This Sunday, October 23, when we gather for worship at Seneca Presbyterian Church, we will find Joseph facing a moral challenge. Potiphar, the captain of the guard, has made Joseph overseer of his household. It is a position of authority and responsibility. Read Genesis chapter 39 to get the entire story, then consider these questions:
- Has the "self-centered brat" we met in chapter 37 changed? If so, why and how?
- The rabbis call Joseph "the saintly one." Do you agree? Why or why not?
- Why do you think Joseph refuses "Mrs. Potiphar"? Are you surprised that he does?
- God's presence seems to imply success and blessing. We read in verse 3: "The Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands." How does that formula fare when applied to your life and the lives of those you know? How do you discern and even measure signs of God's presence in your life, even in the ordinary days of your life?
I am reading Richard Rohr
Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life in conjunction with this sermon series. Rohr is a Franciscan priest who has written and spoken extensively on spirituality. This is his latest book and it traces the development of our spiritual lives through both the tasks of the first half of our lives, our transition to the second half - often through shadows, darkness, and stumbling - and into the fullness of the second half of life. It's interesting read! Some questions that it prompts for me:
- What are the challenges that deepen faith?
- Does it take a challenge so deep that it could destroy faith in order to strengthen it?
Rohr thinks so: He writes: 'There must be, and, if we are honest, there always will be at least one situation in our lives that we cannot fix, control, explain, change, or even understand." What do you think?
Let me hear from you!
Based on my personal experience, I agree with Rohr. God tells us through Jeremiah, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (29:13). For me it took coming to a point of heart-felt desperation to be willing to put all my heart into seeking God. Maybe some are less stubborn than I and don't require this? I was fine with keeping God at arm's length for years, and it wasn't until I reached the end of my own ability to deal with what I was feeling that I was willing to let him in.
ReplyDeleteI can not see Joseph as "the saintly one". To refuse the pharaoh's wife was probably good preservational sense. I see Joseph's story as example of a great plan being enacted through the talents of an individual who is cast into an opportunity and who brings it to fruition. Joseph made Moses possible.
ReplyDeleteDon: I appreciate your comment and see it as very pertinent to Joseph's role in the effort to preserve life in the midst of famine. As I read the rabbis, I think they see saintliness as more of a practical faithfulness rather than any miraculous virtue. Can we live our lives according to God's standard - love of God and love of neighbor - even in a self centered world, and even if our motives are mixed? Can we call that saintly? Thanks for a great observation as we move more deeply into Joseph's story.
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