Trusting Where and How God Leads

Epiphany + 7

Year C

23 February 2025

Genesis 45:3-11, 15

Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42 BAS pg. 749

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

Luke 6:27-38

O Lord Jesus, make us instruments of your peace,

that where there is hatred, we may sow love,

where there is injury, pardon,

and where there is despair, hope.

Grant, O divine master,

that we may seek to console,

to understand,

and to love in your name,

for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever. Amen.

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Today we recognize Diaconal Sunday. Today is the day we recognize the Call, and the work of the Deacons in our communities, in our lives, not just in the work of the church but in the wider community as well.

And in the spirit of that contemplation, I was looking at the passage from Genesis for today. I was looking at how it shows us Joseph’s reaction to seeing his brothers for the first time since they sold him into slavery.

We see the heartfelt reunion when the Egyptian High Official, in charge of the famine relief, comes down off his high seat and turns into the brother they’ve taken for dead for many years, now.

But looking at this we see how Joseph has come to understand how God has moved him about like a piece on a chessboard to bring them all to this point in time, this place of salvation for the people of God.

Joseph’s story begins in Genesis 37 and continues to the end of the book in chapter 50. It’s significant in that it’s through Joseph and his dreams that God is able to direct the salvation of not only Joseph but all the family and to ensure that they will survive into the future, as well.

Along with Joseph, we've seen how God has turned the malice of sibling rivalry to become the salvation of not just Israel but of the whole known world.

Josephs dreams led him to be sold as a slave. Being a slave, he was imprisoned for perceived misconduct toward his master. While in jail he meets and interprets dreams for two of Pharaoh’s household, which both come true by the way.

This leads Joseph to be the one to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams about the coming famine.

Pharaoh then puts Joseph in charge of preparing Egypt to not only survive the seven years of famine, but to be an influence in the politics of the day as they are able to provide aid to other nations and peoples to help them to survive, as well.

All of this because Joseph throughout the trials and tribulations of his life, holds onto the promise God shows him in his dreams.

But there is so much more.

From our perspective Joseph is also able to show us how embody what it means to live and work in a Diaconal role, being true to the word of God, and at the same time being of service to the world in which he lives.

Without realizing it, Joseph gives us the example of service as we celebrate the role of the deacon, not just in the life of the church but in the world all around us.

We are able to see how a life lived in service to God brings not only reward, but challenges, and we are able to see this through Joseph’s experiences, culminating in today’s unexpected reunion. And yet more than this we find the future of what will become the nation of Israel while it was still in its infancy.

Joseph tells his brothers: “7God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.” (Gen 45:7-8)

So how do we find a Diaconal example in Joseph’s life? In his experiences from our perspective, today?

When we look to the psalm we find many words of encouragement. Words like trust, take delight, and commit. In this way we are able to look back at Joseph’s life and experiences and saw how he held to such words even from the depths of a life sentence in jail!

Through it all, Joseph found the way to be of service to his Egyptian master, and then to Pharaoh and the whole nation.

Genesis tells us: “Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man; he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3His master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands. 4So Joseph found favour in his sight and attended him; he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. 5From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. 6So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge; and, with him there, he had no concern for anything but the food that he ate.” (Gen 39:1-6)

Through it all, we find God leading Joseph to the point where he is not only reunited with his family, but God finds a way for them to grow and thrive and become the people of God.

“3Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?’ But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.

4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come closer to me.’ And they came closer. He said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.” (Gen 45:3-4)

This revelation wasn’t easy for the brothers to accept. It wasn’t how they would have recognized Joseph if they had passed each other on the street, but here it is – the fulfillment of God’s plan for Joseph and his family to find a future in a time of drought.

At the same time, we know that living a life in service to God is one that is able to be fraught with obstacles, especially those challenges we face in the world, and yet it is to the world that we, in the sense of service and the word are called to serve.

Now in saying this I’m not thinking of the image of the man who stands on street corners and yells to people to follow where God leads. Rather it’s the effort that it takes to live into the short form of the law.

It’s the effort that it takes to live into our baptismal promises, and to live into the five pillars of the Anglican Church in Canada.

Once again, we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, at the same time we’re not looking at an easy life, but rather one that encourages us to be constantly being an example of service to our neighbour in need, and always being in the act of loving God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength.

And in such emphases on living into our lives in God yet toward the world, we are able to look back at Joseph’s life, his experiences, and see where and how God uses his unique gifts.

At the time of reunion that we see in today’s passage, his brothers had accounted him as dead as they became great herders of sheep and farmers. But God sustained his life, encouraged his skills in property management, human management, and dream interpretation.

They come from the same family, and yet their growth their talents and their skills differ.

And yet God sustained their lives and encouraged their prosperity.

“4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come closer to me.’ And they came closer. He said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.” Gen 45:4-5)

In this same way we are able to be of service to each other and to those in need; and yet our service is able to be in inspiration to those who don’t yet know that they seek God in their lives.

Returning to the words of the psalm, for today: “3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;   so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.4 Take delight in the Lord,   and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Ps 37:3-4)

In so much of our lives as a worshipping community we worry about our longevity. We worry about surviving the drought of faith that we see in the world, and yet, perhaps, although we can’t see it, God has a plan for how we will continue to worship the true God.

Once more we are able to return to Joseph’s life for such strength as we need to see that God continues to direct us, and our lives even in the face of obstacles.

“19 When his master … became enraged. 20[He] took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; he remained there in prison. 21But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favour in the sight of the chief jailer. [who] committed to Joseph’s care all the prisoners who were in the prison, and whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23The chief jailer paid no heed to anything that was in Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.” (Gen 39:19-23)

In the midst of all of these thoughts of survival, we find Jesus’ words reminding us to love our neighbours no matter how they might feel about us.

“27 ‘But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” (Lk 6:27-28)

There are so many people trying to draw lines in the sand not remembering that one good gust of wind is able to obliterate all such scribblings on the ground.

At the same time, Jesus continues to encourage us to trust all the ways that the love of God is able to be seen and experienced through our actions, our diaconal devotion to God’s creation all around.

Today we remember Joseph. We remember his trials, his trust in God, and how God used his efforts to bring about a future no one else could envision.

At the same time, we step into those same shoes, and we strive to be that example to the world all around, trusting through prayer and devotion, that God is guiding us to bring about the future we can’t envision, not just today, but tomorrow as well.

Amen.