September 13, 2020 – Genesis 41:25-33, 37-40, 50-52; ISSL Reflections, Post 3

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This week’s Scripture –

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2041%3A25-33%2C%2037-40%2C%2050-52&version=NRSV,CEB

VI.
The passage for this week begins, “Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, ‘Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do.’” (Genesis 41:25)

Notice the connecting word, “Then.”

The scene in Pharaoh’s court comes after a lot of things have happened to Joseph. It seems something is always happening to Joseph. Weather at the hand of his father, his brothers, Midianites, Egyptians, and now Pharaoh has Joseph brought from prison to stand before him and to offer an interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream.

In some ways Joseph is presented to us as passive. Yet, no matter where he is, he keeps on being who he is. To me there seems to be a consistency in how he deals with wherever he finds himself. He doesn’t appear to struggle, he is just who he is.

VII.
What might there be in the core of his character that gives him the grace to act consistency from that core?

Does he meet God at that “place”? Does God accompany him from there as he meets what the world brings his way?

Thomas Merton offers a few insights on what might be at the center of the being of each of us. I encourage you to give Merton a hearing. He may push you to consider things in ways you have not done so before. Merton is very good at helping us expand our perceptions.

“At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God, which is never at our disposal, from which God disposes of our lives, which is inaccessible to the fantasies of our own mind or the brutalities of our own will. This little point of nothingness and of absolute poverty is the pure glory of God in us. It is so to speak His name written in us, as our poverty, as our indigence, as our dependence, as our sonship. It is like a pure diamond, blazing with the invisible light of heaven. It is in everybody, and if we could see it we would see these billions of points of light coming together in the face and blaze of a sun that would make all the darkness and cruelty of life vanish completely … I have no program for this seeing. It is only given. But the gate of heaven is every- where.” (From – Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander)

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

September 13, 2020, Genesis 41:25-33, 37-40, 50-52; ISSL Reflections, Post 2

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Here is a link to Scriptures –
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2041%3A25-33%2C%2037-40%2C%2050-52&version=NRSV,CEB

IV.
I asked the other day how you might contrast the youthful Joseph we read of last week and the Joseph we find this week in Pharaoh’s court.

So, in a sentence or two, describe/contrast the youthful Joseph with Joseph in this week’s passages.

You may want to give some thought to what remains the same and what changes in Joseph’s character.

Ok, it might take more than a couple of sentences to explore that idea.

V.
What of his home in Canaan is still with him here in Egypt and what has he left behind?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

September 13, 2020 – Genesis 41:25-33, 37-40, 50-52; ISSL Reflections

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I.
This week’s Scripture jumps over a number of incidents in Joseph’s roller-coaster ride to this occasion in Pharaoh’s presence. Make no mistake it had its ups and downs, but now Joseph is the center of Pharaoh’s attention and very likely near the center of attention of everyone in Pharaoh’s presence.

Read these passages and pay attention to Joseph. Who is he here? How would you contrast Joseph as he speaks in Pharaoh’s court with youthful Joseph when he spoke to his brothers and father of his dreams?

II.
Genesis 41:25-33

Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one. The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, as are the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind. They are seven years of famine. It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. After them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; the famine will consume the land. The plenty will no longer be known in the land because of the famine that will follow, for it will be very grievous. And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about. Now therefore let Pharaoh select a man who is discerning and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.

Genesis 41:37-40

The proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find anyone else like this—one in whom is the spirit of God?” So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”

Genesis 41:50-52

Before the years of famine came, Joseph had two sons, whom Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him. Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.” The second he named Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortunes.”

III.
How would you contrast the youthful Joseph we read of last week with the Joseph we read of in today’s passages?

What do you make of the names he gives to his two sons?

How do the sons’ names speak to Joseph’s journey from his father’s home to the home he has in Egypt?

Where would you say Joseph’s heart is?

We’ll talk later.

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

September 6, 2020; Genesis 37:2–11, 23–24a, 28; Post 3 ISSL Reflections

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https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis%2037&version=NRSV,NABRE

IX.
How did our thought experiment from the other day go?

I know it is overly simplistic to even suggest a 21 point scale (of course that is not counting for fractional or decimal breakdown of the scale) to think about, let alone measure love/hate.

But it might be helpful in beginning to consider the ways the folk in Joseph’s family related to one another and how they acted with one another.

