So… this week I listened while someone explained how this scripture informs our current news cycle…because, you see, it shows that women lie. They lie about sexual assault. And they’ve been doing it from the beginning of time….it says so right there in the Bible.
And with a wave of their Biblical wand…they implied that their “side” of this national debate was holy and justified.
As if this story meant to imply that men never commit sexual assault…and that women who have been traumatized by it are not to be trusted. Because, if that were the case…it that were true…then God’s faithfulness would be pretty meaningless to the millions of women… and girls and boys and men…. whose sense of safety and self have been shattered by those who are more physically powerful than they are.
No…there’s something more going on here. This story is more about how we survive when we are the ones who have been mistreated…as Joseph was mistreated. This is the story of those who have not been believed because they did not have the connections and power of those who sought them harm…as Joseph was not believed. And this is the story of all those who have been incarcerated or lynched unjustly…as Joseph was thrown in prison. Basically, it is the story of all those whose lives have been shattered by the careless evil of others. This is the story of Emmet Till, 14 years old, accused by a white women of whistling at her, and beaten and shot for it. This is the story of a slave…Joseph.
Maybe we should back up and get more of Joseph’s story. For those who don’t know…Joseph was actually a pretty privileged kid to start out with. You might remember Jacob from your Bible stories…Well, Joseph is one of Jacob’s 12 sons..the 12 tribes of Israel….and he is Daddy’s favorite son. He got away with everything. He had dreams of how his brothers would bow down to him some day…and couldn’t imagine why his brothers were angry when he told them all about them. Because he simply took for granted that he was more important than they were. After all, everything in his life experience backed that up. He got that coat of many colors from Dad after all, and stayed at home eating bon bons while his brothers worked their tails off day in and day out.
So it came as a bit of shock to him when his brothers wanted to kill him. Really. They hated him so badly, they wanted to kill the spoiled arrogant SOB. It is interesting, that here, in this story, we see in Joseph’s brothers the resentment and justified anger many feel toward those who are privileged and completely clueless as to how privileged they are. And we see also how easily it bends toward hatred and violence and evil. But, they don’t end up killing Joseph after all. Instead, at the urging of the eldest brother, they sell him to a passing trading caravan…as a slave bound for Egypt. And it’s as a slave, bought and owned, that he finds himself in Potiphar’s household. A Hebrew. An inferior race to Egypt’s reckoning. And a slave.
And this story is about Joseph’s response to all that happens to him. Joseph, with all his privilege taken away… hangs on to his integrity…hangs on to his faith….and doesn’t give up. In the midst of horrible and unjust circumstances….he does the best he can. And he trusts that God is still with him. Even when his circumstances do not seem to prove it. Even as a slave in Potiphar’s house. And then…even in prison after he is falsely accused.
This story of Joseph…is a story of daring to trust God’s love for us when our circumstances are at the lowest. This is the story Jewish families retell when anti-semitism rears its ugly head. We are Joseph, they remind themselves. We can persevere. Our lives still matter because we are children of God. We trust that God is with us even when the world turns its back on us.
This is the story slaves have retold through history…and retell around the world even now. You may not be aware…but it is estimated that more people are enslaved around the world today than at any other time in history…nearly 30 million. Part of that, of course, is due to the rising population of our planet. But the reality is, slavery is still all too common in our world today. Humans are trafficked for sexual exploitation…for domestic service…for warfare….for industrial labor….around the world. That includes here in the US. Women, children, men…are bought and sold…and this is their story. Even when the world betrays them. They can persevere. Their lives still matter because they are children of God. And God is with them.
This is the story of all those whose story has not worked out the way they had imagined. The way we imagine any story is supposed to work out. This is the story of those who have served prison terms for crimes they never committed, and those who have been captured by terrorists or enemy forces. This is the story of survivors of abuse and rape. This is the story of the people of Myanmar and Yemen and Syria…Vietnam and South Africa and Chicago. This is the story of injustice and evil, violation and abuse. It is the story of power that corrupts and racism that dehumanizes. And frankly, it is the story of too many in our world today and throughout history. But it is also God’s story…urging us to trust God’s goodness…to believe in God’s goodness…even when things are so evidently and clearly not good.
Yes…this is God’s story. Again and again. It is the story of God that reminds us that the depths of this world, as well as its heights, are held in God’s arms. And this story of who God is fills Scripture… from the beginning, here in Genesis…until it becomes incarnate for us in Jesus. Let’s be honest. Jesus’ story did not work out as we imagine stories should. Unjustly accused and murdered…his is not the happy ending. Yet, Jesus is God’s Word made flesh, declaring to all the world…to all the broken hearts and broken spirits of the world…that God Is With You. God is your defender and your refuge. God is your hope and your strength. This is God’s story….God who stands with the victims of injustice. God who is the defender of the voiceless. God who is the friend those who have been violated.
God, who will never, ever give up… God, who claims victory…even over death…even beyond death. God…who is justice and truth…who is mercy and kindness. God…who is the beginning and the end…who holds the fulness of creation and all eternity. And that is what this story of Joseph is about. Most of us know that life is not fair….that happy endings do not always happen…but this story encourages us to hang on to our faith, whatever our circumstances. To hang on to the truth. To hang on to hope. And to trust that God prevails. Amen.
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