{"id":591,"date":"2020-08-15T20:58:07","date_gmt":"2020-08-15T20:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/?p=591"},"modified":"2020-08-15T20:58:07","modified_gmt":"2020-08-15T20:58:07","slug":"eleventh-after-pentecost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/15\/eleventh-after-pentecost\/","title":{"rendered":"Eleventh after Pentecost"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/image-6.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-603\"\/><figcaption>From The History of Joseph and his Brethren, Jones and Warren, 1865<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><em>United in spirit, and gathered through the power of the Holy Spirit, we worship God with gladness. We encourage you to pray over the words that follow, and follow the links within the liturgy. Prayers in this service are adapted from Celebrate God\u2019s Presence (UCPH). Thanks this week to Dave and Heather!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p>PRELUDE: \u201cThis is My Father&#8217;s World\u201d (Babcock)<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/thisismyfathers.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>OPENING PRAYER<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Gracious God, <br \/>\nwe pray for your blessing <br \/>\non the church this day.<br \/>\nMay the faithful find salvation,<br \/>\nand the careless be awakened.<br \/>\nMay the doubting find courage,<br \/>\nand the anxious be calmed.<br \/>\nMay the tempted find help,<br \/>\nand the sorrowful be comforted. <br \/>\nMay the weary find rest,<br \/>\nand the strong be renewed.<br \/>\nMay the aged find consolation,<br \/>\nand the young be inspired, <br \/>\nin Jesus, the Christ.  Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>HYMN OF PRAISE: &#8220;Immortal, invisible, God only wise&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/immortalinvisible.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><em>Immortal, invisible, God only wise;<br \/> in light inaccessible hid from our eyes;<br \/> most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,<br \/> almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,<br \/> nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;<br \/> thy justice like mountains high soaring above<br \/> thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>To all, life thou givest, to both great and small;<br \/> in all life thou livest, the true life of all;<br \/> we blossom and flourish like leaves on the tree,<br \/> then wither and perish; but naught changeth thee.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>Thou reignest in glory, thou rulest in light;<br \/> thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;<br \/> all praise we would render, O help us to see<br \/> &#8217;tis only the splendour of light hideth thee!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p>PRAYER OF CONFESSION<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Gracious God,<br \/>\n  You are the author of love<br \/>\n  and source of forgiveness. <br \/>\n  We are all too human,<br \/>\n  quick to judge, <br \/>\n  and slow to understand.<br \/>\n  Send your Spirit, O God.<br \/>\n  Remind us the last word, <br \/>\n  spoken on a hill far away, <br \/>\n  was \u201cforgive.\u201d <br \/>\n  Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>ASSURANCE OF PARDON<\/p>\n\n\n<p>God will give us what we need:<br \/> strength for today,<br \/> hope for tomorrow,<br \/> and forgiveness<br \/> for all that is past.<br \/> Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>SPECIAL MUSIC: \u201cGlory Bound\u201d (Maher)<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/glorybound2.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>FIRST READING: Psalm 133<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/beholdhow.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>Spanish Refrain:<br \/>     <em>\u00a1Miren qu\u00e9 bueno, qu\u00e9 bueno es!<br \/>     \u00a1Miren qu\u00e9 bueno, qu\u00e9 bueno es!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p>English Refrain:<br \/>    <em> Behold how pleasant, how good it is!<br \/>     Behold how pleasant, how good it is!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>How pleasant and harmonious<br \/> when God&#8217;s people are together:<br \/> fragrant as precious oil<br \/> when running fresh on Aaron&#8217;s beard.  R<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>How pleasant and harmonious<br \/> when God&#8217;s people are together:    <br \/> fresh like the morning dew<br \/> that falls on Zion&#8217;s holy hill.  R<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>How pleasant and harmonious<br \/> when God&#8217;s people are together:<br \/> there is where God bestows<br \/> the blessing, life for evermore.  R<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p>SECOND READING: Genesis 45.1-15<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, \u201cHave everyone leave my presence!