Some first thoughts: All this family's "dysfunctions" come home to roost. We've seen parents openly favoring children, younger sons supplanting the older, the husband siring children with the handmaidens, "hostile" dreams, before. It's as if it's all concentrated in Joseph, whose story forms, according to someone (I forget who) the climax of the story of the generations of Abraham. I'll probably be going in this direction: following Patrick Henry (who quotes Jean-Luc Godard), All stories must have a beginning, a middle, and an end, but not necessarily in that order. Looks like the end of Joseph. But it's not. An end of jealousy for the brothers; actually, it's the beginning of what will probably be a nasty conspiracy of silence. An end to covenant/promise? That's always been at risk in these stories. So, homiletically, when are you? Beginning, middle, end? Not so easy to tell when our stories are set against the story God is making of us. And one more note, for those who celebrate eucharist weekly: check out v. 25. You have to eat. No matter what you've just done or are about to do, you have to eat. (Maybe the brothers knew this because they had lived with 4 'Jewish' mothers - an anachronism, I know, and I hesitate to use it, but my local rabbi got a laugh out of it when I tried it out on him). No matter when it is, you have to eat. Reminds me of the old D'Agostino's commercial in the NYC area: "Enough with the lovemaking, whaddya say we eat?" Only here it's enough with the hatemaking? By the way, how can you really preach this without vv. 5 - 11? I'm going to read the whole chapter. Paul in NJ
02 August,1999
I have been enjoying the contributions and the interaction on this site. Now it is my turn, and since it is early in the week, here is my question. Are any of you continuing with the Lessons that follow on into the story of Moses, oppression, crossing the Red Sea, etc? Has anyone else been preaching Genesis since Trinity Sunday? How far are you going with the series? My congregation has been appreciative for this opportunity to focus upon the forefathers and foremothers of our faith. How about yours?
To the anonymous contributor. I have been preaching on Genesis and will continue on through Exodus. I have encouraged my members to see the Genesis characters as paradigms for their lives. I have encourage them not to dwell on their negative or positive points, but to see them as human being in relationship with God. This attitude was reinforced for me by an incident at the church yesterday. We had to take an important vote. During the debate before the vote, I saw how insensitive we can be toward persons we don't know, or who in some measure are different from us. God bless you in your sermon preparation
Pasthersyl
Joseph was 17 -- a highly favored, know-it-all, too-big for his britches older adolescent. No wonder his older brothers (who no doubt were never 17 themselves!) were ready to sell him off into slavery. Joseph was 17, not quite grown but not still a child, eager to be heard, eager to be recognized, tired of being just the helper, eager to be affirmed as his own man. In some ways, this is also a very familiar coming of age story -- the adolescent who leaves home through conflict, anger, and deceit, to achieve independence. Admittedly, this is a somewhat isogetical take on the text. I have just been talking with the mom of a 15-year-old who hasn't seen her daughter for a week because she left home in anger. One of the things I love about the families in the OT is that they are real. I'm hoping this week to make Joseph and his family real to the experience of our upper-middle class, priveleged, but hurting congregation and its famlies. How does the worried mom find hope in the God of Jacob and Rebakah and Joseph? Your thoughts are welcome.
Ev in Kansas
Dear Contributors I have been quite taken with seeing Joseph as an example of our Egotistic tendency, whether we use them to be overconfident or underconfident. The use of the answer "Here I am," is quite different from Samuel's answer, and Jesus answer "Not my will but thine be done." Joseph's ego took quite a beating when his brothers seized him. For the first time since I began this Old Testament series, I plan on connecting our Gospel reading with the message. I haven't got that far yet.
Shalom
Pasthersyl
Hi!
Always enjoy all the contributions on this site...
I'm going to be talking about dysfuntional families, and what it means. I may connect that to the church as family, and how to be functional, rather than dysfunctional.
Now, here's my trivia question - I can think of many individuals of questionable character in the Bible, but how many dysfunctional families can we identify?
I come up with Cain and Able and co; I think King David's adultery goes in this category... what else?
peace
Kent in Québec
Hello again...
(by the way, I have not been preaching Genesis as a series this cycle, though I have used a couple of the passages. If I had already been here for a while I might have done so, but this is my first summer (and last summer) in this pastoral charge. (I'm in interim ministry)
Now, my real reason for writing again:
In the passage as we have it, there are several marks of a dysfunctional family:
tattling 37:2
favouritism 37:3
jealousy 37:4
factions/conspiracy 37:20
deceipt 37:20
Add to the list Joseph's arrogance and self-centredness. Also, I get a sense of Joseph being the "identified patient" - the individual in the family (or church) that everyone is sure is to blame for the problems: if only that individual were not there, all would be fine (scapegoating)(excepte that it doesn't work that way).
