Friday of the Second Week of Lent

Lectionary: 234

They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver.

The story of Joseph is one of the longest narratives in the Bible, occupying the 37th through 50th chapter of Genesis. The great biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann compared him to King David. The Lord spoke to neither one directly, but both trusted the Lord who called, authorized, and empowered them to act upon their native instincts. Both acted foolishly as young people do, got into terrible scrapes, learned to recognize the hand of God, and died as honored, successful men. 

In the betrayal of Joseph -- who was sold by his brother for pieces of silver -- we also recognize a type of Christ. This story of treachery strongly resembles the crucifixion and has to remind us of the resurrection for, as Joseph says to his remorseful brothers in the 45th chapter, 

But now do not be distressed, and do not be angry with yourselves for having sold me here. It was really for the sake of saving lives that God sent me here ahead of you. The famine has been in the land for two years now, and for five more years cultivation will yield no harvest. God, therefore, sent me on ahead of you to ensure for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives in an extraordinary deliverance. So it was not really you but God who had me come here; and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his household, and ruler over the whole land of Egypt. 

In distress we sometimes suppose that God has surely abandoned us. "Nothing good can come of this situation!" Joseph's speech reminds us that God is still in charge; God is always in charge. If we cannot see how this story must end well -- whatever the story might be -- it is simply because we do not have the mind of God. 

But is there some reason why we should know the end of this story? Should I be so like God that I know the future as well as the past, and have a thorough comprehension of the present? 

If we rely on our feelings of fear, anger, or confusion to reveal the truth to us, we might be sure of disaster, for they speak of nothing but disaster. Sometimes we say, "I'll not be afraid!" and, "I'll not get angry!" for that would be losing faith in God. But we are afraid and we get angry anyway, and then suppose we have no faith. 

When Joseph landed in jail through no fault of his own, he might have supposed, "God is unfair to me." Could anyone blame him for being distressed. But he rallied, assessed the situation, and was soon in charge of all the prisoners in the jail. Joseph's fidelity was not in trusting his feelings to assess the situation, but in finding the opportunities that God put in his way. 

We can be sure Saint Paul reflected deeply on the story of Joseph for he spent many long days in Roman jails. 

The scriptures are full of crucifixion/resurrection stories. Each one reminds us that God knows where this is going and has never abandoned his people. As we pray our way through the forty days of Lent, we hope to gain that longer vision which cannot see the future but knows there most certainly is one.