Genesis 37:1-111 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. 2 This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. 5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it." 8 His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said. 9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." 10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?" 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
[Prayer]
This morning we end this series that we begin back in June: SEX, LIES, MURDER and Other Stories from Genesis. In this series, we have seen that although this book was written about people who are very different from us, separated by thousands of miles and thousands of years, the problems they faced are still some of the same problems we face today. That’s because the basic problems all people face are problems with the human condition – sin and relationships. Those problems are timeless.
The message today stems out of the story of Joseph, which actually comprises about one-fourth of the whole book of Genesis. Joseph’s story is one that we talk about from time-to-time, but rarely will you hear a preacher preach on any of these chapters. I have to admit, I struggled with the text simply because there is so much of it – thirteen chapters deal directly with Joseph. Now, don’t start looking at your watches, because we are not going to be reading all that this morning.
Now, it just so happens that if you would like to experience the story later on, the West Side Civic Theatre is performing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat tonight and next weekend at Shallowford Square. I believe you will love this musical and you be able to see with your own eyes, the story of Joseph played out. I find it fascinating that it is filled with just about all the elements we have been talking about over the summer. It has Murder (okay – they thought about it), Lies (deception abounds in it), and of course, Sex (Joseph’s encounter with the first “cougar” in recorded history, Potiphar’s wife).
But what we will be gleaning from the text today is living into our calling. As we heard in the reading of the text earlier, Joseph was the favored son, the “Golden Child” of his brothers and sisters. It was no secret that Jacob loved Joseph the most. To demonstrate his affection, Jacob gave him a ornate coat, some versions of the Bible say it was multi-colored and others will say it had long sleeves, but to suffice it to say, it was an extravagant gift. It was a coat that was worn only by people of authority, not people who engaged in physical labor. So, of course, his brothers were not happy at all with this display of favoritism.
Almost as if he were rubbing salt in a wound, Joseph then tells his brothers of the dreams he had, each suggesting that his brothers would be bowing before him some day – plus Jacob and Rachel. Again, this did not set well with the brothers. Joseph wasn’t wrong in his understanding of his lofty dreams, which you can read about in the subsequent chapters, but he did ere in how he began to live into this calling.
I find it to be almost providential that this final message not only coincided with the musical being performed here in town, but also on this Sunday that we celebrate Labor Day. For many of us, we tend to see our profession as our calling. But is it?
Let me ask you the same question? What did you dream of being when you a child?
Many of us are doing what we dreamed about when we were little and many are not. Often, we get sidetracked on living out our dreams. Likewise, many people get sidetracked on living out their calling.
Now before we go on, let me state that our professions and our calling may not always be the same.
Who feels like you are living into your calling?
As I stated earlier, it may or may not be linked to your profession. You may be gifted and talented in performing your vocation, but your calling is that unique and special passion deep inside that may or may not be tied in with your profession. If it is, great! You are living your dream. If it’s not, well don’t despair, it may be something you do outside of your job or it may be something yet to come.
I believe this is something Joseph had to learn. He knew that his father favored him, but even more, he learned over time that he was also favored by God. But, it probably did not always feel like it.
- When he was thrown in the well by his brothers, who then contemplated how to be rid of him, he probably didn’t feel so favored
- When he was sold to the Ishmaelites, then to the Egyptians as a slave, he probably didn’t feel so favored
- When he was accused of attempted rape by Potiphar’s wife, he probably didn’t feel so favored
- As he spent two years in prison, after asking the cupbearer to speak to Pharaoh on his behalf, he probably didn’t feel so favored.
No, it took time for Joseph to live into his calling and it took enduring many unjust acts as he waited.
Maybe by now, you are wondering, what was Joseph’s calling. It is not the clearest to see at first, but as you read and meditate on the text, it becomes pretty clear. It is identified in Genesis 41:30
but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land.
But in order to understand it, we have to go back to the covenant God made with Joseph’s great-granddaddy and granddaddy, Abraham and Isaac. Do you remember it? Paraphrased, it basically says “Blessed to be a blessing.” Or as it is stated back in Genesis 22:18,
and through your offspring [herein – Joseph] all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.
It was Joseph, through God’s favor and guidance, who not only saved the people of Egypt, but all the surrounding nations (including his own), from starvation because he was in the right place at the right time to have plenty of saved up for the time of famine. It was Joseph, who went from being a tattletale and an obnoxious pain in his brothers’ side, to being the savior of his people.
God doesn’t call each person to be the one who will save a country from starvation. But that does not diminish the call that God issues to each and every one of us. To each of us, God calls us to:
- Love our neighbor
- Forgive as we are forgiven
- Help those who are hurting
- Bring justice for the oppressed
- Be a beacon of hope for the lost
- Speak the Good News to those who have never heard it
Yes, friends, we are called. We are called by a loving and merciful God who yearns to bless us, so that others may be blessed.
And let all of God’s blessed people, here at Sunrise United Methodist Church, say, Amen.
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