Getting Spiritually Fit, Part 2
Getting Spiritually Fit, Part 2: Go Back to go Forward
Genesis 45: 1-8
January 22, 2017
So this past summer, Robyn and I were able to go on a pilgrimage to England. Because of a gift that’s been given to the higher church, United Methodist pastors in Florida and their spouses can go and learn more about the founding father of the Methodist Church – John Wesley. And see firsthand how a group of folks, Christians, methodically pursuing spiritual holiness began a movement that changed the world.
One of the places we visited on our trip was St. Michael’s Cathedral in Coventry. During the Second World War, Coventry was an industrial center specializing in the production of aircraft and munitions. This made it an attractive target for German bombers. And while there were a number of raids on Coventry, none were as devastating at the Luftwaffe attack on November 14, 1940. That night, the Germans dropped over 36,000 bombs. 4300 homes were destroyed. Two thirds of the city’s buildings were damaged. Power, water, and sewer were all destroyed. There were almost 1700 casualties in this one raid alone.
One of the buildings that was destroyed in the bombing was St. Michael’s Cathedral. At the time of the war, it had been around for over 500 years. Bombs pierced the roof, blew out its windows and destroyed its central pillars. All that remained was blackened and pock-marked exterior walls. And yet the decision was made not to rebuild the ruins, but rather to build next to the ruins. The people of Coventry wanted to remember what had happened. So that today the ruins of St Michael’s Cathedral stand next to a stunning new sanctuary.
One of the things I learned when we visited was that on Christmas day, 1940, just six weeks after the terrible raid, the pastor of St Michael’s made a radio broadcast from the ruined cathedral. He declared that when the war was over, he would work with those who had been enemies “to build a kinder, more Christ-child-like world.” And the members of the church took him seriously. Today St. Michael’s, Coventry Church is deeply involved in reconciliation efforts – politically, racially, religiously, economically, and environmentally. They have partnered with over 200 churches and education centers around the world to work on behalf of those who have suffered unjustly.
For me, St Michael’s Cathedral is a powerful example of light coming from darkness, healing coming from brokenness, and justice coming from injustice. By embracing the reality of their difficult past, the people of St Michael’s are able to chart a profound and life giving future.
I share that with you because we are in a sermon series called Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: Embracing God in the ups and downs, the insides and the outs. We are taking the first 6 weeks of the year to examine ways to grow healthier spiritually. We instinctively head to the gym at this time of year to get stronger physically. We know that you don’t just blink your eyes and get a rockin’ bod like this…you have to work at it. The same is true for our souls. It takes intentionality and discipline to be healthy spiritually. So we began last week with Jesus being tempted in the Wilderness. And we said that rather than finding our identity in what we do or what we have or what others say, we need to embrace our identity as the beloved children of God. Today we are going to look at the story of Joseph – Old Testament Joseph – and how we have to embrace the reality of our past if we want to be spiritually healthy. In so many words, to look backwards in order to move forward.
So take your Bibles and turn with me to the Old Testament book of Genesis chapter 45. Start at the beginning of the Bible and go right. Genesis 45. We will be reading verses 1 through 8. Last week we participated in something called the Lectio Divina. It was created by St. Benedictine in the 6th century to help his fellow monks move beyond just reading the Bible to experiencing God’s presence in His Word. It focused on God’s message to us. Basically, what we did was we read the text three times, each time reflecting on a question about what God was saying to us.
Today we are going to experience another spiritual practice. One that again calls for more than one reading of the Scripture. But this time, rather than reflect on its message to us, we are going to open our imaginations and place ourselves within the text. Our goal will be to allow the Holy Spirit to work within us in a new way. We will be following a modified version of what is commonly known as the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius. St. Ignatius of Loyola was a soldier who lived in Spain during the 16th century. Eventually he became one of the founding fathers of the Society of Jesus – better known as the Jesuits. To help those in his society he came up with a series of meditations and prayers to help others discern the will of God and make a commitment to follow Jesus whatever the cost. Originally, it was designed to be practiced over the course of several weeks. But because of the time we are only going to use one form of contemplation.
So let’s begin by centering ourselves. That’s church language for getting still and getting quiet. I invite you to settle into a posture of prayer and reflection. Whatever works for you. Head down. Head up. Eyes closed. Eyes open. Sitting upright. Laying down on the pew. There was a woman in one of my first churches who would lay face down on the floor arms outstretched in the form of a cross every time we prayed. So whatever works for you. And as you do, begin by asking God to give you the grace to see what He desires for you.