\u201d So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh\u2019s household heard about it.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>3 Joseph said to his brothers, \u201cI am Joseph! Is my father still living?\u201d But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, \u201cCome close to me.\u201d When they had done so, he said, \u201cI am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.[a]<\/p>\n\n\n<p>8 \u201cSo then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. 9 Now hurry back to my father and say to him, \u2018This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don\u2019t delay. 10 You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me\u2014you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have. 11 I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n<p>12 \u201cYou can see for yourselves, and so can my brother Benjamin, that it is really I who am speaking to you. 13 Tell my father about all the honor accorded me in Egypt and about everything you have seen. And bring my father down here quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p>14 Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/image-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-597\"\/><figcaption>Detail of &#8220;Joseph forgiving his brothers for selling him into slavery&#8221; from Preceptive Illustrations of the Bible, 1901, TIME<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>HYMN: \u201cBlest be the tie that binds\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/blestbe.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><em>Blest be the tie that binds<br \/> our hearts in Christian love;<br \/> the unity of heart and mind<br \/> is like to that above.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>Before our Maker&#8217;s throne<br \/> we pour our ardent prayers;<br \/> our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,<br \/> our comforts and our cares.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>We share each other&#8217;s woes,<br \/> each other&#8217;s burdens bear;<br \/> and often for each other flows<br \/> the sympathizing tear.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>This glorious hope revives<br \/> our courage on the way;<br \/> that we shall live in perfect love<br \/> in God&#8217;s eternal day.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p>REFLECTION<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/gen45sermon.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>Our story begins with a criminal conspiracy.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>No, we\u2019re not talking about Russian interference or coercing Ukraine to help find dirt.  That\u2019s another sermon.  In this sermon, Joseph\u2019s brothers conspire to murder the lad, then change their minds, then conspire to deceive their father, and break an old man\u2019s heart.  But is it still criminal?<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Conspiracy is one of those things you hear on television all the time.  If you have an appetite for procedural dramas of a criminal sort, you will know that when two or more people conspire to commit an offence, yet only one person does the deed, everyone gets charged.  In fact, doing the deed isn\u2019t even necessary for the conspiracy charge to stick, since planning a crime is a crime itself.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>And just because I\u2019ve waited 30 years to quote a legal decision in a sermon, here is Regina v. O\u2019Brien [1954]: \u201cThe law punishes conspiracy so that the unlawful object is not attained. It considers that several persons who agree together to commit an unlawful act, are a menace to society.\u201d  So the next time you and a friend are eyeing the donut on my plate, and agree to split my tasty donut, think again\u2014no one wants to be labelled a menace to society.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>(Just as an aside, keep R. v. D\u00e9ry, [2006] in your back pocket.  In my donut example, the Supreme Court does not include \u201cfruitless discussions\u201d as conspiracy.  You need to make a proper plan.)<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Back to poor Joseph.  It\u2019s not his fault that he\u2019s his father\u2019s favourite.  Of that he has vivid dreams that others find annoying.  Or that he can interpret the dreams of others.  Or that his father gave him a fabulous coat, the kind of coat that just screams \u201cBroadway musical.\u201d  Maybe Joseph was a little overbearing, or enjoyed his special status a little too much.  But a criminal conspiracy?  That\u2019s going too far.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>On the day in question, Joseph\u2019s father has sent the lad to check up on the others, and make sure they\u2019re doing their work.  He\u2019s still a speck on the horizon when the brother\u2019s decide they\u2019ve had enough of this upstart.  They agree to kill him.  Their plan\u2014if you could call it a plan\u2014is to kill Joseph, throw his body in an empty cistern, and claim a wild animal did it.  <\/p>\n\n\n<p>Luckily for Joseph, one brother couldn\u2019t abide the plan.  Reuben suggested they forget the killing part and just throw him in the cistern\u2014just teach him a lesson, I suppose.  But just then some traders appear, and the brothers hit on a new plan: sell Joseph to the Egyptbound traders, make some shekels, and then present a bloodied dreamcoat to their father.  And the plan works.  Joseph is sold on to Potiphar, the captain of the Pharaoh\u2019s guard, and Jacob believes that his son is gone.  <\/p>\n\n\n<p>But that, of course, isn\u2019t the end of the story.  To summarize our way to today\u2019s reading, we learn:<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Some sort of Mrs. Robinson thing happens with Joseph and Potiphar&#8217;s wife.<br \/>\nJoseph lands in jail, but uses his dream gift to impress others.<br \/>\nOne of the impressed inmates takes word back to Pharaoh, and Joseph is released.<br \/>\nJoseph interprets Pharaoh&#8217;s dream of fat and skinny cows, and becomes vizier.<br \/>\nAs vizier\u2014sort of like Prime Minister\u2014Joseph saves the land from famine (and skinny cows).<br \/>\nPeople from the surrounding nations come to buy from Egypt\u2019s ample supply of grain, including Joseph&#8217;s own brothers.<br \/>\nThere is some back and forth with a silver cup (see chapter 44)<br \/>\nAnd the moment finally comes for Joseph to reveal to his brothers that he is, in fact, the vizier of Egypt.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>But first Joseph has a good cry.  People were a bit more emotional back then.  He has a good cry and then the reveal:<\/p>\n\n\n<p>\u201cI am Joseph! Is my father still living?\u201d But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.<br \/>\n4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, \u201cCome close to me.\u201d When they had done so, he said, \u201cI am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p>And just because they\u2019re in shock, he says it again, and then again: \u201cGod sent me ahead of you to save your lives!  Go and get my father, and bring him along.  There will be five more years of famine, some I\u2019m going to settle you in the nearby Land of Goshen, and I will provide for you there\u2014for you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all you have.\u201d  At this moment, he embraced his brother Benjamin, and started crying. And Benjamin hugged him back, and started crying.  Then I assume everyone was crying\u2014because afterall\u2014it was a more emotional time.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>This is the moment to ponder hugging in the Bible.  Where else do we see tearful reunions, families reunited in an emotional time?  I think you see where I\u2019m headed.  This is really just an early telling of the prodigal son\u2014which Jesus has recast to teach us about the Kingdom.  How does it work?<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Joseph, like the prodigal, is in a faraway land, and only late in the story chooses to return home (or rather, lets home come to him).  There is lots of brotherly resentment, for Joseph on the front-end of the story, and for the prodigal at the end-end of the story.  Both stories have an element of \u201cwhile he was still far off,\u201d but with a twist.  For Joseph being far off gives his brothers occasion to plot against him, for the prodigal being far off gives the father time to plot forgiveness.  <\/p>\n\n\n<p>And forgiveness is where the stories truly meet.  Yes, Joseph was forgiving from a position of good fortune, but this does not erase the pain of being sold, imprisoned, and separated from the father he loved.  He could have just as easily turned his brothers away, or imprisoned them for all they did and for all they conspired to do.  But he did not.  He chose to forgive.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Likewise, the father of the prodigal had every reason to align with the older brother.  Half his fortune wasted on profligate living.  A faithful son still by this side.  He could easily have turned the prodigal son away, and let the dead remain dead in his eyes, but he did not. He chose to forgive.  <\/p>\n\n\n<p>The glue that binds these two passages is a forgiving God.  God could have acted to thwart the co-conspirators, but gave occasion to save them instead.  Joseph gives God the glory, he doesn\u2019t claim it for himself.  It is God\u2019s desire to preserve Joseph and by extension to save the rest of the tribe, since God has plans for all of them.  And God can forgive these brothers, even when they don\u2019t deserve it.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>And again, the parable of the prodigal son is a glimpse of God\u2019s kingdom, where wastrels and those given to profligate living also receive forgiveness: once dead, he is alive once more\u2014was lost, but now is found.  It is God\u2019s desire to reach beyond resentment and \u201cthe way the world works\u201d and forgive instead.  