Texts: Genesis 45:1-15
Date: Sunday, August 18, 2002
Author: Rev. Jonathan K. Twitchell
When we began our study of Genesis back at the end of May, we learned who the Main Character was. In Genesis chapter 1, we watched as the Author of the play also made Himself known as the Set-designer, Director, Casting Agent, and Producer. And then, we watched as He created mankind in His image, indicating that He was also the Main Character. Each one of the characters in the play were to reflect His Image, revealing His Divine attributes to all who would watch and listen.
Unfortunately, as the story progressed, mankind didn’t do so well at revealing the Image of God. It began with disobedience and stealing, followed by lying and deceit. Soon to follow were envy and murder, later followed by adultery and drunkenness. The world became so corrupt that God wanted to give humanity a second chance in fulfilling their purpose, and so He chose one righteous family to survive a flood. Noah and his family were then given the challenge of filling the earth with righteous people who would display the Image of God. And yet, once again, humanity turned to it’s own devices, ignoring its creator, and falling into sin and wickedness.
And so, this time, God attempted to choose out one person to be the father of a great nation. Abraham was chosen, and his descendents were to be the chosen people, a royal priesthood, through which all nations were to be blessed. The promise was passed to Isaac, and then to Jacob-who was later renamed Israel. The nation of Israel was to display the Image of God to the Gentile nations, fulfilling the promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through his descendents.
And yet, people continued to fail in the task of revealing the Image of God. Abraham attempted to accomplish the promise by his own doing, having relations with the maidservant Hagar. Later, Isaac was born, and because of the struggles between them Hagar and Ishmael were dismissed to wander in the wilderness. In the next generation, we saw Jacob, the trickster, fail at displaying God’s Image by bargaining with his brother and deceiving his father in order to inherit God’s blessings. In the next generation, Joseph’s brothers certainly were not displaying God’s Divine attributes when they allowed envy and jealousy to turn them against their brother Joseph. We might wonder if God’s purposes would ever be revealed, and if there would ever be one who would adequately display His Likeness to the world.
And today, in one brief glimpse, we see Joseph responding in such a way that could only be empowered by the Grace of God at work within him. Today, we don’t see a human failing, but we see God working in the life of Joseph, revealing Himself to us through the character of Joseph. Hear these words from Genesis 45:
1 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 not be 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.
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. 9 Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. 10 You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me--you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. 11 I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’
12 “You can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. 13 Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.”
14 Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.
What a beautiful display of mercy and grace in the life of Joseph. Arguably, Joseph was the most powerful person on the face of the earth at that given time. Egypt was a powerful nation, and Pharaoh had given Joseph command of everything. In Genesis 41:40 Pharaoh is recorded to have said to Joseph: “You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.“ The only way in which Joseph was second to Pharaoh is that Pharaoh sat on the throne, and Joseph didn’t. And so, here we have the most powerful person on earth with ten unsuspecting brothers in his council chambers. Ten unsuspecting brothers who had hated him so badly that they had almost killed him, but decided it would have been better to make a little money by selling him to slave traders instead. Joseph could have carried forth all of the wrath and powers available to Pharaoh himself, and nobody would have been the wiser. Nobody would have questioned him, his father Jacob would never have known, and Joseph could have justified his actions by saying that he was carrying out justice on those who had done wrong.
And yet, in a beautiful display of mercy and grace, Joseph shows us a glimpse of God’s Divine attributes, as he displays the Image of God to a watching world. As we look at Joseph, we become aware of God’s attributes of mercy and grace. Mercy and grace, which we see evident in our Gospel lesson from Matthew 15.
Jesus is approached by a Gentile woman who cries out to Him, identifies Him as the Messiah, and asks Him to have mercy on her and her daughter. Initially, Jesus seems to ignore the woman not saying a word to her. His disciples quickly tire of her cries, and begged Jesus to send her away so that she wouldn’t bother them anymore. Jesus responds to the woman, indicating that His mission at that point was only to the Jews, and not to the Gentiles. Not deterred by His response, she continues to plead with Him. In explanation, he uses an analogy of children and dogs, saying that it’s wouldn’t be right to feed the bread meant for the children to the dogs under the table. His statement indicates that His mission at that point was to the Children of Israel, and not to the Gentiles outsiders. Continuing to beg for mercy, the woman makes a great claim of faith when she says “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” The woman recognizes that even a crumb of Jesus’ mercy and power would be enough to set her daughter free from the demons which plagued her. Jesus recognizes the great faith of the woman, and heals her daughter.
Paul sheds some light on the Jewish-Gentile relationship in Romans 11. Paul gives every indication that it was because of Israel’s rejection of the Messiah that caused those blessings to be available to all people. Jesus came first for the Jew, and then for the Gentile. When the Jews did not receive Him, He went to those who would receive Him, displaying the power and mercy of God to the watching world. In our Romans lesson this morning, Paul indicates that all is not lost for the Jews, as they will return to God through the ministry of the Gentiles. We might initially think that Jesus’ reaction to the Canaanite woman was rather harsh, but at that point, He was devoting all of His energy to bring about the redemption of the Jews, through which all peoples could be saved. And yet, He is deeply moved by her display of faith, that even a crumb of His power and mercy would be enough to free her daughter. And so, displaying God’s mercy and grace to all people, Jesus declares that her daughter is set free.