I find this interesting in interim ministry because some of the unhealthy dynamics appear in less healthy congregations: I have certainly seen the conspiracy/factions, the favouritism and the identified patient syndrome. (Heck, for a while I was the identified patient for my congregation!)
Also, I find it interesting because Heidi, my wife, and I have been foster parents - not currently due to physical space restrictions - but we did foster about 15 kids. And got to know families with these same problems -
Where it was thought by some that all their problems were caused by one individual.... (one person came to our house with a shotgun to "solve" the problem), where deceipt was normal and truth unknown (this is a hallmark of addictive systems, or families in which there is an addict (drugs, alcohol, sex, etc), where one individual was jealous of another's love, and onwards....
So it is that this story rings true for me - it is thousands of years old, yet the issues it raises are todays.
peace kent in Québec
I have been following a pattern the last three summers of beginning with the lectionary texts, but moving much more slowly. Last summer was Elijah and Elisha. Going through many more of the stories than the lectionary. The year before I focused completely on the life of David. This year I have focused on Abraham and Sarah, admittedly in broad strokes, but not quite as borad as the lectionary. My congregation has voiced appreciation for this. Many folks didn't grow up in Sunday School and haven't been taught these lessons.
Becuase my mid-week Bible study uses the lectionary, I've had to follow it as well. A few years ago I heard a great sermon on this text focusing on "Here comes this dreamer." It considered the way we all tend to discourage the dreams of those around us, even denouncing the dreams as detrimental to our way of life. We often work to kill the dream if not the dreamer.
RevMommy
I have been following a pattern the last three summers of beginning with the lectionary texts, but moving much more slowly. Last summer was Elijah and Elisha. Going through many more of the stories than the lectionary. The year before I focused completely on the life of David. This year I have focused on Abraham and Sarah, admittedly in broad strokes, but not quite as borad as the lectionary. My congregation has voiced appreciation for this. Many folks didn't grow up in Sunday School and haven't been taught these lessons.
Becuase my mid-week Bible study uses the lectionary, I've had to follow it as well. A few years ago I heard a great sermon on this text focusing on "Here comes this dreamer." It considered the way we all tend to discourage the dreams of those around us, even denouncing the dreams as detrimental to our way of life. We often work to kill the dream if not the dreamer.
RevMommy
Kent in quebec asked for it:
The OT's Top Ten dysfunctional Families
10. Isaac: I'm sure the neighbors didn't suspect anything until the youngest son ran away from home. 9. Adam: He had a habit of blaming his wife; then again, she didn't take much responsibility for her actions either. Then there's that Cain incident. 8. Isaiah: How could his sons grow up to be normal? I am sure "A Remnant shall Return" and "The Spoil Speeds, the Prey Hastes" were traumatized by their father walking around naked all the time. 7. Judah: Read Gen. 38 to learn about his problems- stuff I won't mention from the pulpit! 6. Jepthah: Sacrificing the only daughter is not a sign of a healthy family. 5. Eli and Samuel: They couldn't control their children-typical PKs. 4. Noah: he made made his grandson Canaan a slave to his sons Shem and Japheth. Talk about favoritism. 3. David: Bathsheba was not his only problem. His children tended to rape and kill each other. 2. Samson: This guy was supposed to be celibate. Instead, he marries a Philistine woman, kills her family, then goes off and spends his honeymoon with a prostitute. 1. Hosea: At least his family was dysfunctional with a purpose.
DeepSouth Steve
I made a similar list of dysfunctional Biblical familes a couple of years ago because I was tired of hearing about the church and "family values." As a single person, I would feel uneasy about visiting a church called "The Family Worship Center," or attending a service called "The Family Hour." While familes are important, and I will soon have one myself, the church should resist sending the message that a shiny-happy family is the sign of a strong Christian faith . It's just not real. The New Testament tells us that our true family consists of those who share the kinship of faith and obey the will of God.
DeepSouth Steve
P.S. I apologize for the soapbox speech. Someone just happened to step on one of my trip wires and set me off.
4 Aug To Paul in NJ RE: your posting of 28 JULY
Thanks for your suggestions. My church celebrates communion each week and when I read Vs. 25 I was struck by a thought: Is this what WE do . . . sell our brothers (and sisters) down the river then come to the communion table like nothing ever happened! Talk about dysfunctional!
Still thinking . . .it's only Wednesday.
Dona in FL
DeepSouth Steve -
Appreciate your two responses. I certainly agree that recognizing the flaws of the biblical characters makes it easier for people (including ourselves) to live with ourselves. And it helps us be open to people who are not a part of a 'family unit' when they come into the church. Don't apologize for the speech!
peace kent in Québec
I think the unfolding saga of the Genesis passages are rich with insights into the human condition and how God interceeds. Joseph and his brothers are paradymns for the modern family, blended and otherwise mixed lineage.
