Hang on Facebook friends. Don’t assume you know what this is going to be about. Yes, I announced yesterday via Facebook that it was Rhys’ Gotcha Day. Which, for those who aren’t versed in the parlance of adoption, was the anniversary of the day we “gotcha.” August 5 1994, after an anxious nine month wait (yeah, funny isn’t it?), La Donna and I drove to Chicago O’Hare airport to pick up Kim Myung Hoon, a nine month old with bright eyes and a ready smile, and as if by magic turn him into Rhys Edmund Myung-hoon Weber. Who is now nearly 18 years old and somewhat embarrassed to be the center of such attention. Gotcha Day. Every August 5th.
But that isn’t what the Gotcha in our title for today is about. Though, you have to admit it was pretty clever of me to sneak it in one more time up there, right? But I wasn’t thinking of Rhys when I typed the heading for this week’s bible study. Instead I was thinking of the other reason why August 5th is a day of celebration in our family. It is my older brother Hank’s birthday.
Hank was, and still is for that matter, the strong, handsome, athletic one of the family. I hated him. No, just kidding. I never hated him. I was jealous of him. Tried to be like him. Wished I was him from time to time. But never could be, and have learned to live with that. Most of the time.
The truth is we got along pretty well, most of the time. He was a good guy and has become a good man, caring, committed, service minded, an asset to his church and community. But there were moments, usually when I was twisting in his grip, fighting against his muscle and knowing there was no hope of escape unless I could somehow make him laugh; moments when his gotcha was unnerving to say the least. Unnerving. Where did that word come from? It was frustrating, humiliating, painful, embarrassing, and a whole lot more. Any of you who had older siblings know what I mean. Momentary, to be sure, fleeting experiences, a bad taste in the mouth that you can wash away with a thousand better memories. Not the dominant motif of our relationship, by any means, but real. Real enough to make Joseph’s story that much more credible.
There are many dimensions of the Joseph story in the book of Genesis. But the one that leaped out at me this time through was the family dynamic. One preacher once said “show me one well-adjusted family relationship in the bible.” And Jacob and his boys put the fun in dysfunctional, to say the least. Joseph is introduced into the story in such a way as to make you shake your head. Talk about getting off on the wrong foot.
In worship, I’ve decided to read the whole story. Or the whole first part of it anyway. Verses 1-28. Settle in folks, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride! But here, I’ll even shorten the lectionary verses. Long enough, but skipping over some of the ugly detail. You can look it up yourself.
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-14, 18-28 Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. 2 This is the story of the family of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. ... Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." He answered, "Here I am." 14 So he said to him, "Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me." ... 18 They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. 19 They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams." 21 But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, "Let us not take his life." 22 Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him"-- that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; 24 and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25 Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers agreed. 28 When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
So, the story of Joseph begins with him as a tattle-tale. And gets worse from there. It ends with him thrown into a pit. Sold, or stolen (it gets a little vague in the telling), and carted off to Egypt. Now there is a fraternal gotcha that seems extreme to say the least. It is such a messy story that we are tempted to jump ahead to end to see if there is a rainbow after this storm. There is, but that is cheating, it seems to me. And it is cheating because some family stories don’t end well. Some family symphonies don’t resolve in the final chords. So, if we get to an “all’s well that ends well” kind of message what about all the others?
And to add to the problems, the God who has been amazingly present so far and will be again, is absent in this story. No messages in the night, no calls to accountability, no wagging of divine fingers or sending of glittering angels with flaming swords to sort it all out. Just an emptiness and a growing gap between brothers. So, what’s left in this story?
A search for peace? Verse 4 says that the brothers “could not speak peaceably” to Joseph. But then Jacob, winner of the clueless dad of the year, sends Joseph off to “see if it is well with your brothers.” Speaking peaceably and being well are both forms of the word Shalom. There was a constant search for peace. Even when peace eluded them. Even when peace was rejected.
We tend to think that God is where peace reigns. And the end of the story tells us that is true. But this part of the story of Joseph and his brothers tells us that God in the search for peace. Even when it isn’t found. Even when it seems far away. God is in the search, in the effort, in the longing for shalom. That’s what Joseph means much later - years later - when he says to his brothers “what you intended for harm, God intended for good.” (Gen. 50:20) Because God was in the search, in the attempt to find one’s way to shalom. Even when it is not realized in this life, in these relationship, we continue to search. We continue to hope.