Listen now as I read through the text for the first time. The goal this first time is to get a sense of how the narrative flows. Notice who is there. And who does what. And where it takes place. Notice how it begins. And how it ends. Here is the reading. Genesis 45:1-8
Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it. 3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence. 4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.[a] 8 “So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. Genesis 45:1-8
As you remain in prayer, reflect silently about the following. Where does our story take place? What is the location? Who is there? And what is happening? What is said? And how are folks responding? Listen as I read it again. This time put yourself in the text. Try and imagine that you are one of the characters. READ TEXT.
Staying in prayer, take a few minutes to meditate on the story. Which character are you? Are you the main character Joseph? Or are you one of the brothers? Or are you one of the Egyptian attendants? What are you wearing? What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell? Who else is with you? What are you saying? Don’t try to force the matter. Just let the Spirit lead you. And when you have considered these things a while, speak to God about how you feel. Let us pray. Loving God give us the grace to hear what you would have us know. AMEN.
Was there something that stood out to you? Turn to your neighbor and share which character you were in the story and what you heard differently this time. So the first character that really stands out to me is Joseph. Joseph is an amazing guy! An entire quarter of Genesis is devoted to him. Sold into slavery at the age of 17, he labors as a slave for the next ten years. He has just started to rebound and establish credibility in his master’s house when he falsely accused of rape by his master’s wife. Consequently, he is thrown into prison where he languishes for several more years – forgotten even by the man he helped obtain favor with Pharaoh. Most folks wouldn’t survive what Joseph did much less become the second most powerful person in the world!
Perhaps even more amazing is Joseph’s uncanny ability to survive his family. You think your family tree has some squirrely branches! Consider Joseph’s! Joseph’s father Jacob plays clear favorites among his children. This comes naturally for Jacob. His father Isaac played favorites. As did Jacob’s Grandfather Abraham. Of course, Jacob’s sons are incensed over the blatant favoring of Joseph. They radically break with their brother. They spend decades spent cut off from any relationship with him. Just like their father Jacob had been cut-off from his brother Esau. And their Grandfather Isaac had been cut-off from his brother Ishmael. Seeing their father Jacob despondent over the loss of Joseph the brothers lie to save their own skin. Just as their father had lied to save his. And their Grandfather Isaac had lied to save his. Noticing a pattern here? In Numbers 14 it talks about the sins of the fathers being visited upon their children to the third and fourth generation. Family dysfunction and brokenness tends to repeat itself.
Not only do our families have a way of imprinting certain behaviors on us, they have a way of instilling certain ways of thinking into us. Their unspoken commandments become hardwired into our brains. For example, in my family, there was an unspoken commandment that one should not argue in public. I was aware that Mom and Dad had disagreements. They would go and close their bedroom door. But I never saw them fight until I was a young adult. I don’t share this to criticize them. It’s just what they believed. The problem was I never learned how to have a healthy argument. Consequently, open conflict made me extremely nervous for years. And I tried hard to avoid it. You can imagine how conducive that was during the early years of marriage. Especially since Robyn didn’t always recognize my abundant wisdom. And you can imagine just how helpful a tendency to avoid conflict is to a pastor. Fortunately, I have always been appointed to churches where everyone agrees with each other.
I ask you this morning. What behaviors did you pick up from your family of origin? What unspoken commandments have been hardwired into you? What part of your past continues to reveal itself in your present? What has wounded you? What baggage have you brought along that continues to affect your life today?
In his book, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, Pete Scazzero writes that healthy spirituality is about reality – not denial or illusion. It is about embracing God’s choice to birth us into a particular family, in a particular place, at a particular moment in history. That choice granted to us certain opportunities and gifts. It also handed us a certain amount of “emotional baggage” in our journey through life. For some of us the load is minimal. For others it is a heavy load to carry. Scezzaro goes on to say – healthy spirituality frees us to live joyfully in the present. It requires however, going backwards in order to go forward. In other words, if we want to be healthy spiritually one of the first steps we must take is to face the truth. We can’t be free while living in denial. We need to acknowledge the reality of the past. As long as our wounds are kept in darkness they will never heal.
And Joseph does this. Joseph faces the reality of his past. Verse 4 – Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! The last time that Joseph was with his brothers, they had just beaten him to a bloody pulp, thrown him into a pit, and then sold him off as a slave to some passing Ishmaelites. Now, Joseph is the most important person in all of Egypt, save for Pharaoh himself. He could crush his brothers. He could torture them. He could teach them a lesson. Instead, he chooses to reconcile with them. Why?
