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Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28

¹ Jacob lived in the land of Canaan where his father was an immigrant. ² This is the account of Jacob’s descendants. Joseph was 17 years old and tended the flock with his brothers. While he was helping the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives, Joseph told their father unflattering things about them. ³ Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because he was born when Jacob was old. Jacob had made for him a long robe. ⁴ When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of his brothers, they hated him and couldn’t even talk nicely to him. ¹² Joseph’s brothers went to tend their father’s flocks near Shechem. ¹³ Israel said to Joseph, “Aren’t your brothers tending the sheep near Shechem? Come, I’ll send you to them.” And he said, “I’m ready.” ¹⁴ Jacob said to him, “Go! Find out how your brothers are and how the flock is, and report back to me.” So Jacob sent him from the Hebron Valley. When he approached Shechem, ¹⁵ a man found him wandering in the field and asked him, “What are you looking for?” ¹⁶ Joseph said, “I’m looking for my brothers. Tell me, where are they tending the sheep?” ¹⁷ The man said, “They left here. I heard them saying, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan. ¹⁸ They saw Joseph in the distance before he got close to them, and they plotted to kill him. ¹⁹ The brothers said to each other, “Here comes the big dreamer. ²⁰ Come on now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns, and we’ll say a wild animal devoured him. Then we will see what becomes of his dreams!” ²¹ When Reuben heard what they said, he saved him from them, telling them, “Let’s not take his life.” ²² Reuben said to them, “Don’t spill his blood! Throw him into this desert cistern, but don’t lay a hand on him.” He intended to save Joseph from them and take him back to his father. ²³ When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped off Joseph’s long robe, ²⁴ took him, and threw him into the cistern, an empty cistern with no water in it. ²⁵ When they sat down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with camels carrying sweet resin, medicinal resin, and fragrant resin on their way down to Egypt. ²⁶ Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and hide his blood? ²⁷ Come on, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites. Let’s not harm him because he’s our brother; he’s family.” His brothers agreed. ²⁸ When some Midianite traders passed by, they pulled Joseph up out of the cistern. They sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver, and they brought Joseph to Egypt.

When we look at the family tree of the patriarchs, we find a series of “gold stars.” Abraham literally had many sons, but Genesis 25 tells us that he gave all he had to Isaac and sent the others away. Isaac and Rebekah each had a favorite son, and as a result their fraternal twins would live in conflict for decades. In the preface of our passage today, the scripture tells us that Jacob “loved Joseph more than any other of his children,” lead- ing Joseph to arrogance and his brothers to hatred.
The gold-star label can be uncomfortable. For all the perks of being favored, the favored one may pay a price in the response it can evoke from others. But whom do we blame? The father who played favorites? The son who let it go to his head? The brothers who felt slighted?
Favoritism runs up and down this family tree, poisoning relationships. The effect finally compounds itself to the point where the divinely promised offspring sell their brother into slavery and lie to their father, saying that his beloved son is dead. This problem goes beyond relational to systemic.
Broken relationships and broken systems continue to com- pound themselves in our world today. Poisons like prejudice, greed, and violence lead to injustices like poverty, hunger, and human trafficking. It would be charitable to call these injustices uncomfortable. These injustices are, more accurately, sinful and destructive.
Sadly, we experience these injustices in the church as well. But the Joseph narrative offers good news: When faithful people awaken to what God is doing in and through them, they can become a force for good—repairing broken systems, restoring relationships, and blessing the world around them.

God, we pray that you open our eyes to the injustices in the world around us. Make us instruments of your love. Amen.

Rece las Escrituras usando Leccionario en Audio
Leer Matthew 14:22-33

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Leccionario Semanal

August 7–13, 2017

Resumen de la Escritura

The Genesis text begins the story of Joseph. Things would have turned out very different for Joseph (and for Israel) had it not been for the watchful care of the One who called Israel into being. Psalm 105 brie y recites the saving events in Israel’s life, and this week’s portion remembers the story of Joseph, stressing both the hiddenness and the crucial significance of God’s mercy. In Romans 10 note the manner in which Paul brings the past to bear on the present in terms of God’s saving activity. Notice also Paul’s insistence on the universal availability of salvation. The Gospel lesson of Jesus stilling the storm points to the inexplicable wonder of God’s redeeming love, which can be appropriated and answered only in doxology.

Preguntas para la reflexión

• Read Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28. The writer says, “Not all the challenges we face are a divine plan.” Do you agree or disagree? Why?
• Read Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b. How well does your memory serve you in times of distress to recall God’s presence and past action?• Read Romans 10:5-15. In what situations have you chosen to rely on God?
• Read Matthew 14:22-33. The writer says that comfort and safety should not be our “primary criteria when discerning and acting on God’s will.” Do you agree? Why or why not?

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Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28

Matthew 14:22-33

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