Which means, I guess, that even in the midst of our struggles with brothers (or sisters, parents or neighbors), when we are feeling the sting of their gotcha, underneath it all God has a gotcha too. Even in the struggle, God says “I gotcha, never doubt my beloved child, never doubt.”
Happy Gotcha Day, everyday.
But that isn’t what the Gotcha in our title for today is about. Though, you have to admit it was pretty clever of me to sneak it in one more time up there, right? But I wasn’t thinking of Rhys when I typed the heading for this week’s bible study. Instead I was thinking of the other reason why August 5th is a day of celebration in our family. It is my older brother Hank’s birthday.
Hank was, and still is for that matter, the strong, handsome, athletic one of the family. I hated him. No, just kidding. I never hated him. I was jealous of him. Tried to be like him. Wished I was him from time to time. But never could be, and have learned to live with that. Most of the time.
The truth is we got along pretty well, most of the time. He was a good guy and has become a good man, caring, committed, service minded, an asset to his church and community. But there were moments, usually when I was twisting in his grip, fighting against his muscle and knowing there was no hope of escape unless I could somehow make him laugh; moments when his gotcha was unnerving to say the least. Unnerving. Where did that word come from? It was frustrating, humiliating, painful, embarrassing, and a whole lot more. Any of you who had older siblings know what I mean. Momentary, to be sure, fleeting experiences, a bad taste in the mouth that you can wash away with a thousand better memories. Not the dominant motif of our relationship, by any means, but real. Real enough to make Joseph’s story that much more credible.
There are many dimensions of the Joseph story in the book of Genesis. But the one that leaped out at me this time through was the family dynamic. One preacher once said “show me one well-adjusted family relationship in the bible.” And Jacob and his boys put the fun in dysfunctional, to say the least. Joseph is introduced into the story in such a way as to make you shake your head. Talk about getting off on the wrong foot.
In worship, I’ve decided to read the whole story. Or the whole first part of it anyway. Verses 1-28. Settle in folks, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride! But here, I’ll even shorten the lectionary verses. Long enough, but skipping over some of the ugly detail. You can look it up yourself.
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-14, 18-28 Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. 2 This is the story of the family of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. ... Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." He answered, "Here I am." 14 So he said to him, "Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me." ... 18 They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. 19 They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams." 21 But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, "Let us not take his life." 22 Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him"-- that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; 24 and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25 Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers agreed. 28 When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
So, the story of Joseph begins with him as a tattle-tale. And gets worse from there. It ends with him thrown into a pit. Sold, or stolen (it gets a little vague in the telling), and carted off to Egypt. Now there is a fraternal gotcha that seems extreme to say the least. It is such a messy story that we are tempted to jump ahead to end to see if there is a rainbow after this storm. There is, but that is cheating, it seems to me. And it is cheating because some family stories don’t end well. Some family symphonies don’t resolve in the final chords. So, if we get to an “all’s well that ends well” kind of message what about all the others?
And to add to the problems, the God who has been amazingly present so far and will be again, is absent in this story. No messages in the night, no calls to accountability, no wagging of divine fingers or sending of glittering angels with flaming swords to sort it all out. Just an emptiness and a growing gap between brothers. So, what’s left in this story?
A search for peace? Verse 4 says that the brothers “could not speak peaceably” to Joseph. But then Jacob, winner of the clueless dad of the year, sends Joseph off to “see if it is well with your brothers.” Speaking peaceably and being well are both forms of the word Shalom. There was a constant search for peace. Even when peace eluded them. Even when peace was rejected.
We tend to think that God is where peace reigns. And the end of the story tells us that is true. But this part of the story of Joseph and his brothers tells us that God in the search for peace. Even when it isn’t found. Even when it seems far away. God is in the search, in the effort, in the longing for shalom. That’s what Joseph means much later - years later - when he says to his brothers “what you intended for harm, God intended for good.” (Gen. 50:20) Because God was in the search, in the attempt to find one’s way to shalom. Even when it is not realized in this life, in these relationship, we continue to search. We continue to hope.
Which means, I guess, that even in the midst of our struggles with brothers (or sisters, parents or neighbors), when we are feeling the sting of their gotcha, underneath it all God has a gotcha too. Even in the struggle, God says “I gotcha, never doubt my beloved child, never doubt.”
Happy Gotcha Day, everyday.
Shalom,
Derek
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