Well, that leads me the second person who stood out to me in our text. And that is Joseph’s brother Judah. He is not mentioned by name in our reading. But he’s there. We know that from that little word THEN in the very first verse. Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants. Remember this from last week? THEN tells us that if we want to understand what we are reading we have to know what has just happened. And the just happened in this case is a little test Joseph arranges for his brothers. They have come to Egypt to buy food. And without telling them who he is, Joseph agrees to give them food. But he secretly arranges for one of his silver cups to be put in the food bag of his younger brother Benjamin. Benjamin is Jacob’s new favorite. Benjamin is the only other brother besides Joseph to have Rachel as his mother. Joseph knows exactly where the vulnerability lies. He’s been there.
Well, the brothers have just cleared the city gates when the servants of Joseph catch up to them and accuse them of stealing. They can hardly believe it. And when the silver cup is discovered in Benjamin’s bag they tear their clothes in anguish. When they are returned to Joseph’s court, Judah steps forward and pleads with him. He talks about how the arrest of Benjamin would break his father’s heart especially after the loss of their other brother long ago. It will simply be too much for his father. And so as chapter 44 of Genesis draws to a close Judah offers to take Benjamin’s place in prison.
Remember Judah is the brother that proposed selling Joseph in the slavery some twenty years before. Judah is the one who talked about Joseph’s death with indifference. Judah was the ring leader in covering up their tracks. There was no concern for his father’s grief then. No thought whatsoever for Jacob’s heart. Now, Judah is pleading for mercy for his father. And offering to do the time for Benjamin. In other words, there is a distinct change in Judah. Certainly he’s not perfect. But he is different. And scholars argue that it is because of this change that Joseph breaks down and confesses his identity to the brothers. Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants.
If Joseph stands for facing the reality of your past. Judah represents believing that God is able to overcome. The Good news is that our past does not have to determine our future. God is able to overcome. Even if you retain some of the heaviest baggage possible from your younger years. God is able to overcome. Even if your family of origin is dysfunctional and broken. God is able to overcome. HE is able to restore. And reconcile. And heal. In fact, there are a number of places in the Scripture where it talks about being adopted into God’s new family. There is a radical new beginning waiting for those who seek it.
So my challenge this week is to memorize Ephesians 3:20. Ephesians 3:20 says – “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…” Underline the verse in your Bible. Bookmark it in you I-phone. Write it down on a 3X5 card and carry it with you. Spend a few minutes each day meditating upon what that means to you. Commit it to memory. “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…”
The image that comes to mind for me is that of Miss Havisham of Dicken’s novel – Great Expectations. Remember her? The daughter of a wealthy man, she receives a letter at 8:40 a.m. on her wedding day. Her husband to be is not coming. Turns out Compeyson has been working with Miss Havisham’s step brother Arthur to steal from her. Heartbroken, she spends the rest of her days in her wedding dress. Wearing only one shoe as she had not yet put on the other shoe at the time of the disaster. She even stops all the clocks in her house – keeping them at 8:40 – the precise time the letter arrived. And so she remains crippled by the blow, living in her past. Not her present. And not her future.
Don’t get caught in the past. Remember Joseph and acknowledge its reality. And remember Judah and believe that God is able to overcome. And in doing so you will be looking backward to move forward. “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…”
Located in the ruins of St Michael’s original cathedral there is a sculpture of a man and a woman embracing. It is called Reconciliation. It’s creator, Josefina de Vasconcellos (Vas con sell loose) read in the paper about a woman who at the end of the war crossed Europe on foot in search of her husband. And she was so moved that she made the sculpture. Her dream was to inspire reconciliation among the nations who had been at war with one another. On the statue there is a plaque which commemorates the placing of a duplicate statue in Peace Garden, Hiroshima, Japan on the fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II. Hiroshima was the first city in history to targeted with an atomic bomb. 70,000 died the morning we dropped the bomb – 50,000 of them civilians. 90,000 more died within a year from radiation.
I have to tell you it is quite moving standing there in the charred ruins of the original Cathedral reflecting on the devastation we can bring upon our fellow human beings. And there is something deeply profound about the possibility of a restoration greater than the carnage of war. At times it seems nearly impossible. But that is exactly what God offers. And ability to overcome devastation and dysfunction and brokenness. A power to overcome any thought pattern that has been imprinted. And any behavior that has been instilled. For God is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine. So I am going to look backwards to move forwards.
How about you? How about you?
pastordavidmiller 