It is God\u2019s desire that everyone separated from kin and clan find their way home, resting in the everlasting arms of a forgiving God.  Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/image-5.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-601\"\/><figcaption>Detail of Portrait of a Bearded Man from a Shrine, Romano-Egyptian panel painting, c. 100 CE, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, California<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Attentive God, <br \/>\nyou have called us to be your holy people, <br \/>\nand to sing your praise.<br \/>\nTeach us to use our gifts for your glory,<br \/>\nand for strengthening the faith of your church.<br \/>\nHelp us to persevere in practice and prayer,<br \/>\nthat we may show your love to others,<br \/>\nand lead them closer to you.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Accept, O God, <br \/>\nthe service of those who offer you praise<br \/>\nin the fellowship of this church.<br \/>\nMay they serve you with glad hearts and dedicated lives;<br \/>\nthat, by their service, your name will be glorified,<br \/>\nand the hearts of your people uplifted.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Acknowledge God,<br \/>\nthe confession we make, having wronged others.<br \/>\nthe prayers we make, for the sake of others.<br \/>\nthe needs we have, making us like all others.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>For those who are ill\u2026hear our prayers.<br \/>\nFor those who mourn\u2026hear our prayers.<br \/>\nFor those who have lost everything,<br \/>\nor enough to make it feel that way\u2026hear our prayers.<br \/>\nFor those in leadership\u2026hear our prayers.<br \/>\nFor those who teach, care, comfort, challenge, <br \/>\nsupport, console, or advocate\u2026hear our prayers.<br \/>\nFind us among those we name,<br \/>\nas we pray for ourselves.<br \/>\nAmen<\/p>\n\n\n<p>THE LORD\u2019S PRAYER<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Our Father who art in heaven,<br \/>\nhallowed be thy name.<br \/>\nThy kingdom come,<br \/>\nThy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.<br \/>\nGive us this day our daily bread;<br \/>\nand forgive us our trespasses<br \/>\nas we forgive those who trespass against us;<br \/>\nand lead us not into temptation<br \/>\nbut deliver us from evil.<br \/>\nFor thine is the kingdom,<br \/>\nand the power, and the glory,<br \/>\nfor ever and ever. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n<p>HYMN: \u201cNow thank we all our God\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/nowthankwe.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p><em>Now thank we all our God, with heart,<br \/> and hands, and voices,<br \/> who wondrous things has done,<br \/> in whom this world rejoices;<br \/> who from our mother&#8217;s arms has blessed us on our way<br \/> with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>O may this bounteous God<br \/> through all our life be near us,<br \/> with ever joyful hearts<br \/> and blessed peace to cheer us,<br \/> and keep us strong in grace, and guide us when perplexed,<br \/> and free us from all ill in this world and the next.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>All praise and thanks to God<br \/> for all that has been given,<br \/> the Son, and Spirit blest<br \/> who dwell in highest heaven,<br \/> the one eternal God, whom heaven and earth adore;<br \/> for thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p>BLESSING<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way,<br \/>\nand may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless<br \/>\nuntil our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. Amen.<br \/>\n\u20141 Thessalonians 5:23<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/meetagainredux.m4a\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>God be with you till we meet again;<br \/> loving counsels guide, uphold you,<br \/> with a shepherd\u2019s care enfold you;<br \/> God be with you till we meet again.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img src=\"http:\/\/oneking.ca\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/image-8.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-620\"\/><figcaption>Elizabeth Quantock, Joseph&#8217;s Coat of Many Colours, Leaded Stained Glass Panel, used with permission<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>United in spirit, and gathered through the power of the Holy Spirit, we worship God with gladness. We encourage you to pray over the words that follow, and follow the links within the liturgy. Prayers in this service are adapted from Celebrate God\u2019s Presence (UCPH). Thanks this week to Dave and Heather! PRELUDE: \u201cThis is &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/15\/eleventh-after-pentecost\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Eleventh after Pentecost<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/michaelkooiman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}