This autumn, we drop into various stories of the Bible sequentially, starting at the beginning — following along with our young people in Church School. We look at the promises God makes with humanity and how those promises get broken. We look at our relationship with God and how we honor and keep it.
As we make our way through the book of Genesis, this week we dive into the story of Joseph. Maybe some of you —like me — are familiar with the story of Joseph through the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. You might recall that Joseph is known as Jacob’s “favorite son,” and as the favorite he gets special treatment from his father. Not surprisingly, this special favor doesn’t sit so well with Joseph’s other eleven brothers. The sibling dynamic of favoritism becomes a breeding ground for jealousy, sibling rivalry, and revenge which leads to all kinds of conflict for Jacob’s sons.
At the same time, Joseph’s life is also a story about hope, forgiveness, and resilience. Joseph lived in ancient times in a culture very different from ours in a land far away. His life was so different from ours. And yet, the story of Joseph is a story about being human — something that we can all relate to.
On Sunday, I’ll invite us to consider where we see ourselves in Joseph’s story. We’ll look at a culminating moment when he showed amazing forgiveness of his brothers (Genesis 50:15-21). Together, we’ll reflect on the power of forgiveness and explore where we need forgiveness in our own lives.
In faith,
Anna
Seminarian
Image credit: https://www.abc.net.au/religion/miroslav-volf-forgiveness-reconciliation-and-justice/13858524