I will be doing a first person narrative of Joseph from in the pit, reflecting on his condition, his treatment by his brothers and worrying about what wil be happening to him next- any suggestions?
A W-G rocky coast of Me.
I have read with great interest and appreciation postings on this site for a year now. Many thanks to all of you. Therefore, I hope to be able to give something back at this time.
I have entitled my sermon "Life Is More Than the Pits". I am struck by the fact that the pit is the middle of the story for Joseph and his brothers. Yet, for many people their pit is their defining moment and often the end of their story. There are many people who describe themselves only in terms of their wound, the pitfall. The Good News is that with God life can be more than the pits. God does not allow our wound or our pit to be the end of the story. Joseph was able to move beyond his pit and wounds, because he had a dream. There was much more God wanted to offer Joseph and his brothers, and we can rejoice that they were willing to move beyond the pit. To be the instruments by which God fulfills a promise.
Lynn from PA
I would add that the bible is full of the "not so perfect" people and/or families, right from the very beginning. But in most of the stories our growing comes when we are in the pit. It also happens in real life that way. I am also going to point out that while Joseph was full of himself, Peter on the other hand did not have enough conficence in himself to be able to do the things he wanted without asking Jesus. He needed to be able to "stand" on his own two feet, we all need to be somewhere in the middls to be of service to Jesus. I also would like to say that many times I get some great ideas from this sit and wish to thank you all for what you add to my ministry.
MR in NY
The dysfunctional families in the Bible lists remind me of a sweatshirt a therapy client of mine had some years ago. It was a cartoon of an enormous auditorium with a banner across the stage: "Adult children of normal families: Welcome to our annual convention!" The visual punch line is that there were 2 or 3 people seated in the auditorium. Isn't that the point theologically as well? All of our families are dysfunctional -- all of us are dysfunctional (okay, sinful if you want to be biblical). God through Jesus Christ heals families as well as individuals and brings function out of dysfunction. There is a concept in family therapy literature (sorry, I can't quote the source) about the "good enough" family. None of our families is perfect, the quesstion is how, by the grace of God, they are "good enough" to do the nurturing that produces and sustains loving individuals.
Thanks for all your thoughts. I'm planning Part 2 for next week.
Ev in Kansas
I can't help but think about the aspect of this story that no matter how obnoxious, we always want to kill the dreamer or visionary. God forbid we should have an "in your face" visionary in our congregations that tells us of a vision that will upset the order of things like the sheaves of wheat bowing down to Joseph in the verses preceding this. (I agree with Paul in NJ who said how can you tell this story without vs 5-11) There is good reason for the brothers to hate Joseph, he's a rats on his brothers and has dreams that every one bows down to him...go figure why they are angry! But he is a visionary and his dreams are true as we know and the old order will be upset just as the visionary in the church disturbs the "old order". So do we kill the visionary or learn from them? Maybe we need to figure God might have a plan for us here revealed through the dreamer? Just a thought...Anne in VT
I like to thank Deep South Steve for his top ten list...I haven't laughed much this week..it's been a tough one and that made me just giggle..very clever! Also your "speech" is so true..we need to look at the church as our first family and realize that there are all kinds of ways that "families" are made up! It might be housemates or cousins or whatever friends we gather together. I was a single parent for a bunch of years until I reamrried and I felt like the folks in the church never looked at us as a "family"!! Peace-Anne in VT
I have expierienced in this long,tiring Journey that offers eternal life at the end of the road, that we cross what may be close to the end to many times. the trials, and tribulations, force your human, and limited mind to feel the painful, lonely, hard moments just as they are. we will find that as Joseph, was pushed by his brother's into a cistern with out he water! we to are pushed, and many times by those closest to us. it hurts all the more!. that is the moment when we are shoved so down and under, that we cant even feel the presence! Of the almighty God, and his spirit to strengnten us. (but he is there of course) water represents the Holy Spirit, and being so low under Ground may some times make us insensitive to the Presence Of God,and the excellent purpose! and wonderful plan behind all the pain, lonelyness,rejection, and abuse.. there is a hidden plan in the excelence of his soveriegn will.... Vs 21 give me total confidence in the extended mercy and Love Of god in Our lives, there is always a Redeemer sent our way! Reuben was tipifiying Christ in the Life of Joseph, for christ did not come to destroy, to kill, nor to steal, but that we should have life, and that we should have it in abundance, as we well Know was in the end bestowed upon him, and the repented brothers.. this gives me hope and strength, when i am pushed under with no water, to quench my thirst....