his eternal purposes (cf. Romans 8:28). God never abandons those whom he has called as his children. Our precious Lord is always working to bring us home to himself, bring us back to his promises, to anchor us in the love and hope that are never in doubt – in the Messiah, in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Thomas Dorsey wanted a career in popular music. The Lord chastened him severely, and turned him toward a deepness of faith and toward writing songs that convey the comfort of the gospel – songs that have greatly benefited Christ’s church.

There’s a similar sort of story in the Bible – the story of Joseph. When he was 17, in the fabulous dreamcoat that he’d received from his father, Joseph had fabulous dreams about his future. People would be bowing down to him. He was going to be somebody! It all sounded so amazing and exciting. Little did Joseph know then what his future actually would hold. His brothers abused and mistreated him. They dumped him in a pit and then sold him off like they would a cow or a donkey. He served as a slave. He was accused of a crime he didn’t commit. He languished away in prison. Ultimately, he did end up in a position of power and authority – but only after the Lord had worked hard on his heart and soul through deeply painful experiences in his life.

In the end, when Joseph’s brothers found themselves in a desperate position—coming to Egypt for food because Egypt was the only place that had food—Joseph tested them to see that God had been working on their hearts and souls too. They didn’t recognize him after all those years and in his Egyptian appearance. When Joseph revealed to them who he was, he made it clear he held no grudges against them. He saw how God had guided the path of all their lives up to that point, and trusted that God would be the hope of their people (and all people) for the future.

Today’s Bible reading is Genesis 50:15-21 – from the years in Egypt after Joseph had revealed himself to his brothers and the whole clan of Israel had moved down to Egypt.

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.

But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, teach us to trust you through the whole course of our lives – not only when things are going well or in ways we hoped or planned, but also when life is a struggle, when things go horribly wrong, when tragedies strike us. You hold us in your hand. You guide us by your Spirit through your Word. Keep us in your care, and help us to confess that whatever happens, you will be working in all things to bring about good for us as your children – with the ultimate good being that we join you in life eternal. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Dec

2019

Forgive and Forget

Originally published on the Electric Gospel on December 2, 2016.

Forgive and forget

by Annalisa Schuette

How long can you hold a grudge? If you’re anything like me, a grudge can be held for a long time. Some grudges are even held so long that the people involved have forgotten what it’s about.

You hear the phrase “forgive and forget” everywhere, but what does it mean? You might wonder how you can do this. God’s Word tells us how; he responds: “I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34). God is speaking about the Israelites in this passage. God continually forgave the Israelites, even after they turned away time after time. Yes, he disciplined them, even sending them into exile. But his aim always was loving and caring for them. He promised to forget their sin. The same God who is omniscient somehow forgets sin. We, as Christians, ought to follow this example, but it is so difficult for us as sinful human beings to forget the sins of others. We enjoy the feeling of power that we have dangling someone’s sin in front of them. We hold people’s sins against us over them. We feel better about ourselves comparing our sins to theirs.

This is not what God wants us to do. In Ephesians, Paul tells us, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). If we truly forgive someone, we have already forgotten the sin. There is no more bringing up of past offenses. No revenge is planned. You no longer feel anger towards the person or about the event. Forgiveness is a gift from God, so precious that Christ died on the cross to give it to us. We will treat it as the precious gift that it is and not take it for granted. Jesus said, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15). God wants us to forgive others.

This does not mean, however, that we should allow ourselves to be taken advantage of. In Genesis, we learn about Joseph. Joseph was abused by his brothers. Yet when they came to him for help, he gave them the aid they needed, but he did not tell them who he truly was. He tested them first. He made them prove that they cared for Benjamin, the youngest brother. When Joseph’s servants found his silver cup in Benjamin’s bag, Judah begged that he be taken as a slave instead of Benjamin. The brothers proved their repentance with actions. Then Joseph had a joyful reunion with his brothers. He forgave them for their sins against him and provided for them.

God does not want us to be abused and walked all over because we forgive and forget when the offender is not truly repentant of his or her sins. We want to bring offenders to repentance so that they change their ways. We deserve to be respected. We want to see a change of heart. But when we see that others are truly repentant and have changed their ways, then we will forgive and forget.

Stop holding grudges and ask God to help you forgive. He has forgiven you for so many sins, so you can forgive those who have sinned against you. Don’t allow yourself to be taken advantage of, but don’t hold sins against others. Reflect the love that God has shown you.

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