Tag: injustice

Forgotten, but Blessed (Genesis 40:1-23)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Joseph, the cupbearer, and the baker in prison, by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, 1643

Sometime later, Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer and chief baker offended their royal master. Pharaoh became angry with these two officials, and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of the captain of the guard. They remained in prison for quite some time, and the captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, who looked after them.

While they were in prison, Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker each had a dream one night, and each dream had its own meaning. When Joseph saw them the next morning, he noticed that they both looked upset. “Why do you look so worried today?” he asked them.

And they replied, “We both had dreams last night, but no one can tell us what they mean.”

“Interpreting dreams is God’s business,” Joseph replied. “Go ahead and tell me your dreams.”

So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream first. “In my dream,” he said, “I saw a grapevine in front of me. The vine had three branches that began to bud and blossom, and soon it produced clusters of ripe grapes. I was holding Pharaoh’s wine cup in my hand, so I took a cluster of grapes and squeezed the juice into the cup. Then I placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

“This is what the dream means,” Joseph said. “The three branches represent three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift you up and restore you to your position as his chief cupbearer. And please remember me and do me a favor when things go well for you. Mention me to Pharaoh, so he might let me out of this place.For I was kidnapped from my homeland, the land of the Hebrews, and now I’m here in prison, but I did nothing to deserve it.”

When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given the first dream such a positive interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I had a dream, too. In my dream there were three baskets of white pastries stacked on my head. The top basket contained all kinds of pastries for Pharaoh, but the birds came and ate them from the basket on my head.”

“This is what the dream means,” Joseph told him. “The three baskets also represent three days. Three days from now Pharaoh will lift you up and impale your body on a pole. Then birds will come and peck away at your flesh.”

Pharaoh’s birthday came three days later, and he prepared a banquet for all his officials and staff. He summoned his chief cupbearer and chief baker to join the other officials. He then restored the chief cupbearer to his former position, so he could again hand Pharaoh his cup. But Pharaoh impaled the chief baker, just as Joseph had predicted when he interpreted his dream. Pharaoh’s chief cupbearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought. (New Living Translation)

Joseph, the cupbearer, and the baker, by Alexander Ivanov (1806-1858)

It is a sinking (and stinking) feeling to be forgotten, as if no one cares. But we know God cares. And we also know Joseph did nothing wrong. How did he get to this point of being left in a prison? What’s up with that?

Joseph’s Story

The story of Joseph (Genesis 37, 39-50) is one of the longest narratives in the Old Testament. Joseph was next to the youngest of 12 sons born to their father Jacob. Rachel was Jacob’s favorite wife and Joseph’s mother – which also made Joseph one Jacob’s favorites. This didn’t go down well with the rest of the sons. Joseph’s brothers (unbeknownst by Jacob) sold him into slavery.

Joseph was taken to Egypt and became the servant of Pharaoh’s captain of the guard, Potiphar. Joseph distinguished himself as competent, skillful, and virtuous. It was actually his integrity which got him into prison. Refusing to sleep with Potiphar’s wife, she became an angry woman and accused Joseph of something he didn’t do. The captain promptly dispatched him to jail.

Human Hatred and Unfaithfulness

Joseph became a slave in Egypt because of jealousy, hatred, and lack of faithfulness on the part of Joseph’s brothers. They disowned him, sold him, and rid themselves of him. The brothers wanted to forget Joseph, and they did.

Furthermore, Joseph became a prisoner in Egypt because of anger, hate, and betrayal of faith. Potiphar’s wife didn’t get what she wanted from Joseph, so she lied and fumed, landing Joseph in a dank prison. He was left without another thought – forgotten and jailed for no fault of his own.

And just when we think the story might turn around, and Joseph will be freed from his unjust imprisonment, the chief cupbearer (wine steward) promptly forgot him and said nothing to Pharaoh after he was out of jail and restored to his position. Once again, Joseph is the undeserved recipient of unfaithfulness. He remains in prison for another two years. Oy.

As much as we might like to get past all these unjust and maddening situations, Holy Scripture does not let us off the hook so easily. We have to sit with Joseph for a while, and feel what he feels, experience what he experiences, so that we can learn our own lessons from him.

Whether we like it, or not, suffering is a reality. And yet, although sometimes forgotten by humanity, we are remembered by divinity….

