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Daily Scripture: Genesis 45:1 At last Yosef could no longer control his feelings in front of his attendants and cried, “Get everybody away from me!” So no one else was with him when Yosef revealed to his brothers who he was. 2 He wept aloud, and the Egyptians heard, and Pharaoh’s household heard. 3 Yosef said to his brothers, “I am Yosef! Is it true that my father is still alive?” His brothers couldn’t answer him, they were so dumbfounded at seeing him. 4 Yosef said to his brothers, “Please! Come closer.” And they came closer. He said, “I am Yosef, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 But don’t be sad that you sold me into slavery here or angry at yourselves, because it was God who sent me ahead of you to preserve life. 6 The famine has been over the land for the last two years, and for yet another five years there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 God sent me ahead of you to ensure that you will have descendants on earth and to save your lives in a great deliverance. (iii) 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God; and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his household and ruler over the whole land of Egypt. 9 Hurry, go up to my father, and tell him, ‘Here is what your son Yosef says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt! Come down to me, don’t delay! 10 You will live in the land of Goshen and be near me — you, your children, your grandchildren, flocks, herds, everything you own.
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Reflection Questions:
Joseph could bear it no longer. He revealed who he was. He made peace with the brothers who almost killed him, and did sell him as a slave. He said that God had brought a good result even from their evil actions. Joseph had grown from a spoiled boy into a mature man with a clear sense of what his life was about.
Lord Jesus, when life brings difficult times my way, I pray that you will give me trust and patience that, as I walk with you, you can bring good even out of evil experiences. Amen.
---------------------Insights from Angela LaVallie
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Reflection Questions:
Joseph could bear it no longer. He revealed who he was. He made peace with the brothers who almost killed him, and did sell him as a slave. He said that God had brought a good result even from their evil actions. Joseph had grown from a spoiled boy into a mature man with a clear sense of what his life was about.
- When Joseph revealed who he was, Genesis says his brothers were terrified (which made sense!). What impact do you imagine Joseph’s forgiving generosity had on them? In what ways did Joseph give us a vivid image of the way God treats each of us when we seek God’s grace?
- “Don’t be angry with yourselves that you sold me here. Actually, God sent me before you to save lives,” Joseph told his brothers (Genesis 45:5). Recall a time when someone harmed you. How are you letting God redeem that evil, and bend it for good purposes? Do you trust God to be as creative and redemptive in your life as he was in Joseph’s?
Lord Jesus, when life brings difficult times my way, I pray that you will give me trust and patience that, as I walk with you, you can bring good even out of evil experiences. Amen.
---------------------Insights from Angela LaVallie
Angela LaVallie is the Worship Logistics Program Director at Resurrection. She oversees preparing the Sanctuary for worship, supports Vibe worship and volunteers in the Student Center, provides oversight for Holy Communion at the Leawood campus, assists with worship logistics at conferences, and oversees community events and meals.
In this weekend’s sermon by Dr Forbes, we heard about Joseph forgiving his brothers when he revealed who he actually was, but I want to suggest there is also a message about forgiving and accepting ourselves in today’s passage of scripture.
Back when I was in grad school, I often felt the need to put on a mask and pretend I was someone else. Rather than admitting I didn’t know something, I pretended I was more educated than I was, thinking my professors and the other grad students would be more impressed with me. Because I was so focused on pretending I knew more than I did, I kept myself from actually learning more from those around me who did know more.
I have since learned that it’s much easier to acknowledge who I really am. God has made each of us to be unique. God has given us gifts and talents, and we are charged with finding ways to develop and grow in our gifts and with helping others to grow into who God made them to be. I wanted to be smarter and thought of as intellectual. I am not dumb, but I have had to accept that I am also not a genius – and that is okay.
When Joseph admitted who he was and forgave his brothers, he gave them a chance to look inside themselves, to admit who they were and what they had done (“Don’t be angry with yourselves that you sold me here” verse 5), and to then forgive themselves and grow into who they were meant to be. Now that I am able to accept myself, I am more able to accept others for who they are and who they are not, and, more importantly, I am more easily able to forgive myself and others.
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
In this weekend’s sermon by Dr Forbes, we heard about Joseph forgiving his brothers when he revealed who he actually was, but I want to suggest there is also a message about forgiving and accepting ourselves in today’s passage of scripture.
Back when I was in grad school, I often felt the need to put on a mask and pretend I was someone else. Rather than admitting I didn’t know something, I pretended I was more educated than I was, thinking my professors and the other grad students would be more impressed with me. Because I was so focused on pretending I knew more than I did, I kept myself from actually learning more from those around me who did know more.
I have since learned that it’s much easier to acknowledge who I really am. God has made each of us to be unique. God has given us gifts and talents, and we are charged with finding ways to develop and grow in our gifts and with helping others to grow into who God made them to be. I wanted to be smarter and thought of as intellectual. I am not dumb, but I have had to accept that I am also not a genius – and that is okay.
When Joseph admitted who he was and forgave his brothers, he gave them a chance to look inside themselves, to admit who they were and what they had done (“Don’t be angry with yourselves that you sold me here” verse 5), and to then forgive themselves and grow into who they were meant to be. Now that I am able to accept myself, I am more able to accept others for who they are and who they are not, and, more importantly, I am more easily able to forgive myself and others.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
913.897.0120
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