This sermon generated lots of comment from the congregation. it seemed to strike a chord.
“All of Egypt”, February 23, 2025; St. Andrew Presbyterian Church; Genesis 45: 3-15; Luke 6: 20-38
Genesis 45: 3-15: 3Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence. 4Then 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. 5And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6For 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. 7God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8So 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. 9Hurry 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. 10You 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. 11I 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.’ 12And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. 13You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” 14Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.
Introduction: we continue our reflections on the expansive nature of God’s claim in us and God’s grace toward us (next week is the last week for those of you who’re ready to move on!).
This week, we go back to Egypt and see the expansive theological understanding of who God is and how God works, even as we are reminded of God’s great desire to save.
Move 1: “All of Egypt”
a. That is the claim that Joseph makes - all of Egypt acts on God’s behalf.
1. In fact, as Joseph interprets his life, he sees God at work in every step.
in his dreams that infuriates his brothers
in his being sold into slavery
I’m Potiphar’s wife getting upset with Joseph and having him out into jail
in the dreams helping Joseph get out of jail and rising to power in Egypt
in the actions of Pharaoh to put Joseph in charge, sort of the secretary of agriculture, which puts Joseph into position to save his family, God’s people, from the famine that strikes them in their homeland.
2. Joseph sees God at work in all the different people and different situations in his life and really in the world around them
3. I believe Joseph would understand the reason Egypt is a powerful nation is so it can do God’s work to save Israel.
4. An expansive theological understanding of who God is and how God works.
b. We see this most clearly in Joseph’s words in vs. 8: 8So 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.
1. God is using Joseph and using the resources of Egypt to save God’s people from starvation.
2. Notice how broad Joseph’s claim is - God is not just at work in the life of the Israelites, but God is at work in the world through the actions of Egypt, a nation that does not even pretend to follow Yahweh.
3. This follows a theological theme we find in the Old Testament that understands God to be at work in all kinds of places,
among all sorts of people,
acting through many different nations and kings.
4. Yes, God has a special relationship with Israel, but God, who created all the world, is at work in and through all the world.
5. In the stories from the Old Testament, we see how God
hardens the heart of Pharaoh - it is not Pharaoh on his own refusing to let Egypt, but God working in Pharaoh.
God uses other nations to win battles
God uses other nations' leaders to save God’s people at times, and to defeat God’s people at other times.
6. The theological understanding is that God is at work through anyone and everyone in the world.
Move 2. What do we make of this theological understanding?
a. We affirm God’s sovereignty.
b. But, we might not view the world in such a causal relationship.
1. We are not as quick to identify every action as an explicit expression of God’s will.
1. things happen that we cannot explain or do not understand as God’s handiwork.
2. We see the presence of evil and its impact in the world, even as we look for how God is calling us to do battle against it in the world.
3. I am reminded of how the renowned historian Theodore White describes his worldview in his biography: “History was not predestined. Individuals not only could but inevitably did redirect the locomotive and alter history. Not only did individual choices matter, they were the thread of history itself.”
From a theological perspective, we add individual actions do alter history, but God still reigns over history. At this moment, evil may appear to be winning. But, while there may be setbacks in the negotiations, evil will not prevail” Theodore white was a historian who wrote about presidential politics and China. (Theodore H. White and Journalism as Illusion, Christian Century)
b. And we lay claim to God’s desire for salvation and redemption.
1. We see God at work in the world continuing to call us, challenge us, and push us toward God’s plan for redemption.
2. Joseph exemplifies this truth.
3. his life has been a series of unfortunate incidents perpetrated on his life by those who did not desire
4. But in the midst of that, the God of all Egypt,
the God at work in all the world
has found ways to free Joseph up to be in a position to bring God’s saving grace to God’s people.
c. The temptation, of course, is to claim God is in control of all the world and that we are called to exercise God’s power by using all our resources against others.
1. We have seen this distortion too often in history.
2. The theological rationale for the Crusades was that God wanted to save all the world by having everyone profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
but did the bloodshed and battles between armies reveal God’s saving grace or the influence of human desire for power over others?
e. How are we to live into our calling as God’s people in a world where we believe God calls us to do God’s work?
1. Perhaps we need to go back to Joseph’s story and see what he does.
2. As the story unfolds, we wonder which way Joseph is going to go?
Will his thirst for revenge carry the day?
or will he follow the path of the God who desires salvation?
6. As we discover, Joseph gives up the revenge tour,
gives up what his power in the world would allow him to do,
and recognizes how God is using him and to redeem and save God’s people.
Move 3: I think that is the message we get from Jesus in the story we heard from Luke.
a. This story is known as Jesus’ Sermon on the Plains.
1. this is Luke’s version of the Beatitudes.
1. We might note that Luke’s setting has Jesus coming off the mountaintop if you will and speaking on a plain to the people.
Symbolically, this points to Jesus standing among the people, emphasizing the lack of hierarchy in the world’s power structure.
2. Jesus’ words back up this symbol as Luke stresses God’s particular concern for those who are materially poor and physically hungry , whose circumstances will be reversed in the kingdom of God. (The Westminster Study Bible, 1814)
3. Luke also calls for an end of the worldview that calls for retaliation and violence as the way to resolve issues.
b. When we connect the theology that comes out of the Joseph story with the words of Jesus in the story in Luke, we get an image of God’s power that challenges our understanding of worldly power.
1. God is concerned with all the world.
2. God is at work in all the world.
3. God’s desire is to save and redeem all the world.
c. We are challenged to live our lives in that way.
1. To use our positions of power for God’s purposes, not our purposes.
2. To see the world not as a place to be conquered and subdued by our power, but a place where we can live out God’s calling as peacemakers
to be people who offer forgiveness
to be people whose intentions are to extend God’s love not force others into submission.
Conclusion: we live in a Complicated world with all sorts of owner dynamics in play.
no easy answers.
but, we live as followers of the God who called all the world into being and works to save it.
the same work to which God called Joseph and calls us.
Amen.
Luke 6: 20-38 20Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 22“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. 24“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25“Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. “Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. 26“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
27“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34If 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. 35But 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. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
37“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38give, 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.”
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