Divine Presence in the Middle of Suffering

God is present with us through hardship and adversity. Joseph’s story sets up the contrast between fickle humans and a faithful God. A lot of people in Joseph’s life let him down. But God was there as the continual divine presence throughout every circumstance, both good and bad…

  • God gifted Joseph and had special plans for him. God was with Joseph in his dreams. (Genesis 37:5-11) 
  • God was with Joseph, so that he succeeded in everything he did; the Lord caused all that Joseph did to prosper. (Genesis 39:2-3)
  • God showed Joseph steadfast love, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. The jailer did not worry about anything, because the Lord was with Joseph and made him successful in all that he did. (Genesis 39:21, 23)
  • God was present with Joseph in helping him interpret dreams, even in difficult situations. (Genesis 40:8)

God’s presence makes a difference. The Lord met Joseph in his suffering – yet did not leave him there. God entered Joseph’s suffering, was present with him while in it, and eventually brought him out of it, to another and better place. And in the process, God blessed others through Joseph.

Not only did Joseph survive, but he also thrived in the middle of injustice. God quietly went about the business of using Joseph as an agent of blessing everywhere he was sent: To Potiphar and his household; to the chief jailer and all those in prison; and then to Pharaoh and all of Egypt.

In the end, even the conniving and caballing brothers receive blessing — through Joseph. In this way, the Lord was fulfilling the divine promise to Abraham — that he and Sarah and their descendants would be blessed; and that through them, all the nations of the earth would also be blessed.

God is present with those in suffering. Yet, the way God works almost never seems fast enough for those who are suffering. We, along with the psalm writers, cry out, “How long, O Lord!?”

In situations, such as Joseph’s, it won’t do to offer platitudes to “Let go, and let God,” “Everything works for good,” or “God never gives us more than we can handle.” Sheesh. I doubt anyone in life-or-death situations relies on nifty phrases. They want God, and they understandably want God now.

Whether quick or slow, hard or unbearable, the biblical promise nevertheless stills stands that God meets us in our suffering. And God does not leave us there. God also calls us and moves us to more pleasant places. And know this: In the process and in the journey, God will bless others through us.

O God:
Give me strength to live another day;
Let me not turn coward before its difficulties or prove passive to its duties;
Let me not lose faith in other people;
Keep me sweet and sound of heart, in spite of ingratitude, treachery, or meanness;
Preserve me from minding little stings or from giving them;
Help me to keep my heart clean, and to live so honestly and fearlessly that no outward failure can dishearten me or take away the joy of conscious integrity;
Open wide the eyes of my soul that I may see good in all things;
Grant me this day some new vision of truth;
Inspire me with a spirit of joy and gladness;
and make me the cup of strength to suffering souls;
in the name of the strong Deliverer, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Endure Patiently to the End (Revelation 14:12-20)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus.

And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”

Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

Then another angel came from the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, “Swing the sickle, for the time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe.” So the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the whole earth was harvested.

After that, another angel came from the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, who had power to destroy with fire, came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment.” So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath. The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse’s bridle. (New Living Translation)

The Scripture meditations I offer each day are based in the daily readings of the Revised Common Lectionary. The readings are designed to move us through the whole of the Bible in a three year cycle. And they are arranged so that Thursday, Friday, and Saturday readings anticipate the Sunday scriptures, and the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday readings reflect on Sunday’s texts. Today’s New Testament lesson is such a reflection on Sunday’s Gospel reading of Christ’s Parable of the Weeds (Parable of the Wheat and Tares).

Jesus made it clear in the parable that it is not our job to weed out evil. This will be done by the angels at the end of the age. In Revelation, we look forward into the future as to what happens with the plants and the weeds. As you can readily see, it is a grim picture. Those who are visual learners, and picture the words in their minds, their stomachs might be turning after the reading of today’s text.

The entire book of Revelation was originally meant to encourage believers in Jesus to persevere, endure, and keep going in their commitment to Christ. As they were undergoing difficulty and even persecution for their faith, this apocalyptic vision of the Apostle John was to instill hope: It will not always be this way.

There is a time coming soon in which the problem of evil is taken care of, once and for all. Until that final day of judgment comes, we are to hold fast to our faith, and continue to keep the commandments of Christ.

