Sent Ahead

Living in the Spirit
August 6, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b Death from The weavers revolt

When he summoned famine against the land,
and broke every staff of bread,
he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave. 

The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house,and ruler of all his possessions,
to instruct his officials at his pleasure, and to teach his elders wisdom. — Psalm105:16-17, 20-22

The picture by Kathe Kollwitz, Death, from the series The Weavers’ Revolt illustrates the hopelessness of famine. In a hovel of a room, a woman stands before her child with an empty bowl between them. Death in the form of a skeleton wraps one arm around the child while the other hand rest on the father slumped in death.

In our scripture today the Psalmist recognizes the trait of God that turns evil into good. In this instance the evil was Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery. The good was turning Joseph into a well-placed leader who foresaw the calamity coming and stored up food for the time of famine. It has been debated for years whether God punishes people via natural or even man-made disasters. I guess I rationalize the answer. I do believe we have to face the consequences of our own actions. I don’t believe that God ever wants any of God’s people to starve. I do believe we as followers of Christ are called to feed the hungry and otherwise address the needs of all of God’s children throughout the world.

Famine has been a challenge throughout history. Even today scientist work to develop food that can be used to nourish the starving in some parts of our world as we still try to fight for the precious lives of children and their parents. Perhaps we are the contemporary Joseph’s, the ones who have been sent ahead to prepare for such disasters.

Prayer: Give us the wisdom to not only feed the hungry but to also help them become self-sustaining. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved