February 20, 2022
First Lesson: Genesis 45:3-11,15
3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. 10 You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 I will provide for you there—since there are five more years of famine to come—so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.’ 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.
Second Lesson: Luke 6:27-38
27 “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
“It’s a story that is repeated on every elementary school playground, nearly every day in our country. Two fourth-graders get into it during recess; something about “he did this, so I did that” and it kind of goes south from there. When they get back to class, Billy trips Joey. After lunch, Joey breaks Billy’s pencil on purpose. When nobody is looking, Billy writes on Joey’s desk, and later, Joey steals Billy’s folder. After school, Billy and his friends face Joey and his friends, and they call each other names. Somebody gets hurt. Somebody else gets hurt worse. And then there is no telling when or if these conflicts will ever end.
Sound familiar? We have all experienced this sort of escalating pettiness and we readily admit that it is silly. But I would suggest to you that we can remove the names “Billy” and “Joey” and insert the words “husband” and “wife” and the story is much the same. Or we could insert the names of two rival high schools, or two rival companies, or “The Hatfields” and “The McCoys.” Or Republicans and Democrats, or “pro-life” and “pro-choice,” or Israel and Palestine, or America and (Russia). Conflict at any level is conflict. And if not preventable, most conflict is at least resolvable…but not until one side refuses to retaliate and instead decides to reconcile” (sermons.com, Steven Molin).
We all know what conflict brings and we all long for peaceful resolutions. Our Scripture passages look at conflict from two different perspectives, looks at how we might live a more kind and forgiving life.
The story of Joseph focuses on family, a place that so many of our interpersonal hurts are formed. Siblings that fight over parental attention, jealousy and vying for position. If anyone had a grudge to hold it was Joseph who was left to die in a pit and sold into slavery by his older brothers. Yet Joseph decides not to retaliate. He takes a different path, a forgiving path. Joseph reframes the events of his youth as part of God’s plan. Twice he says, “God sent me before you” (v. 5,7) declaring that the hurtful ways of the brothers, God used for the ultimate good. For Joseph to be in a position of power to help save his people and his family, the earlier events needed to happen. Joseph became a trusted servant of the Pharaoh and stored grain enough to sustain them during the famine. Yet three things needed to happen for family reconciliation. First, Joseph tells the truth. He reveals himself to his brothers even though it would be painful for them to hear. He acknowledges that his brothers sold him into slavery. He doesn’t whitewash the hurt, or gloss over the wrongdoing. But he also does not blame them for their actions. Secondly, Joseph honors the feelings woven into this matter. He has dealt with his own feeling elsewhere, but acknowledges their feelings of “dismay,” “distress and anger” when facing the cruelty they caused Joseph and being confronted with the truth. Both Joseph and his brothers also share honest tears, healing tears, about what had happened and the fact that Joseph is still alive and able to help. Finally, Joseph does his part to make things right. He sends for his father, promising that he will provide for the entire family. Reconciliation involves action, not just words. Joseph did his part taking care of his family. The brothers did their part acknowledging that they had mistreated Joseph and honoring Joseph’s request to bring the family, including their father Jacob, to live in Egypt. To restore a situation, truth telling, acknowledging feelings and taking restorative action help to reframe the hurt, to find a way to the other side of a conflict.
Jesus also speaks of healing hurts by asking us to love our enemies. This is a big ask. We are attached to hating those who hurt us. But Jesus knows that for us to be freed from the pain of hate we need to find a way to forgive, to love our enemies. One commentator writes, “To be unforgiven and unforgiving is to be imprisoned by the lack of forgiveness. In the security of (God’s kingdom), it is possible to forgive, which releases both those who forgive and those who are forgiven” (Working Preacher, Ronald J Allen).
In a sermon written in a Georgia jail and preached just after the bus protest in Montgomery, Alabama, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., after noting that hate is just as injurious to the hater as the hated, said this about loving your enemies: “Of course this is not practical; life is a matter of getting even, of hitting back, of dog eat dog…My friends, we have followed the so-called practical way for too long a time now, and it has led inexorably to deeper confusion and chaos. Time is cluttered with the wreckage of communities which surrendered to hatred and violence. For the salvation of our nation and the salvation of mankind, we must follow another way. This does not mean that we abandon our righteous efforts. With every ounce of our energy we must continue to rid this nation of the incubus (the evil) of segregation. But we shall not in the process relinquish our privilege and our obligation to love. While abhorring segregation, we shall love the segregationist. This is the only way to create the beloved community” (sermons.com).
Jesus came to create a beloved community, to set us free from the hurts and grudges. To heal our brokenness and our vengeful ways. Jesus teaches us to love our enemies, to turn the other cheek and love beyond the reciprocal nature of if you give to me, I’ll give in return. Let’s say, I offer hospitality hoping you will provide it back, but that is giving only so we can later receive. The inverse is also true in a reciprocal society, an eye for an eye. The world was based on this give and take. But Jesus reminds us three times that even sinners do as much (v 32, 33, 34). So if we want to be part of the beloved community, free from hatred and grudges, we do more. We hold to a higher standard, the standard offered by our Lord. “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (v. 36). One commentator writes, “In the ancient world, many groups believed that the community was to imitate its leader. The community is to be merciful as God is merciful. Mercy is releasing people and circumstances from recrimination they deserve. Mercy is one of God’s primary qualities” (Working Preacher, Ronald J Allen). So when we forgive, love our enemy, and turn the other cheek, we are showing mercy like our Father shows mercy.
Immaculee Ilibagiza was a 22-year-old university student in the 1990s when terrible violence broke out in her home country of Rwanda. Hutus killed her parents, her brothers, and hundreds of her Tutsi friends. A Hutu pastor, who risked his life to save her, hid her and six other women. They lived in a small bathroom, a wooden wardrobe covering the door. For three months, they endured hunger, fear, and the sounds of soldiers in the house unsuccessfully searching for Tutsis.
In those cramped quarters, she began to pray the Rosary. Always she stumbled over the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” She knew that the prayer called her to forgive those who had killed her family and endangered her. She didn’t think she could do it, but she realized she was consumed by hate. She was afraid she would become like the people who had killed her family. Nevertheless, in her mind, forgiving her family’s killers was like forgiving the devil. Finally, afraid that her hate would crush her heart, she asked God to forgive those who had done her so much harm. Slowly, with God’s help, she was able to let go and forgive her family’s killers. Eventually, she even visited one of her brother’s killers in prison, taking his hand and offering forgiveness. She says that forgiveness saved her life. “It’s a new life, almost like a resurrection.” (sermons.com, Charles L. Aaron). Loving your enemy creates a new life, a life free of hatred, a life of resurrection, a life in the beloved community. Will you love your enemy? Amen.
