God will Find a Way
a sermon based on Genesis 45:1-15
by Rev. Randy L Quinn
In her book, Expecting
Adam, Martha Beck introduced me to the Japanese art form of Bunraku
puppets.
Bunraku puppets are large puppets handled by two or sometimes three
puppeteers who stand on the stage alongside the puppets.
At first, she says, it's
hard not to look at the puppeteers. But it isn't long before you no
longer see them as you focus on the puppets and the story they are
telling.
Some people believe God is
like those puppeteers. To them, God is constantly at work, making each
of us move or act in certain ways to accomplish a particular goal or
mission. If we look carefully we can see God at work, but most often we
fail to see the puppeteer at work.
People who think of God
that way, would have us believe that Ronda's first marriage ended in
divorce in order for her to become my wife and that I chose to serve as
an intern in Southeast Kansas so that I would be able to meet her.
From that viewpoint, God
is certainly a magnificent and powerful God. For God controls the
actions of every person so deftly that most people don't even notice the
puppeteer at work.
Joseph speaks as if God is
that kind of a puppeteer, too. For, in his revelation to his brothers,
he tells his brothers that God had plans in mind that none of them had
foreseen when Joseph was thrown into the well long before their meeting
in Egypt.
If you are one of those
people who believe God works that way, then what I say may cause you
some heartburn. I will not apologize for that, nor will I ask you to
agree with me, but I don't think that's how God operates. It isn't that
I don't believe God could run each of our lives like a puppeteer
works the strings on a marionette – I simply believe that God chooses to
give us more freedom than that.
I believe that God knows
all the possibilities and that one of those possibilities is what God
hopes will happen. That is God's plan. That one possibility is God's
desire for the future. But with each passing moment, with each passing
opportunity, with each decision we make, the possibilities for the
future are affected.
When we make a decision
that is not what God had hoped we would make, then God looks at all the
remaining possibilities and chooses another plan.
It is still God's plan.
It is still God's hope for us. But it is affected by our openness to
God's possibilities or our rejection of them.
When we make ourselves
open to God's possibilities, miracles happen.
There may be times when it
looks like God had been at work all along leading us up to the miracle,
but I think the truth is that God's plan was altered along the way,
making the best of our actions and our responses to God's will.
Let's look at Joseph's
story and see how that works out.
God made a promise to
Abraham that all of his descendants would be blessed by God and be a
blessing to the world (Gen 12:2-3). God made a covenant with him and
his descendants (Gen 15:18). God will be their god and provide for
their needs; they will be God's people.
As descendents of Abraham,
that promise applies to all twelve of Jacob's children. But they are
jealous of one another, and in particular Joseph who dreams about being
the most important of the children of Israel (Gen 37:5-11).
I believe God wanted to
bless all twelve children, but as we heard last week, the other brothers
decided the best way for them to inherit the blessings of God was to
sell Joseph into slavery. Their sin limits the ways God can bestow the
blessing on the children of Israel, but it does not change God's intent
to bless them all.
Fortunately, Joseph is
willing to let God work in his life – even as a slave. He is successful
and is rewarded for his success (Gen 39:2-6). But his master's wife
accuses him of making unwanted advances and has Joseph incarcerated –
joining the ranks of several criminals who become Biblical heroes of
faith.
Her sin limits the ways
God can bless Joseph in Egypt, but Joseph is still willing to let God
work. And even in prison Joseph prospers (Gen 39:20-22)!
I don't believe God wanted
Joseph to be in prison, but I do believe God is able to turn that into a
meaningful experience for both Joseph and those in prison with him.
Joseph's was willing to let God work through him and his circumstances.
His work there eventually
leads him back to a position of importance in Egypt, where he becomes
second only to Pharaoh (Gen 41:41-43). In this position, Joseph does
the hard work of holding back some of the grain in years of abundance.
Rather than letting it be squandered, he stores it. Rather than
becoming fat, he maintains a lean lifestyle. And when the weather fails
and the crops suffer, Joseph is a hero who then draws from Pharaoh's
storehouses to feed the people – and people from nearby countries (Gen
41:56-67).
This is where Joseph's
brothers re-enter the story. They, too, are suffering from the
drought. So they come begging for food.
I can't help but wonder if
God's first plan wasn't that Joseph would have stored grain for seven
years in Canaan and had the Egyptians coming to him – an option that was
foiled by the sin of Joseph's brothers. I can't help but wonder what
God's primary plan was – but I do know that God was able to work through
Joseph to save the Israelites because Joseph was willing to seek God's
will and do God's will despite the circumstances in which he found
himself.
In that scenario, Joseph
is more than a puppet run by the hands of God. The children of Israel
are more than puppets, too, who must acknowledge their sinfulness before
they can allow God to work through them!
Just prior to our reading
for today, that acknowledgement happened. And it was so moving that
Joseph is caught off guard by it and weeps – not once, not twice, but on
three separate occasions (Gen 42:24, 43:30, 45:2)!
And I suspect God wept,
too. There had been tears of sorrow over their sin and now there were
tears of joy over their confession. For their confession allowed for
reconciliation – between brothers and between God and God's people.
You see, in my mind this
isn't some great orchestrated puppet show. It's real people making real
choices. And it's much better than "reality TV." It's free people
making free choices.
But the drama does not end
with the story of Joseph. The story continues. Next week we'll begin
reading the story of Moses. But the story continues after Moses.
There's Joshua and David and Solomon and John the Baptist and Peter and
Paul and you and me.
The drama continues.
We may not always respond
in ways God desires. But God is more willing to forgive our sin and
come up with an alternative plan than to become a master puppeteer.
Whatever your past,
whatever your faults, whatever your sin, God is waiting to work through
you – just as God worked through Joseph.
That much I know for
certain.
The unanswered question
is: Are you willing to let God find a way to work through you?
I hope so.
And so
does God.
Thanks
be to God. Amen.