The wrath of God has always been an issue with various people throughout history. In contemporary theology, it is common to have groups of folks polarized between either making God out to be constantly angry and looking to zap people; or dismissing God’s wrath altogether as some outdated and antiquated idea. Neither of these approaches will do.

God’s anger and wrath exist, yet is never divorced from God’s love. Rather than viewing wrath and love as two sides of the same coin, I believe a healthier and more biblical understanding is to discern God’s wrath as an expression of God’s love. I will explain….

When God bends to observe us in the world and sees injustice, war, poverty, oppression, trauma, and abuse from narcissistic people who exalt themselves above others and use them for selfish purposes, God is not okay with this!

Whenever God looks at the world and sees governments, institutions, corporations, and even churches which maintain structures that keep others from becoming all that God intends for them to become, divine compassion is stirred up, along with a determination to bring about justice and righteousness.

Only God has the combination of willingness, power, and ability to handle the evil of this world, in a way which is both just and loving.

I realize there are many times when we wonder if God is really watching, or not, and are curious if the Lord is aloof and uncaring to our plight. There is a day when the dramatic will happen, but that day is not today. For now, God is patiently and carefully working divine love into the fabric of this world, in such a way that it will not destroy the innocent and compromise the integrity of the righteous.

Until the time is ripe for God to act in a more decisive manner by equipping angels with scythes and bringing in the final harvest, we experience pain and hurt.

We sometimes are misjudged and misunderstood by others. We often get shafted by systems which are supposed to be helping us. We can, however, be assured that God is working behind the scenes, planting seeds of love and grace. The Lord is pastorally tending to our growth, till the time is right to gather the abundant crop.

Acting too soon, and going off half-cocked without enough information, is what we humans tend to do. Not so with God.

The fact of the matter is: Justice and injustice will co-exist side-by-side for a while. Righteousness and evil will be found together everywhere we go, including our own hearts – holding both our altruistic motives and our evil inclinations.

Sisters and brothers, let us endure, persevere, and be patient. God is good, and will not forget your deeds done in faith; your actions inspired by hope; and your work animated by love.

Lord Christ, you came into the world as one of us, and suffered as we do. As I go through the trials of life, help me to realize that you are with me at all times and in all things; that I have no secrets from you; and that your loving grace enfolds me for eternity. In the security of your embrace I pray. Amen.

Against Apathy (Obadiah 15-21)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

The day of the Lord is near
        against all the nations.
    As you have done, so it will be done to you;
        your actions will make you suffer!
Just as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
        so will all the nations around you drink;
    they will drink and swallow quickly,
        and they will be like they’ve never been before.

But on Mount Zion there will be those who escape,
        and it will be holy;
        and the house of Jacob will drive out those who drove them out.
The house of Jacob will be a fire,
        the house of Joseph a flame,
        and the house of Esau straw;
    they will burn them up completely,
        and there will be no one left of the house of Esau,
for the Lord has spoken.
Those of the arid southern plain will possess Mount Esau,
        and those of the western foothills, the land of the Philistines;
    they will possess the land of Ephraim and the land of Samaria,
        and Benjamin will possess Gilead.
Those who remain of the Israelites
            will possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath;
    and those left from Jerusalem and who are now living in Sepharad
        will possess the cities of the arid southern plain.
The deliverers will go up to Mount Zion
        to rule Mount Esau,
        and the kingdom will be the Lord’s. (Common English Bible)

The prophet Obadiah is a small book in the sea of the Old Testament prophets (a single chapter of twenty-one verses). It’s a prophecy dedicated to the singular focus of delivering a message of divine judgment against the nation of Edom.

Why judgment? Because when people remove themselves from or place themselves in opposition to God (and God’s people) they can expect divine retribution, rather than restoration.

“The day of the Lord” is a phrase used throughout Holy Scripture as a reference to God’s upcoming judgment of the world. Along the way, until that final day, there are many nations which come and go.

Actions

Edom was in an ideal position to help Judah when King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians captured Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E. But they didn’t. They could have given military assistance; but the ancient animosity between Jacob (Israel) and Esau (Edom) prevented this.