A family is “supposed” to be a place where the individuals “love” one another. There is much more than ideal familial love existing in this family. But maybe that in part makes it such a realistic portrayal of what me might encounter today.

We want to be able to say in our families, congregations and communities we can love each other. And we can. At times. But we can also demonstrate differentiating degrees of affection and love for one another, and even demonstrate emotions that in no way approximate love.

At times we freely share love and at other times it seems love might be “bought” and “sold.”

Joseph’s family shows that.

As we follow the story of Joseph’s family over the next weeks, we probably should pay attention to how one individual can differ from time to time in the way love or lack of love is demonstrated. One day a person is at -4 on our imaginary scale and on another day at +3 or maybe even higher.

X.
The other day I saw in my inbox an email with the subject heading, “How Do I Love Church Members with Different Politics?”

That’s a fair question given our current political climate.

I haven’t read the email yet, so I have no idea if the writer presents a satisfying answer. Still, I think he asks an important question.

How could Joseph ever “love” his brothers who conspire to murder him and then end up selling him into salvery?

Do you think Joseph might ever recognize that his father’s overt displays of love for him, at least in part, are responsible for the brother’s jealousy of Joseph? Or maybe that is not in any way tied to how the brothers feel toward Joseph?

XI.
What do you think sows the seeds of love or lack of love in this family?

At this point in our journey with Joseph and his family who would say is the “most loving?”

Charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

September 6, 2020 – Genesis 37:2-11, 23-24a, 28 – Post 2 – ISSL Reflections

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V.
Let’s review this week’s passage regarding Joseph and his family.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis%2037&version=NRSV,NABRE

What do we notice?

Joseph’s father (Jacob/Israel) loves Joseph more than his other sons. (37:3)

Joseph’s brothers take notice of Jacob’s love for Joseph and “hate” him. Apparently they don’t even try to hide their feelings and cannot talk civilly with him. (37:4)

Joseph doesn’t mind “telling on” his brothers to their father when they fail to be the kind of shepherds Joseph thinks they should be. (37:2)

Joseph the dreamer decides to share his dreams with his family. (37:6-7, 9)

Now they find more cause to hate Joseph. (37:8)

When he shares his second dream with the family, his father ”rebukes” him for claiming the entire family will “bow down” to him. (37:10)

This does not do anything but increase the hostility the brothers feel for Joseph. (37:11)

Now the brothers hatch a plot to deal with this annoying younger brother. They plot to kill him. (37:18-32)

Reuben intervenes and prevents the murder of Joseph, further ploting to rescue Joseph and taking him back home. (37:21-24)

Then Judah proposes a plot to rid them of Joseph and make a profit by selling Joseph into slavery. (37:25-28)

Our attention returns to Reuben when he sees he has been outsmarted by his brothers. (37:29-30)

They return home with Joseph’s blood soaked robe and plunge their father into mourning, while Joseph is being resold. (37:31-36)

A lot of conflicting emotions can exist in a family. Understatement?

VI.
I recall a remark Jesus made to his disciples about love – “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)

VII.
Allow me to propose a thought experiment.

Think of a scale. It goes from +10 to 0 then on to -10.

Let us imagine this is a “love” scale and on the scale +10 is the “greatest” kind of love Jesus mentioned – the willingness to die for others.

On the scale “0” is apathy, indifference. It is “I don’t care about you. I don’t even notice your existence.”

And that takes us on to -10, hatred. The kind of hatred that is as far from the willingness to die for others as a person can get to.

VIII.
On our imaginary scale of -10 to 0 to +10, where do you see Joseph, his father, and his brothers falling. What of Reuben and Judah?

Give that some thought.

We’ll talk later.

Charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

September 6, 2020, Genesis 37:2–11, 23–24a, 28, ISSL Reflections

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I.
With today’s reading we begin a new series of lessons. This month and for the next two months our theme will be “Love for One Another.” In the first four lessons we will focus on Joseph.

With that theme in mind, let’s begin our journey with Joseph.

II.
Genesis 37:2-11

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. 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. 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.

Once Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream that I dreamed. There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright; then your sheaves gathered around it, and bowed down to my sheaf.” His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Are you indeed to have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words.

He had another dream, and told it to his brothers, saying, “Look, I have had another dream: the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him, and said to him, “What kind of dream is this that you have had? Shall we indeed come, I and your mother and your brothers, and bow to the ground before you?” So his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Genesis 37:23-24

So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

Genesis 37:28

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.

