Rejected but not Abandoned – Genesis 37:1-28

Lectionary Readings for August 9, 2020
Genesis 37:1-28    Joseph Dreams of Greatness and is Sold by His Brothers
Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b    God’s Faithfulness to Israel
Romans 10:5-15   Salvation Is for Everyone
Matthew 14:22-33 Jesus Walks on Water

Peace Quotes

“There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.” ~ Nelson Mandela

“If you’re not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes.” ~ John Wooden

Any time I preach or lead a group, regardless of age, I start the same way. I’m going to say three short sentences. Please repeat each sentence, with enthusiasm.
God made me.           God loves me.            God has plans for me.

Preface to Today’s Scripture Reading

We’re about to hear the story of Abraham’s great-grandson Joseph. His life’s story, which is full of dramatic ups and downs, fills the last 13 chapters of Genesis. Joseph is how we get the first Israelites into Egyptian slavery which, at the time, was considered a miraculous saving act of God – but, more on that next week.

Today’s verses introduce us to Joseph who is already a teenager. If for no other reason, many people (including non-church folks) know about Joseph because of the fancy coat his father Jacob gave him – a coat symbolizing his status as dad’s most beloved child. A coat that got its own Broadway show.

But Joseph is so much more than a guy with a fancy coat. He is truly the linchpin literally connecting Genesis to the next book: Exodus.

Recall that Joseph is the 11th son born to Jacob, but the first son of Jacob’s favorite (and now deceased) wife Rachel. Joseph is the golden child, his father’s favorite.

Sadly, things do not go well for the favorite child. His brothers hate him; they despise him. Why? Because Joseph has handled his elevated status with all the delicacy and tact you’d expect from a spoiled teenager who’s been promoted directly to mid-level management. No callouses on his hands!

Today we have a story of rejection and heartbreak. As you read today’s passage, I encourage you to do your best to put yourself in Joseph’s shoes, into his sandals.
Feel his sense of prestige and entitlement.
Feel his confusion as his brothers attack him.
Feel his panic at the bottom of a pit. Scream with him for help.
Feel his emotional and spiritual shock as he is snatched by distant relatives and hauled away as a human slave waiting to be bought and sold to God-only-knows-who else.

Let’s open our ears, minds, and hearts to today’s Scripture reading.

Read Genesis 37:1-28.

I’ve spent some time putting myself in Joseph’s sandals this week. It’s not a pleasant space to adopt.

Rejection is a brutal experience, particularly when you thought you were needed and included… when you never saw it coming. Rejection is especially painful when it comes from people you thought loved you, cared about you.

For centuries, if not millennia, young children learn this pain early when they are not picked to be on a team – or, when they do make the team, they watch the entire game from the bench. That rejection hurts.
And we ask, “God, why me?”

As we grow older, chemistry kicks into high gear and we have crushes on people to whom we are attracted. They call those feelings crushes for a reason. When the object of your affection rejects you, your heart feels crushed and you wonder how you’ll survive.
And we ask, “God, why me?”

Taking those mental, emotional, and spiritual battle scars into adulthood prepares us for different kinds of rejection. Some of us have experienced what nearly 10 million Americans are currently navigating: losing their jobs. Call it whatever you want – laid off, let go, downsized, right sized, fired – it all feels the same when someone tells you to not come back to work tomorrow and you have no say in the matter. Trust me, this is one of those rejection experiences that you don’t understand unless you’ve been there.
And we ask, “God, why me?”

These are just some of the ways many of us have experienced rejection throughout our lives. Such intense life events are the only way I can imagine the rapid succession of feelings Joseph must have felt over the course of a few hours.

When his brothers attacked and stripped him, he may have asked, “God, why me?”
When his brothers discarded him into a pit to die, he may have asked, “God, why me?”
When he was sold into slavery by his own flesh and blood, he may have asked, “God, why me?”

As I’ve thought about Joseph, what he experienced and what he must have felt, my heart breaks for him. Like many of us, Joseph is a resilient person who rejects giving up but rather looks for opportunities, looks for how he can make the best of a bad situation.

In many ways, Joseph embodies the sentiment of the apostle Paul’s words of encouragement in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9: “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.”

I picture Joseph in heaven saying, “Where was that verse 2,000 years ago when I needed it?!?” He didn’t need the verse; his heart and his soul simply knew it.

These verses from 2 Corinthians have inspired a few contemporary Christian songs you might hear on the radio. Both have been around for about 20 years now – my how time flies. I encourage you to listen to them and let their words sink in.

One of my favorites is, The Word by Sara Groves (2001) which incorporate the words from 2 Corinthians along with several other classic Bible verses.

Another is called Trading My Sorrows by Darrell Evans (1998). The opening lines are…
I'm trading my sorrow, I'm trading my shame
I'm laying it down for the joy of the Lord
I'm trading my sickness, I'm trading my pain
I'm laying it down for the joy of the Lord

It took time, but Joseph traded his sorrows for the joy of willingly following God’s desires for his life.

Whether it’s the life of Joseph 3,500 years ago or the words of Paul 2,000 years ago, the Good News is that – no matter what happens in our lives, no matter what we do or do not do – we are never rejected, never abandoned by our Creator.

The Designer of the Universe and our souls loves us so much, that God said, “I want to walk and talk among them, as one of them, so they can see me and touch me. So we can laugh and cry together. So we can share the joys of life and the sorrows of death together.”

And that miraculous insertion of Divinity in our midst began with a young couple, traveling alone, facing rejection from the comfort of hotels and birthing God into flesh in a barn. But they were not alone, they were not abandoned. And neither are we.

When you feel rejected by family or friends, know that God is still with you.
When you lose your social status or prized possessions, know that God is still with you.
When your wellbeing is threatened by others, know that God is still with you.
When your life dramatically changes from what you had expected or hoped for, know that God is still with you.

And when we begin to get a grasp of how much God loves us, of how God will never reject us, of how God’s arms are always reaching out to us, of how God is working in and through us, we may well ask, “God, why me?”

And God replies, “Because I made you; you are my child; I love you, I adore you, and I will do whatever it takes to share the journey of life with you. That’s why!”

Amen? Amen!