Genesis 39

Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man; he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him; he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lordblessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge; and, with him there, he had no concern for anything but the food that he ate.

Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking. And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my hand. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” And although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not consent to lie beside her or to be with her. One day, however, when he went into the house to do his work, and while no one else was in the house, she caught hold of his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, she called out to the members of her household and said to them, “See, my husband has brought among us a Hebrew to insult us! He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice; and when he heard me raise my voice and cry out, he left his garment beside me, and fled outside.” Then she kept his garment by her until his master came home, and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to insult me; but as soon as I raised my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me, and fled outside.”

When his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, saying, “This is the way your servant treated me,” he became enraged. And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; he remained there in prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s care all the prisoners who were in the prison, and whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The chief jailer paid no heed to anything that was in Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.

Nothing like a good melodrama in scripture. There really are all kinds of stories in the Bible - including ones filled with lust and violence!

I'll admit that I've not been a fan of many of the "temptresses" in scripture: Potiphar's wife, Delilah, Tamar, Eve, and others have long fed into the cliche of the wicked wiles of women luring "heroes" to a fate that they might not otherwise have had. At least here with Potiphar's wife, the hero in question does not fall into the trap.

Nevertheless, I do like that there are stories in scripture that have some of the same angst and drama as I'm used to seeing on modern TV or in the movies. Really, we've been dealing with it for a long time haven't we?

The truth is, people have been using each other and betraying each other for longer than we perhaps recognize. Biblical characters were just as human as we are.

But we've been acting with honesty and integrity for a long time as well. 

It's important to remember in this story of Joseph's integrity that early on, he had been a bit of a pain to his brothers. A braggart. Haughty. Imperfect.

And so we have these stories to remind us that we ourselves are complicated creatures. That we have been imperfect for a long time.

And yet also gracefully treated by our creator.

And capable of extending that grace beyond ourselves.

Lord, thank you for the lessons and lives of people like me who have shown me your gracious love. Amen

Luke 14:15-24

One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Then Jesus said to him, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ And the slave said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’ Then the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.’”

I've seen this text used as a way to guilt people into coming to church more. Or as a way to appreciate church more.

But I think this parable is bigger than that. 

Church, as wonderful as it is - and it's been part of my life for all of my life - isn't the endgame. Jesus didn't come just to make sure we have thriving church communities.

Jesus came to bring thriving life.

Life for those who take for granted that it is theirs: those who have.

And life for those who think they won't ever have it: those who have not.

Those who have are invited to participate in that life. And when they do, they find out just how abundant that life can be.

But that life isn't meant just for those who feel they've been invited.

It's meant for those who are usually the ones outside the gate. 

Those usually left out.

Those usually forgotten.

The house is meant to be filled. The party is meant to burst the rafters with both those who have and those who are usually left out.

And when we are part of that party, we see just how full life can be.

Lord, you throw the party of all parties. Help me to reach out and bring in those stragglers who didn't realize they were meant to be a part of it so that we may celebrate together. Amen.

2 Chronicles 12:5-8 

Then the prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and to the officers of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord: You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.” Then the officers of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is in the right.” When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying: “They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless they shall be his servants, so that they may know the difference between serving me and serving the kingdoms of other lands.”

A big theme in recent texts in the lectionary has been "humility," and again it shows up here as Rehoboam's humility leads to the Israelites not being destroyed by the Egyptian King, Shishak.

But something else strikes me here with fresh eyes: something about service to God that I hadn't thought of.

God allows the Israelites to be Shishak's servants so that they may know the difference between serving God and serving earthly kingdoms or governments.

Have you noticed a difference?

I'm not sure I can answer for anyone but myself here, but it occurred to me as I read this today that service to God is bound up with freedom in a way that service to my government is not - despite how freedom is so highly valued in the US.

Maybe because in my experience, God's freedom is different than human freedom.

God's freedom is about freeing myself to become the person I am meant to be; serving God in the way in which my gifts are best utilized in service to God's creation. 

So service to God is entirely bound up in God's own servant leadership. It is bound up in my identity as a child of God.

God wants us to see that service to God is connected to service to others and God's own love and service to us in a web of love and compassion.

And perhaps the only way to see that, is to see how different service to human authority is.

Lord, I am your servant. Teach me how to serve your people in love. Amen.

1 Peter 3:8-9

Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called—that you might inherit a blessing.

You are called to repay evil with a blessing, why???

Because you yourself are called to inherit a blessing.

Contemporary Christianity has, I believe, overused the word "blessing" to the point that we may have lost its meaning. We are used to talking about the "blessings" we have or how "blessed" we are - often using the word in the same way we'd use the words "lucky" or "fortunate."

