September 25 - God's Favour
Genesis 39:1-23
Deborah Laforet
God’s Favour
Let us pray. May the words from my lips and the meditations of my heart be guided by your Spirit and be words of wisdom for this day. Amen.
“Close every door to me. Hide all the world from me. Bar all the windows and shut out the light.” Is it familiar? For those who have seen and heard Andrew Lloyd Webber’s and Tim Rice’s, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” you will recognize this song and will know it was sung when Joseph was put into prison.
The story of Joseph is the longest story in the book of Genesis, running for fourteen chapters. The story contains sibling rivalry, favouritism, kidnapping and slavery, imprisonment, treachery, betrayal, powerful pharaohs, seduction, grief, famine, and the foretelling of dreams. No wonder Webber and Rice decided to use it for a Broadway musical.
There are so many interpretations of this story and so many aspects on which people choose to focus. The passage you heard today is not one I have ever heard read in church and it may not be familiar to those who aren’t fans of the play or know the story. In fact, in the play, the narrator, when recounting this unusual story actually says, “It’s all there in chapter 39 of Genesis.”
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the story, a brief synopsis. Joseph was favoured by his father, Jacob. Jacob gave Joseph a beautiful coat and asked Joseph to keep tabs on his older brothers (of which there were ten). Joseph also had dreams that he interpreted as one day being above his older brothers and with them bowing to him. The brothers were jealous and insulted and decided to get rid of him. They sold him to some travellers and the travellers took him to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar. Potiphar is described as an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, and an Egyptian, all making him a powerful figure in Egypt.
Joseph is so good at what he does, that Potiphar puts him in charge of everything he owns. So, again Joseph is favoured, but then, again, events go awry. Potiphar’s wife begins to sexually harass Joseph. It’s not always described in this way, but this is what she is doing. She is in a position of power as the wife of Potiphar and Joseph is a slave, no matter how much control he has been given over Potiphar’s home. The bible tells us, that “although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not consent to lie beside her or to be with her.” That’s the definition of sexual harassment. Potiphar’s wife then catches him one day and grabs hold of his garment. Joseph runs, leaving the garment in her hands. Potiphar’s wife then accuses Joseph of attacking her and Potiphar sends Joseph to prison.
Twice now, Joseph has been favoured. First by his father, who gives him a coat, which his brothers tear away from him, paint with goat’s blood, and give to their father as proof of Joseph's demise, and they sell Joseph into slavery. Second, by the powerful Potiphar, whose wife tears away Joseph’s garment and falsely accuses him of attempted rape, which lands him in prison.
The bible also tells us that God favoured Joseph. God gave him dreams and the gift of interpreting those dreams. God helped Joseph to prosper in Potiphar’s home, blessing Potiphar’s house and field for Joseph’s sake. What does it mean to be favoured? What does it mean to have the favour of God?
Do you remember two weeks ago when we talked about Noah and the ark? We were told God favoured Noah. God had Noah build an ark, to save him and his family and some of the creatures of the earth, and Noah had to build a giant ark, convince his family to come with him, collect all these species of animals, and, of course, watch as everything else, his extended family, friends, and all his possessions, were washed away in the flood.
Last week, we heard that Abraham and Sarah had God’s favour. God told them to cross a desert to a new land. They got in trouble along the way with Pharaohs and kings, their nephew was kidnapped, they fought wars, spent their days wandering the desert, never truly finding a home, and endured some pretty major family conflicts.
Toady we hear that Joseph had God’s favour. He was kidnapped, sold into slavery, sexually harassed, and imprisoned. Anyone feeling they want to be favoured by God, right now?
Some people believe they are favoured when they have a big, beautiful house, a spouse and children, a good paying job, the respect of their community, good health, and the ability to go on vacation and buy what they want, when they want. They believe they have been blessed by God. This is called the prosperity gospel, when people believe that if they are good Christians, donate to the church, and volunteer their time, then God will favour them with riches and good health. Sometimes this belief gets turned against people. If you are poor and in poor health and have a broken family, then God must be punishing you, or at least, refraining from offering you blessings and that you just have to do better.
Reading the stories from Genesis though, you wouldn’t necessarily think that being favoured by God makes you invincible to struggle and hardship. In fact, it may bring more.
We know, from our teachings of Jesus, that when we follow Christ, we are called to carry the cross. Following the way of Christ is not easy. Answering the call of God can sometimes bring one to difficult places and on challenging journeys. Being favoured by God isn’t about getting rich, living a long life, having the perfect family, or having no worries. It’s about living a life of justice, of compassion and forgiveness, of sacrifice, and of loving your neighbour, your enemy, and yourself. Living this kind of life can be easy in some ways and incredibly challenging in other ways. By example, Jesus and his followers, including those throughout history, have been persecuted and sometimes killed for living such a life.
We are all favoured by God. I don’t believe God picks favourites, as Jacob did with Joseph. We all receive our own calling and we are all capable of following Jesus in our own way. The question is more about us and if we are ready to answer that call, use our gifts, and follow in the footsteps of Jesus, maybe even to the cross. As I’ve said the past few weeks, sometimes we have to go through the process of un-creating before we can re-create, suffering before we find joy, dying before we can rise again.
Honestly, our world could use some Christ followers right now, as we watch climate emergency after climate emergency, wars and threats of nuclear disasters, the persecution of people for their race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, cultural identity, for protesting their government, and so much more. We need educators, public speakers, accountants, advocates and leaders, social workers, visionaries, people with years of experience and people with fresh eyes, people who ground us and people who lift us up. We’re all needed. God has favoured all of us with the gifts and skills that are needed to make this world a better place.
And that will not be easy. It means making difficult choices. It means sometimes travelling the road less travelled. It means taking risks. It might mean a period of suffering and heartbreak. We know though, our faith tells us that there is good news. That resurrection is not only possible but is happening all around us all the time. That we are not alone. That we are loved, deeply loved as unique and beautiful parts of God’s creation. We are favoured. We are blessed. We are called. The choice is ours on how we choose to answer that call, to use our gifts, and to be a blessing to each other and to this world. Thanks be to God. Amen.