Tag Archives: Joseph

Monday Prayer

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12/19/2022

We’re coming down to the wire, God. This is the point in Advent where, if I haven’t done it by now, it isn’t going to happen. Those dreams I had of creating the perfect Christmas for my family, my church, myself …. they were lovely, weren’t they, Lord? 

But maybe they weren’t the dream you’ve been dreaming all along. 

Like the dream you gave Joseph. 

Your dream disrupted Joseph’s dreams of the perfect marriage, the perfect family, the perfect life …

Yet Joseph didn’t argue with you (the way I would).

As far as we know, Joseph stayed silent (the way I would not).

Joseph simply obeyed. Mary may have said, “Let it be with me according to your word,” but Joseph quietly acted, even if he didn’t completely understand what you were about to do. 

And you chose Joseph, of all the possible people in Nazareth, to be the one who would teach Jesus how to be human.

So, Lord, help us to discern your dreams for us, and make us willing to obey you, just as Joseph did.

Give us courage to abandon our old dreams, dreams that focus on what we want for ourselves, instead of what you want for us. For we know that what you want for us is far greater than anything we can imagine.

Help us to embrace the new dreams you put into our hearts and minds, dreams for peace, for justice, for lifting up the lowly and filling the hungry with good things, dreams for sharing the good news that You are with us, Emmanuel, and you will save us from our sins when we turn to you.

And then, Lord, teach us how to be human, too. Just as Joseph taught Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. Amen. 

When Dreams Get Real – Sermon on Matthew 1:18-25 Advent 4A

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Blessings on your Advent journey! We are almost there, almost to Bethlehem, almost to the baby lying in the manger. We’ve heard from the prophet Isaiah. We’ve heeded John the Baptist’s warnings, and Mary’s song magnifying the Lord. This week, we turn to Joseph.

We don’t know much about Joseph, but like his Old Testament namesake, he has some pretty intense dreams. You might remember that Jacob’s son Joseph made his brothers angry whenever he told them about the dreams he dreamed. He was good at interpreting other people’s dreams, too. That’s how he got on Pharaoh’s good side. This Joseph never rises to power the way Old Testament Joe did, but his dreams are just as powerful, and even more direct. Continue reading →

When Dreams Get Real – Sermon on Genesis 45:1-11, 25-28

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You can watch the video of this sermon here.

Over the last couple of weeks, we have seen that in the Bible there are two story lines. The upper story is God’s story where God fulfills his purpose and the lower story is the human characters’ story with all the complexities and details of life. Sometimes those details look like God is acting unfairly.

It doesn’t seem fair for God to kick Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, for example. It doesn’t seem fair for God to favor Isaac over his older half-brother Ishmael, either. But God’s purpose is only made known to us when we see things from an “upper story” perspective. God calls us to capture the upper story and its effects on our lives. The story of Joseph is a great example of how the upper and lower story lines come together in the Bible. Help me out here. Tell me when you think something that happens to Joseph is good (thumbs up), and when it’s bad (thumbs down). Then let’s see how God uses the bad to create good through Joseph.

The story starts in Genesis 37, when Joseph is sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. (That’s bad) Joseph is 17 and is “the favorite” of his father Jacob (Rachel’s son). (That’s good) Joseph had dreams of his brothers and parents bowing down to him. This does not make him popular. (That’s bad) Joseph’s brothers sell Joseph to a band of Ishmaelites, and they tell Jacob that Joseph was killed by a ferocious animal. The Ishmaelites take Joseph to Egypt as a slave. (That’s bad)

Joseph is sold as a slave to an Egyptian official named Potiphar and becomes Potiphar’s right hand man. (that’s good) Potiphar’s wife tries to seduce Joseph. (that’s bad) When Joseph refuses her advances, she falsely accuses him of assaulting her, and Joseph ends up in prison. (that’s bad) While in prison Joseph gets a reputation for correctly interpreting dreams. (Baker, cupbearer) (that’s good)

Joseph never plays the victim card, but he stays connected to God.
Over and over, we read that “The LORD was with Joseph” (39:2, 23). (That’s good)

Pharaoh has troubling dreams that none of his wise men and magicians can interpret for him. (that’s bad) But remember the reputation Joseph built in prison for being a good dream interpreter? (this could be good) Joseph is called to Pharaoh and correctly interprets Pharaoh’s dreams and counsels Pharaoh to prepare for what they say about the future. (that’s good)

Dream #1- Egypt will have 7 years of bountiful harvests (that’s good)
Dream #2- Egypt will have 7 years of famine. (that’s bad)

Pharaoh puts Joseph in charge of carrying out a plan to prepare for the years of famine, and this puts Joseph exactly where he needs to be in God’s upper story of redemption. Joseph is promoted to Deputy Pharaoh in Egypt at age 30 (Genesis 41). (that’s good)

The famine hits Canaan, where Jacob and his other sons still live. (that’s bad) Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt to ask for food, and they do bow down to Joseph. (is this good or bad, do you think?) Joseph is now age 39. It’s been  22 years from the time of his initial dream to its fulfillment.

This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for in Joseph’s story. Continue reading →