First Lutheran Church
February 20, 2022
The Seventh Sunday after Epiphany C
Genesis 45:3-11, 15Then 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. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 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. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 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. 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. 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. 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.’ ” … And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.
Luke 6:27-38[Jesus said:] “But I say to you that listen, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 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. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 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. 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. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 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.”
Sermon
“To Give and Forgive”
Pastor Greg Ronning
Brothers and sisters rarely have perfect relationships. But can you imagine being sold into slavery by your brothers and sisters? Can you imagine the pain involved in such a rejection? One minute you’re part of a family, and the next minute you're being plotted against by those in the family with power and strength over you. First, they throw you down a well and then they sell you to a passing caravan headed to Egypt. This is the story of Joseph and his brothers as found in the book of Genesis.
Then imagine that years later you run into those same family members and now they're weak and in trouble, and you have all the power. What do you do? Do you get even? Do you reject them? Does your broken heart grow hard and seek its revenge? Or are you able to open your broken heart and invite these people inside? Well, no one would blame you if you closed your heart and walked away. A jury of your peers would never convict you, in fact a jury would probably side with you and award you compensation for physical and emotional damage. Your brothers and sisters could all be locked up in jail where they belong;- and justice would be done.
Yet this is the story of Joseph, an amazing person who, I suspect, sees things very differently than you and I. His response is not the natural and easy one. Instead of revenge, he chooses to give and to forgive, to share his wealth, privilege, and power, giving them all the things that they need to survive. Those who left him for dead, now receive the gift of life from the brother they hated so much that they sold him into slavery. Joseph goes even farther, he chooses to open up his heart and invite those who threw him out, - into his life.
Joseph sees and understands things differently. His transformed heart is in control of his fallen mind. In this moment when most of us would see the opportunity for “karma,” the opportunity for payback; Joseph sees the presence of God. And from that perspective, in the opportunity to extend grace and mercy he finds his destiny, the hand of God In loving those who hated him he finds meaning and purpose. It's an amazing story. Joseph is an extra-ordinary human. Giving and forgiving, he is able to stretch beyond the limitations of our broken humanity and live out the powerful love of God.
As I reflect on the story, I would like to see myself as Joseph, but I must confess that I act more like his brothers. I am unable to share with others, I am jealous of others, I am threatened by my neighbor, and I am ,more times than not concerned primarily only with myself. I'm afraid to live like Joseph, to give and forgive, freely and abundantly. I see myself and my resources as limited. I can't afford to live like Joseph, giving and forgiving on such grand scales.
Then comes today's Gospel reading. If Joseph's giving and forgiving seems “unreal” to me, what am I to do with the teachings of Jesus? The story of Joseph only implies what God might want in certain situations. But in today's Gospel Jesus is so specific. And these words scare me. These words are a complete reversal of the values that I need to survive in the world that I know, the world in which I must live. How can I give till I have nothing? How can I love the unlovable? How can I turn the other cheek? How can I love my enemy? Such giving and forgiving is beyond “unreal,” it seems absurd.
Yet the story of Joseph and the words of Jesus won't go away. And even if they did, the same words can be found throughout the scriptures, radical giving and forgiving is all over the place. And they haunt me. I can't just put them on a nice "Christian poster" and hang them on my wall. I can't "spiritualize" them .I can’t separate them from my economy. I can't show up to serve at the Pantry and not know what they really mean. My heart longs to be extraordinary in my giving and forgiving, my heart longs to practice the radical discipleship that Christ sets before me, my heart is ready to follow, but my fallen mind finds a way to hold back.
What is your heart saying to you when you hear the call to give and forgive? Is it beating faster in anticipation of the Kingdom? What is your mind saying to you when you hear the call to give and forgive? Is it in panic mode, survival mode, trying to shut down the longings of the heart before they get you into trouble? Is it busy trying to rationalize the hard questions of faith away? Is it seeking to pull the discussion back into the realm of the human condition - scarcity; and out of the realm of the endless abundance found in the Kingdom of God?
Perhaps our primary task today is to simply try to shut down that fallen part of our minds, the part of us that is afraid. That part that clings to “the way things are,” that part that seeks to limit us to the fate of being ordinary. Perhaps if we can do that, shut down out fallen mind, even for just a little while, we can find that place in our heart where Christ dwells with that abundant and extravagant holy imagination that belongs to the Kingdom of God. And from this extra-ordinary place, the seat of our faith, we can begin to become more like Joseph, more giving and more forgiving, more like Christ.
In today’s appointed epistle lesson from First Corinthians, (which we did not read this morning,)St. Paul reminds that the life of faith is like the life of a seed, “What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.” The seed of our faith, the hopes of our hearts, the hopes of the Kingdom, must be planted in the death and resurrection of Christ.
The seed alone can't do much, as it is, it cannot feed the hungry, clothe the naked, nor shelter the homeless. As it is, it is small and insignificant. Yet within this seed is the power and potential to feed, clothe, and shelter. If we plant the seed, burry it, and let it die; it will grow into wheat and fruit that can feed; cotton that can clothe; even a mighty redwood that can provide shelter. All this is possible, is only possible, if we let go of the seed and plant it in the earth. We need to bury it and let it die in order for it to be transformed into new life. If we miss this crucial truth about the seed nothing will ever happen.
If your heart is ready, eager and longing, begin planting today. Yet don't leave here this morning expecting to be able to forgive everyone everything, don’t leave here expecting to be able to give all you have to the poor. Don't try to plant all your seeds at once. Walk with God and plant one seed at a time, begin to stretch your limits as you would begin to exercise. Build upon your planting, each seed planted and transforming into new life, will give you the strength to plant the next one.
Begin where you are, with a small act of forgiveness, give some food to the Pantry. (You may have already done that last Sunday!) Plant a seed of your time by serving as a volunteer. Plant a seed of your resources by making a donation to an organization that serves those in need. You have lots of seeds, lots of faith, hope and love. Just keep planting them, one by one; row by row, and before you know it you will have helped create a rich and abundant garden filled with peace, strength, purpose, and resources for the kingdom. A garden of giving and forgiving.
God loves you, trust the seed that is your life to the death and resurrection of Christ. Let go of your fears, trust in your hopes and the dreams of the kingdom; give and forgive, show mercy, be graceful. For what you sow will come to life, an extraordinary life that makes a difference, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” Amen.