Living in the Spirit
August 4, 2020
Scripture Reading: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28
The man said, ‘They have gone away, for I heard them say, “Let us go to Dothan.” ’ So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.’ But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, ‘Let us not take his life.’ Reuben said to them, ‘Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him’—that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.’ And his brothers agreed. When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. Genesis 37:17-28
Being born into a family results in having to deal with one another, whether we like each other, or we do not. Clearly, Joseph’s brothers were not fond of the one they saw as their father’s pet. Their reaction took them to the extreme, selling him into slavery. I guess that was better than killing him. I am a member of a family, have worked with troubled families, and have observed all manner of families as they interacted. My father’s family was a yours, mine, and our family as were most of the families in the time of Jacob. In that case, they had the same father but several different mothers. The thing about families is that their intrinsic connectedness can never be changed. We must learn to co-exist in love or face the consequences.
The Greek language has at least three descriptions of love: eros, which is erotic love, Philadelphia –sibling love (also the source word of philanthropy), and agape—divine love, which is Godlike love goodwill for all. Agape love is what Jesus calls us to practices, which I believe is woven into every kind of love when we accept the ways of Christ. It requires us to invest ourselves in learning to love our spouses, siblings, and our neighbors as God loves us. That requires an investment of time and energy and self-examination, helping us to understand our relationships and ourselves better. Once we can love ourselves as God loves us, we can more easily learn to love others.
Prayer: Lord, teach us to love like you as we work to build a world ruled by your love. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.