St Margaret's Church Prestwich

Rev Sue gave this sermon on Wednesday 12 July. Here it is for you again:

If you read the stories of the Old Testament, you’ll find that all human life is there. People do not generally come across as saintly, never doing wrong, and the story of Jacob’s family is no exception.

Jacob had four wives, 10 sons and some daughters. However, there was one wife, Rachel whom he had always loved. Her sons were Joseph and Benjamin. Benjamin never knew his mother because she died in childbirth. Jacob, in his sorrow, favoured Rachel’s sons over the others, which was a recipe for disaster. Any parent knows that sibling rivalry is hard to discourage, and Jacob only fuelled the jealousies by giving the best gifts to Joseph. Consequently, Joseph became conceited and tried to lord it over his older brothers. The resented him so much, that some of them even wanted to kill him. In the end they didn’t go through with it, but instead sold him into slavery in Egypt.

Things initially went from bad to worse at first, for Joseph as he was thrown into prison based on false accusations. However, there was a complete turnaround in his fortunes, and he became the most important official in Egypt. By prudently storing grain during the years of abundant harvests, he had grain to sell when times were bad. Not only did the Egyptians benefit from his good management, but people from surrounding countries also came to Egypt to buy grain. Our reading for today began with all of Joseph’s half-brothers coming before him, hoping to take food home to their elderly father and their youngest brother, Benjamin, who was looking after him.

The brothers were older, but otherwise they were much the same as when Joseph had last seen them. Joseph, on the other hand was dressed and spoke like a wealthy Egyptian, so even though he recognised them, they had no idea that Joseph was their brother. Joseph had various options ranging from immediate forgiveness to putting them to death. He chose a middle way. He wanted the brothers to get a taste of their own medicine. He had been in prison for years – he had them thrown into the cells for three days. Then he demanded that his younger brother Benjamin be brought to see him, keeping Simeon in Egypt as a hostage. The brothers made the connection that Joseph wanted them to make. If only they had relented when Joseph was pleading for his freedom, this wouldn’t have happened. However, they had no choice but to comply.

Joseph refused to take their money, secretly placing it back in the sacks with the grain.  The brothers were frightened, thinking they would be accused of theft. The reading ends with Jacob refusing to let Benjamin go to Egypt, but as the grain ran out, they had to go back again. The story continues with the brothers looking after Benjamin at the risk of their own safety. Joseph had given them the opportunity to redeem the past by this time looking after their father’s favourite son. Eventually, Joseph revealed his identity, leading to a tearful reunion. Jacob and all his family went to live with Joseph in Egypt.

The themes of this story are universal ones: sibling rivalry, tough love, confronting one’s own wrongdoing, and forgiveness.

This story works on several levels. It teaches us how to live with people who have hurt us, always being prepared to forgive, but also entitled to demand a demonstration of a change in behaviour first. This isn’t because we are punitive, but because we want the person who hurt us to become a better person.

This story was told in the Hebrew scriptures to a people who were divided into 12 tribes, named after the 12 sons of Jacob. The message is clear: acknowledge past wrongdoings but also forgive past wrongs. Communities also have to learn how to move on from the past.  The Nuremberg trials after the Second World War focused on retribution, where the Allies sought to punish the worst crimes of the Nazis. In contrast the Truth and Reconciliation Committee in South Africa aimed at restorative justice. All sides were able to tell their stories, and everyone was asked to admit past crimes. Those who told the truth could apply for amnesty from punishment. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Christian hero of our times, chaired the committee, putting his own faith into practice as best he could. Let’s pray that God will call more people like him to be peacemakers of the future.