But blessing in scripture is far deeper and much richer a word. It is also very much verb I think, more than a noun.

Blessing is not an ending point for us. It is a beginning point for us.

We are called to "bless" our enemies by Peter here in the same way we are called to "love" our enemies by Jesus.

It's an active thing to bless someone. It means to not only wish well for them but to speak words calling for their wellness. To decisively move toward them in a joint wellness.

Bless our enemies not simply because we are called to, but because in blessing them, we ourselves have blessing given to us. 

It is our inheritance.

God's wish for us is to share in the state of blessing.

God's wish is for blessing to pour out abundantly through us and to us and using us as a source of that blessing.

How can blessing our enemies bless us in return?

Only one way to find out...

Lord let me be a blessing to all. Amen.

Luke 6:6-11

On another sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him to see whether he would cure on the sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him. Even though he knew what they were thinking, he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” He got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?” After looking around at all of them, he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

What is sabbath?

Is it a time of religious observance? A time of rest?

Is it Sunday for Christians? Friday or Saturday for others?

It is those things but it is also more. Here, the scribes and Pharisees certainly are sticking to the religiously observant part of the definition. It is God's day and no work should happen on it.

But Jesus no so subtly reminds them why we have sabbath; what sabbath is for.

It is for goodness.

It is for life.

Is your life needing some sabbath?

Not simply regular rest. But the kind of rest that restores, unplugs and leads you to a life that is fuller and more abundant.

A life where emails can go unanswered. Where calls can wait. 

Where the soul gets rest.

Sabbath is a law God gave in the commandments.

But it is a law given so that we might truly live.

So that life can be full and met in its entirety. Not skipped over because of deadlines and commitments.

I'm guessing that your sabbath could use a boost. I'll bet there's a practice you could find that would make it more meaningful. That would give your life the fullness it needs.

It isn't too late to start now.

God of sabbath, teach me what rest in you truly means. Amen.

Psalm 10

Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
    Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor—
    let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.

For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart,
    those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord.
In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, “God will not seek it out”;
    all their thoughts are, “There is no God.”

Their ways prosper at all times;
    your judgments are on high, out of their sight;
    as for their foes, they scoff at them.
They think in their heart, “We shall not be moved;
    throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.”

Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
    under their tongues are mischief and iniquity.
They sit in ambush in the villages;
    in hiding places they murder the innocent.

Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
    they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert;
they lurk that they may seize the poor;
    they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.

They stoop, they crouch,
    and the helpless fall by their might.
They think in their heart, “God has forgotten,
    he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
    do not forget the oppressed.
Why do the wicked renounce God,
    and say in their hearts, “You will not call us to account”?

But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief,
    that you may take it into your hands;
the helpless commit themselves to you;
    you have been the helper of the orphan.

Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers;
    seek out their wickedness until you find none.
The Lord is king forever and ever;
    the nations shall perish from his land.

O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek;
    you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear
to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed,
    so that those from earth may strike terror no more.

Perhaps like me this week you saw either in the news or on social media, the picture of the small, shell-shocked five-year old boy, Omram Daqneesh, who was rescued from the rubble of his home in Aleppo after an airstrike by the allies of the government of President Assad of Syria.

And perhaps like me, when you saw that haunting, heart-rending picture, you asked yourself:

"Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?"

It is hard - so hard - see see tragedy and violence in this world, and not at least wonder what God is thinking and wondering about it all. It's hard not to want to fall to your knees and plead with God to intervene.

And that perhaps is at least part of what should be happening.

The Psalms teach us that God is looking for our heart-rending words. Wants to hear our lamentations. Is not at all put off by our demonstrations of grief and anger at the wrongs in the world.

In falling to our knees we perhaps demonstrate that we know that the way of violence and terror is not God's way. We know God has another way.

And in knowing that is not God's way, perhaps our hearts open just a little more to reach out and do our part in showing others that we know that God's way is a way of peace and not violence.

The news this mornings said that little Omram's older brother died from the injuries sustained in that airstrike. Was God hiding when that happened?

Or was God, as the Psalmist tells us "seeking out wickedness until there is none."

As we continue to to fall to our knees in lamentation, God continues to strengthen our hearts. Our resolve. 

Our nerve and our love.

So that we may be part of the reason that violence may indeed strike terror no more.

Lord, shed your peace on this world and fill our hearts with it that we may be symbols of your justice and mercy amidst chaos and violence. Amen.

Hebrews 12:3-17

Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children—

“My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
    or lose heart when you are punished by him;
for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves,
    and chastises every child whom he accepts.”

Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children. Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness. Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled. See to it that no one becomes like Esau, an immoral and godless person, who sold his birthright for a single meal. You know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, even though he sought the blessing with tears.

OK, so this is one of those texts that the first time you read it, you might cringe a little bit.

For many that is completely understandable. I remember growing up that "discipline" wasn't a word any kid liked to hear. And some kids less than others.

For some kids, "discipline" can be code for "spanking," or even, unfortunately, "abuse."

For others, it might be connected with something boring and dull.

And as we get older, our understanding of the word is colored by those impressions we had as children.

Yet look at some of the synonyms for "discipline." While "control," "order" and "strictness" are some of them, we also have "routine," "training" and "teaching."

The best discipline I've seen from parents has always been the kind that leads to self-discipline in the child. Loving order and routine that teaches self-control, direction, and an order to life.

I admit I'm not the most organized, orderly person. However, as much as I might not love the word, I know that I can not live without some discipline in my life or even in my faith.

Spiritual disciplines are those things that give order to a faith life that might otherwise seem chaotic. Things like "fasting," "prayer," "studying scripture," "service" and "worship" help us to make sense of our life of faith and give order to our relationship with God.

Disciplines help us be disciples.

Yeah, same root word.

Gracious and giving God, your have ultimate authority in my life. Help me to be disciplined and faithful as I share that life with you and the rest of your creation. Amen.

Luke 19:45-48

Then he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling things there; and he said, “It is written,

‘My house shall be a house of prayer’;
    but you have made it a den of robbers.”

Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.



One of my earliest memories as a kid about Jesus was when my best friend and I spent one summer listening to the "Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack" over and over and over again (rather like I've been doing with the soundtrack to "Hamilton" these days!)

I remember being especially transfixed by the angry Jesus,  breaking into the chorus of the crowd singing the above: "My temple should be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves. Get up! Get out!" Ted Neely's impressive range rocks any sense of calm or ease as his vocals scream in furious, righteous anger.

That Jesus stayed with me.

Not because he was so angry - although I was strangely comfortable with the idea of a Jesus who gets angry.

But he stayed with me because of how deeply he broke into that moment. Jesus wants to break into our moments. Our moments of comfortable assimilation.

Our moments of selfish ambition or greed.

Our moments of resignation.

This Jesus that I heard was passionate and unwilling to let things lie. Unwilling for wrongs to be left un-righted.

That Jesus came to bring fire as he said in the gospel this past Sunday.

He came to bring passion and move us out of apathy.

There was no way to be apathetic listening to Ted Neely's Jesus scream those lyrics.

There's no way to be apathetic to a Jesus who wants to break into our world and light it on fire.

Light us on fire.

Move us to that same passion.

Has Jesus broken into your world?

Lord, wake me up! Help me to see the passion you call me to! Amen

Psalm 32

Psalm 32

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity,
    and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

While I kept silence, my body wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.Selah

Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
    and you forgave the guilt of my sin.Selah

Therefore let all who are faithful
    offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
    shall not reach them.
You are a hiding place for me;
    you preserve me from trouble;
    you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.Selah

I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
    whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
    else it will not stay near you.

Many are the torments of the wicked,
    but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous,
    and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

Had a little trouble getting started this week with my devotions, and I realize that I just needed a break from Acts. It's a busy book, Acts, and while it has a lot of offer - as I hope I've shown - I needed to share something today that seemed a bit more spiritual, or devotional, in it's content. 

So for a bit, I'm going to return to the daily lectionary texts - especially the Psalms. It's been a while since I've done this and there is something about the randomness of the lectionary, as well as the theology and beauty of the Psalms, that felt like I needed to attend to.

And this Psalm seems a marvelous place to begin. "Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven."

Ain't that the truth?

God as balm. God as deliverance. God as a place of refuge. All made possible by forgiveness granted with love and grace.

But it is not simply the forgiveness granted that is balm.

It is, as the Psalmist makes clear, also in the acknowledging and confessing of the wrong. It is admitting the sin. 

Because it is there that you are able to live in truth. And truth is freeing. It is freeing for the person being forgiven and also for the person doing the forgiving.

Forgiveness is something that we don't often practice asking for or granting. I read recently an article that said it isn't enough to say: "That's OK" when someone apologizes. The freedom comes when to that apology we say, "You are forgiven." 

Those words are often hard to hear. 

But they are also life-giving. A source of glad cries of deliverance!

Lord, help me to find those places where I need forgiveness and give me the courage to ask for it. And in those places where I need to forgive, grant me the compassion which you have show to do so. Amen.