Genesis 37:2-4
Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.
Devotional Reflection
There’s an interesting way in which the opening chapter in this lengthy Joseph narrative challenges us to believe God’s promise to Abraham. Remember what God said to Abraham way back in Genesis 12?
“I will make of you a great nation.”
Not nations, plural--but a great nation--singular. One people. A united people.
An yet, what are the challenges we see from Abraham moving forward? We see division. Disunity. We divided families. Brother against brother. We see multi-generational dysfunction. Ishmael and Isaac. Jacob and Esau. Wives and concubines. And now we come to this messy business with Joseph and his brothers. His brothers who hate him so much that they sell him into slavery. His brothers who despise him so much that they take the special coat his father made him and rip it to shreds and stain it with animal blood. His brothers who have such bitterness for Joseph, that when they show the coat to their father can’t even bring themselves to call him “our brother”--instead they ask Jacob "is this the coat of your son?”
How will God ever fulfill his promise to make this divided and divisive people into one?
God makes his people one through cross and resurrection. Through suffering and new birth. Through slavery and deliverance. Joseph is sold into slavery. He is put into Pharaoh’s prison. He is as good as dead. But then God raises him up. And through that resurrection, God reconciles Joseph to the very brothers who hated him. Again, this divided people will come under the harsh hand of Pharaoh in Egypt. At that time they will lift up a united cry for a savior. God will answer. God will rescue them. God will bring them through the baptismal waters of the Red Sea into a new life of freedom. He will lead this resurrected people to the foot of Mount Sinai. There, God will make them his people--a united people--one people under the Lordship of one God.
Cross and resurrection.
This is how God makes a divided people one. This mystery was fully revealed in Jesus Christ. Israel reduced to One. Who through his cross and resurrection delivered us. And in our baptism, Paul says, we are made participants in his cross and resurrection. Through baptism, we who were many are made into one body--the Church. And now in this body, though we are each different, we belong to one another. Like an artist takes individual pieces of colored glass and arranges each of them in order to create a unified picture, God has made a unified people out of all those whom he has redeemed. The Church is the place where we get to live out this oneness that God promised to Abraham so long ago. This oneness that seemed like it would never happen. This oneness that can only come through cross and resurrection. Now it has come. We are one. One royal nation. One beautiful tapestry. One body. Brought together through one Spirit. One Lord. One Faith. One baptism. One God and Father of all. Amen.
Image Description (AI Prompt)
A stained glass window depicting a beautiful church, crafted from many individual pieces of glass. The scene is illuminated with radiant light shining through, showcasing intricate details and vibrant colors. This artwork combines a sense of spirituality with artistic beauty, capturing the essence of a serene and sacred space. The church is set in an idyllic landscape, and the glass pieces vary in color and shape, creating a mosaic that glows with life. Light filters through the stained glass, casting a spectrum of hues across the interior, invoking a feeling of awe and reverence.