They still could have sheltered the Jews fleeing Jerusalem and Judah in order to escape the Babylonian onslaught. Edom’s rocky strongholds would have been extremely difficult for Babylon to maneuver in pursuit of Judah. Yet, the Edomites refused to trouble themselves in offering Judah even the slightest assistance in the day of its great need.

In fact, the situation was worse than refusing to assist. Edom committed violence against Judah at the time of Jerusalem’s fall. The Edomites progressed from being aloof and disinterested observers of Judah’s fate, to gloating over Judah’s trouble, to participating as invaders of Jerusalem. Finally, Edom played the antagonistic enemy who plucked off desperate Jewish fugitives as they tried to escape certain death.

The Edomites were like a bunch buzzards, hovering overhead, waiting for Babylon to smash Judah so that they could swoop down and devour the leftovers.

Accountable

Historically, we don’t really know much Edom was actually involved in Jerusalem’s destruction. Yet, it’s notable that some later Jewish traditions indicate that Edom helped the Babylonians burn the temple in Jerusalem to the ground. Whatever really happened, the Edomites took advantage of Judah and profited from their destruction. What’s more, God held them accountable for their actions and/or inaction.

And that is the very nature of sin. A sinner is one who either acts in breaking God’s penultimate command of love by harming another, or fails to act lovingly with apathetic inaction, when it is in their power to act. Therefore, living rightly and justly is not only refraining from acts of evil; it’s also doing good whenever we see that love and good works are needed.

It is a sin when someone knows the right thing to do and doesn’t do it.

James 4:17, CEB

Edom knew that Judah needed help, but refused to give it. So, the Edomites were guilty before God for failing to offer hospitality, relief, and basic human kindness. As for us, we have a great deal to answer for as idle spectators, whenever we are capable of being active helpers.

Apathy

Today, it appears that society has lost its self-awareness. As a result, there is widespread apathy toward others. We have made a devil’s bargain of trading an interior life of developing spiritual discipline and actionable love for an exterior life of position, power, and prestige.

In our contemporary culture, there is no longer any intentional and systematic spiritual formation happening. Instead, we are regularly fed the unholy porridge that we can do and think whatever we like, as long we aren’t hurting anybody.

Therefore, we don’t see the connection between our current political and religious acrimony and our spiritual apathy. We have relegated practices such as centering and contemplative prayer as mere optional extras for the eccentric few. “Why struggle with all this scriptural, religious, and spiritual stuff?” we say. “Meh, it’s not worth the effort.” From such a stance, we are only a stone’s throw away from not caring about our neighbor.

This all makes me wonder if the ancient Edomites, over time, created a culture of spiritual carelessness that neglected the disciplined life of the soul. I’m curious if they ever said things like, “I don’t have time for all that God stuff.”

It is this sort of apathy which underlies so much of Western society. Even the word “apathy” barely gets used anymore – along with a lot of other words like “avarice.” They have become relics of another era. But they’re still among us. And they come out in a phrase such as, “Yeah, whatever. It is what it is.”

We are largely an unhappy people these days. And we cannot seem to put our finger on why that is. Maybe we need to rediscover the prophets – and the ones who never seem to get a hearing – like the prophet Obadiah. Or are we too indifferent to give him an honest reading?

All too often, Lord, we turn away from the world’s many problems, which seem too big, too complex, or too far away. Forgive us our indifference.

It is easier, Lord, to see only what is around us: our lives, our homes, our challenges. Forgive us our isolation.

Help us to see with your eyes: eyes which notice one another and help us understand.

Help us to dream your dream: of communities that reach out and dialogue and where diverse people creatively cooperate.

Help us to be people of solidarity and action, so moved by prayer, encounter, and understanding that peace can become a reality. Amen.

Hospitality Is a Matter of Life and Death (Jeremiah 49:7-11)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Concerning Edom, the Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
Is wisdom no longer in Teman?
    Has good sense vanished from the perceptive?
        Are they no longer wise?
Turn, flee, and run for cover,
    you inhabitants of Dedan.
I’m bringing disaster on Esau:
    its day of reckoning.
If workers would come to you to pick grapes,
    they would at least leave a few on the vine.
If thieves would come in the night,
    they would take only what they needed.
But me? I will strip Esau bare.
    I will expose his hiding places,
        and he will find no place to take cover.
His offspring, family, and acquaintances will perish,
    and there will be no one left to say,
“Leave me your orphans,
    and I’ll look after them;
        trust your widows into my care.” (Common English Bible)

You might be saying to yourself, “What in tarnation is this crazy fool doing, having a Bible lesson on this here piece of Scripture that means nothing to you nor me?” Oh, really? To which I say, “What darned fool never gets into the backwoods of the prophets?”

Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, a real mountain man sort of guy. Being outdoors and hunting game was his thing. His descendants were the Edomites. They inhabited the southwest portion of what is now the country of Jordan, and the southeastern portion of Israel and Palestine in the middle east. It’s a territory made up of a network of clefts and caves in the rocks.

Edom tended to think of themselves as being invulnerable, the man’s man. They always had the high ground and knew how to handle themselves in the wilderness. For anyone interested in taking the Edomites down, it would be very difficult to dislodge them from their rocky fortress home. Yet, there is no place that is not vulnerable to the eye and purpose of Yahweh.

Site of an ancient Edomite stronghold in present day Jordan

Just as there was bad blood between Jacob and Esau, so also the Israelites and Edomites did not like each other throughout their history. Edom had no intention of helping their ancestral brother, and even participated with the Babylonians in the conquest of Jerusalem. What’s more, they rejoiced over the fall of the city – all of which raised the eyebrow of God.

Lord, remember what the Edomites did
        on Jerusalem’s dark day:
    “Rip it down, rip it down!
    All the way to its foundations!” they yelled. (Psalm 137:7, CEB)

Turns out that the Lord listened to the psalmist and remembered. The destruction of Edom came about because of two overlapping sins: the profound lack of hospitality; and the overt participation of doing harm. To refuse hospitality is to put someone or a group of people in harm’s way. It also betrays an attitude that works out in eventually becoming an agent of harm to those they could have helped.

In this vein, Edom is much more akin to Sodom and Gomorrah than to its brother Israel.

“Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.” (Ezekiel 16:49, NIV)

When the ancient Israelites, after having been delivered by God from Egyptian bondage, and traveling in the wilderness, came upon Edom, they made a request of their brother:

“Please let us cross through your land. We won’t pass through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will walk on the King’s Highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have crossed your border.”

Edom said to him, “You won’t cross through, or I will come out against you with a sword.” (Numbers 20:17-18, CEB)

It does no one any good to refuse offering hospitality to others. Both the one in need, and the one being inhospitable, find themselves in dire straits. The reason the Lord cares so much about this is that God, at the core, is hospitable – loving the stranger and granting aid to the alien.

Jesus, upholding this long tradition of divine caring and prophetic utterance, had this to say to those who were indifferent:

“Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.”

They also will answer, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?”

He will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. (Matthew 25:41-46, NIV)

It is high time that we, as a contemporary people, take the Old Testament prophets seriously, and adopt the divine heart for the alien, the stranger, the fatherless, the widow, and all who find themselves unable to meet their own basic needs.

And when a refusal of hospitality happens on a national scale, the people of that nation will discover themselves a bygone country – much like Edom and the Edomites of old.

Whenever the national zeitgeist translates into draconian tactics for keeping “those other people” at a distance and say to them, “get out of our country,” without any hospitality, that nation has come under the eye of a holy God who has a zero tolerance policy toward base unkindness and purposeful callousness.

So, we ought to have the fear of God when we believe we have a moral right to exclude immigrants because they may potentially harm citizens by taking away jobs, reducing wages, and draining social services. This line of reasoning is not consistent with the way of Christ.

I, for one, believe we have failed to live up to the moral universalism we pretend lies at the heart of the United States’ theories and political philosophies; and we have not been willing to accept the radical changes needed to accommodate even a modest notion of hospitality for those who have been the targets for hate crimes based upon their race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, and gender.

The age old sin of this world is that the wealthy and the privileged, although giving out of their largess, have no intention of sharing power and would never think of following the example of the poor widow who gave everything she had.

So, God said of the Edomites, “I will ‘Edom’ up!” And like the wild game their ancestor Esau killed and ate, they were gone. Turns out that hospitality is really a matter of life and death.

Lord Jesus, you welcomed all who came into your presence. May we reflect that same spirit through the value of hospitality. May your light shine in our hearts this day and dispel the darkness of hate and bigotry. Remove from us anything that stands in the way of radiating your presence. Amen.