This morning, I don’t identify with Joseph. Oh, certainly, there have been times in my life when I’ve been wronged, and i know that each one of you have been wronged too. There are times when we are the victim, and we must look at the story of Joseph and be reminded to forgive others, even as we have been forgiven. We could talk about Joseph this morning, and learn about the importance of forgiving others, and that would be appropriate. Certainly, if there are those that we need to forgive, we should make that right today. If there are those who we need forgiveness from, we need to ask for that forgiveness today.
But today, I don’t identify with Joseph. I don’t identify with the victim today, I identify with his brothers. I identify with the dirty rotten scoundrels who weren’t even aware that they needed forgiveness before they barged into Joseph’s courts begging for food. I imagine that they had forgotten what they had done to Joseph, and hadn’t given it a second thought when their father sent them to Egypt to try to buy food. And so into Joseph’s court they go, not even aware that they should ask the mighty ruler’s forgiveness before they asked to buy his grain. How like humanity...demanding God’s blessings without asking forgiveness. How very much like us...asking for Him to fix our problems and heal our families without first confessing our own sins. I don’t identify with Joseph today, I identify with his brothers.
I identify with the Canaanite woman--not because I have a child who is demon possessed--but because I am unworthy of any of God’s blessings. For you see, by myself, I have done nothing to attain God’s blessings which I have received. I am not part of the chosen people of Israel. I have failed at displaying the Image of God to others. I am but a dog--a sinner who has been saved by grace. None of us have done anything to deserve redemption, forgiveness, or God’s love. And yet, Almighty God--Set Designer, Writer, Producer, Creator, Main Character--has looked down from Heaven and seen each one of us. He has looked upon us--dogs wallowing in the muck and mire of sin--and loved us. He loved us so much that He sent His Son to walk and talk among us, to live a perfect life, and to give His life for us.
And so, you and I...we don’t have to beg for “crumbs of God’s grace” anymore. Through the death of Jesus, God has opened wide the floodgates of Heaven, showering all of us with “crumbs of grace and drops of mercy.” No longer dogs outside the gate begging for crumbs of grace and mercy, we have been showered upon with more crumbs than we know what to do with. Oh, we have feasted on the “Crumbs of Grace” until we have been full. But what to do with the leftover crumbs?
It is our job to find other dogs in need of God’s grace, and invite them to come feast upon the “Crumbs of Grace” which have fallen around us. We must never hoard the Gifts of God, but share them with a world in need of forgiveness. Martin Luther was quoted as saying, “Christ, our Lord [is] an infinite source of all grace, so that if the whole world would draw enough grace and truth from it to make the world angels, yet it would not lose one drop; the fountain always runs over, full of grace.” We have been showered with “Crumbs of Grace” which must be taken to a world in need of God’s redemptive grace and mercy.
Ernest Hemmingway wrote a short story entitled, “The Capital of the World,” in which he tells the story of a Spanish father and his teenage son. The relationship between this father and son became strained and eventually shattered. When the rebellious son--whose name was Paco, a common Spanish name--ran away from home, his father began a long and arduous search to find him. As a last resort the exhausted father placed an ad in a Madrid newspaper, hoping that his son would see the ad and respond to it. The ad read, “Dear Paco, Please meet me in front of the newspaper office at noon. All is forgiven. Love, Father.” As Hemmingway tells the story, the next day at noon, in front of the newspaper office, there were 800 Pacos, all seeking forgiveness from their fathers.
We live in a broken, shattered world where people are in need of forgiveness. Every day we come into contact with people who have had relationships strained and shattered like Paco and his father. In many ways, we are all Pacos. We are all in need of forgiveness from our Father. Instead of writing an ad in the paper, our Father sent His Son to die a cruel death on a Roman Cross. And so, like Paco’s father, the invitation has been given--to come--and all will be forgiven.
I’m so grateful that He didn’t wait for us to realize our need. He didn’t wait for us to draw near to Him, but clothed Himself with frail humanity. He didn’t wait for us to cry out to Him, but He let us hear His voice...calling out to us. I’m so grateful for that cross today. I’m so grateful that He came to seek and to save the lost. I’m so grateful that God looked down from Heaven, and saw us dogs wallowing in the muck and mire of sin, and that He showered drops of mercy and crumbs of grace upon us.
I like to imagine that first meal Joseph had with his family after they knew who he was. I imagine that Joseph pulled out all the stops and threw a royal feast for his family, a feast the likes of which have never been seen in Egypt before. Imagine the wonder on the faces of his brothers, as they went from outsiders in Pharoah’s court--foreigners from afar begging for food--to being recognized as family to the second most powerful man in Egypt. No longer like dogs begging for crumbs from the table, but family who had been invited to sit at the table. They were no longer strangers hoping to purchase some food, but because of God’s grace and mercy revealed through Joseph, they were invited to the feast.
This morning, I have a similar invitation for you. Through the death of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ, you have been invited to feast at the “Table of Grace.” No longer dogs begging for crumbs, you have been invited to the banquet, to feast on the mercy and grace laid out before you. By coming this morning, you affirm your faith in the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus which saves you now. You come by faith, to receive “Crumbs of Grace” and “Drops of Mercy.”
Benediction: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. You have feasted at the Table of Grace...in order that you might display His Image to a watching world.
