TESSERA MATERIALS

People of the Story of God
Episode 5

Prayer

O God,
We are gathered here, uniquely in all of history,
we particular people in this singular time and place.
You, O God, are truly with us and show us steadfast love.
Tune our hearts to the voice of your Spirit.
Wake us to be present to You and to one another
in these shared moments we are given.
May we in our joys find grace to enter the sorrows of others.
May we in our sorrows find grace to embrace the joys of others.
Let us prize these moments and care for one another deeply–
for each of us, and our relationships to one another, are precious and eternal.
O Father, enlarge our hearts.
O Spirit, expand our vision.
O Christ, establish your kingdom among us. Amen.

Scripture
Genesis 39:20-21

Joseph. Oh Joseph. You think you’re the GOAT! In your youth you dream of your brothers and parents bowing down before you. It didn’t help that your father, Jacob, made you his obvious favorite. He donned you with that fancy coat of many colors, and you wore it with pride. Then those brothers tossed you in a deep hole, took your shiny coat and threw some blood on it to tell their Dad you were killed by a wild beast.

And here we get to pause and see the humility of God walking in the stories of prideful humans. There’s so much to see in ourselves as we engage this ongoing story of God’s family through whom he’s choosing to reveal himself. Each of us have our prideful ways just like Joseph. We easily become our own hero projects in big and small ways. And God chooses to walk humbly with us and refine us into something more pure, beautiful and humble. Will we go on this journey with him?

The story eventually finds Joseph in Egypt, and now he’s serving one of Pharaoh’s officials. Perhaps Joseph has done a lot of soul searching by this time. Maybe he’s recognized some things in himself that he knows exemplified unhealthy pride. The text of Genesis tells us ‘The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.’ But as soon as this happens, his Egyptian master’s wife tries to seduce him. Joseph flees, but he’s accused of the attempted assault. He’s in prison again. This is where we read…

Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in prison, the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love. ~Genesis 39:20-21

Sometimes we’re invited to trust God with our ears rather than with our eyes. We’re seeing things fall apart, but we hear of God’s steadfast love. Can you hear the beautiful way God is with his people and showing them steadfast love even in the midst of very little making any sense? Trust with your ears. Hear God’s way of walking with his people and showing steadfast love even in the chaos all around you. In all this chaos Joseph is being drained of his ego. He’s being refined. And whatever chaos we find ourselves walking through we can trust the same is taking place in us. We are drained of our egos. We are being refined. We are learning to slow down and walk with humility. And this Joseph story will lead him to be surprisingly reunited with his brothers and showing them kindness, mercy and forgiveness. The prideful one is now walking alongside the humble God he has experienced. May we take this same journey as we walk in our own stories.

Reflection and Discussion

• Joseph’s story begins with a prideful heart displayed to his brothers around him. Share some stories of how youthful pride once played a part in your life.
• Like Joseph, sometimes we need to close our eyes and choose to see with our ears. We’re told God shows faithful, steadfast love, even in our prideful ways. In what ways do you need to close your eyes to madness around you at this time to hear the truth that God walks in humility with you and shows you steadfast love?
• Joseph walked pridefully, and Joseph learned to walk with humility. Compare and contrast what it looks like for the Church to walk with pride and humility in the chaos of this world? Share examples of both that you’ve seen the Church display.
• How does our cultivation of trust in the steadfast presence and love of God lead us to a more humble walk in the world?