III.
While the verses included above give the highlights for this week’s reflections, some things are missing. You probably want to read the entirety of Genesis 37 and notice Reuben and Jacob in what transpires in the family.

IV..
Love?

Where is love in this passage?

What kind of love?

What do you see as the “family dynamics” in Joseph’s family. What could you take away as a model for how a family relates to one another?

Is there anything in this description of how a family relates to one another that you can identify with or have seen in your family or families you know first hand?

Charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

August 30, 2020, James 3:13-18, 5:7-11, Post3, ISSL Reflections

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VII.
This week we end for now our time with James.

This might be a good time to review what James had to say –

Scripture for August 2 –
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=james%201%3A19-27&version=NRSV,ESV,MSG

Scripture for August 9 –
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=james%201%3A19-27&version=NRSV,ESV,MSG

Scripture for August 16 –
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=james%202%3A14-26&version=NIV,CEB,MSG

Scripture for August 23 –
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%203%3A1-12&version=NRSV,NASB,PHILLIPS

Scripture for August 30 –
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%203%3A13-18%3B%205%3A7-11&version=NRSV,MSG,LEB

VIII.
In one form or another, each week James spoke to us about wisdom or the absence of wisdom.

As you think about this week’s Scripture passage and the passages from previous weeks, does any theme or idea stand you to you as the core of his instruction to us?

Might it be our interaction with others? Might it be how we translate our faith/beliefs/commitments into action? Might it be how we live a life of faithfulness with gentleness and humility?

What did you so clearly here James say to you, that you are ready to act on it?

Charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi e

August 30, 2020, James 3:13-18; 5:7-11, Post 2 – ISSL Reflections

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Let’s go back to the Scriptures for a moment. Here are three translations to consider –
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%203%3A13-18%3B%205%3A7-11&version=NRSV,MSG,LEB

V.
The other day I asked you to consider the two kinds of “wisdom” James speaks of and to note the words or phrases that stand out to you the most.

What captured and held your attention?

gentleness – peaceable — yielding
merciful — peace — patient
suffering — endurance — compassionate

bitterness — envy — selfish
ambition — boastful — disorder
partiality — hypocrisy — grumbling

VI.
Lots of choices. Many images to capture us.

Before you do anything else, reread the passage and stop at the word that draws you.

….. ….. ….. …..

What was it?

Why do you think that held your attention?

If you are not sure why, or even if you are, share the word with God and see what opens for you?

charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

August 30, 2020, James 3:13-18, 5:7-11, ISSL Reflections

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I.
With this week’s readings from James’ letter we come to a close of our time with James. Or maybe not. We’ve only taken time to reflect on selected passages, so perhaps you want to find time to review the entire letter.

For this week we will look at two passages, both of which have something to tell us about wisdom.

As you spend time with James’ words, consider the different kinds of “wisdom” he describes.

II.
James 3:13-18 (NRSV)

Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

James 5:7-11 (NRSV)

Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

III.
What word or phrase stands out to you the most in James’ description of wisdom “from above”?

And is there a word or phrase that captures for you most clearly James’ description of “unspiritual wisdom”?

IV.
What do you see as the primary (or a primary) aspect of the path James would have us take to “wisdom from above”?

Charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}

August 23, 2020, James 3:1-12 Post 3 ISSL Reflections

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How do James’ words catch you today?
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%203%3A1-12&version=NRSV,NASB,PHILLIPS

VII.
Did you notice how James mentions how we can “tame” so many different animals,

For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue … (James 3:7-8)

…. But when it comes to taming ourselves, our spirits, our speech, we fail.

I wonder why?

VIII.
Maybe before trying to answer the why question, we should devote some time to the “what” question.

James has called out attention to our “tongue.” To our pattern of communication and interaction with others.

What in your interaction with others do you notice seems to control you rather than you controlling it?

What do you react to in others that “sets you off”? What starts you down a path of negative feelings, speech and actions?

Maybe James’ reminder about how hard it is to control a small thing like our tongues, can open the way for us to examine other behaviors that we let rule us.

Has James helped you notice any behaviors or attitudes that are in the way of your blessing others?

Just moments ago, I came across this quote attributed to St Francis DeSales,

“Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them – every day begin the task anew.”

Considering our own imperfections with patience. That seems a good way to “apply” James’ counsel.

Charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}