The Promise in the Pit

Genesis 37:1-24

Sunday August 13th, 2023

Rev. Rhonda Blevins, pastor

Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. This is the story of the family of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. Once Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream that I dreamed. There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright; then your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Are you indeed to have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words. He had another dream, and told it to his brothers, saying, “Look, I have had another dream: the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him, and said to him, “What kind of dream is this that you have had? Shall we indeed come, I and your mother and your brothers, and bow to the ground before you?” So his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” He answered, “Here I am.” So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron. He came to Shechem, and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” “I am seeking my brothers,” he said; “tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” The man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

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When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? I asked a few people around here that question this morning, and here are some of the replies I received:

·         Terry Blevins: Oceanographer

·         Tom Baur: Singing Cowboy (like Roy Rogers)

·         Sara Henkel: Dress Designer

·         Joe Creegan: Alive

·         Shara Strauss: Architect

·         Don Prokes: Airline Pilot

·         Nancy Besley: Teacher

·         Martha Zell: Mom

·         Leon Tomlinson: Photographer, Entrepreneur, Athlete

·         Art Zell: Farmer

·         Linda Walter: Veterinarian

·         Donna Dennis: Teacher

·         Jody DeBold: Mom

·         Chad Clark: Pharmacist

·         Scott Moncrieff: Cowboy

·         Sue Moncrieff: Educated

·         Nick Smith: Psychologist

·         Marleen Salo: Catholic Nun

·         Prince Fleary: NBA Star

Me? I wanted to be a rock star. My favorite pastime was singing into a hairbrush while dancing around my room imagining I was Joan Jett. (That doesn’t date me at all, does it?) I love rock and roll, put another dime in the jukebox, baby.

It’s fun to think about the dreams we had as children. When we look back, we can smile or giggle, but we shouldn’t be too quick to dismiss the aspirations of the young, lest they get the last laugh.

Part of me wishes I could go back in time and offer this nugget of wisdom to Joseph’s brothers. The Bible says that Joseph’s brothers hated young Joseph because Daddy loved him the most. Then in his seventeen-year-old arrogance, he decided to share his two dreams about his brothers and even his parents bowing down to him. I guess Joseph hadn’t yet read Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People. The brothers’ hatred turned to jealousy. That can’t be good. And, spoiler alert, his brothers would plot to kill him.

Hatred for the dreamer isn’t unique to the story of Joseph and his brothers. In fact, the dreamers among us are often the subject of scorn. Just ask Henry Ford, who said, “If people are not laughing at your dreams at least once a week, you are aiming too low!” They laughed at Steve Jobs. They laughed at Oprah Winfrey. They laughed at Walt Disney. They laughed at Thomas Edison. They laughed at Albert Einstein. They laughed at Dolly Parton. They laughed at the Wright Brothers. They laughed at Christopher Columbus. They laughed at Galileo. They laughed at Noah. They even laughed at Elvis. (How dare they!)

And sometimes, if the dream is too much—if the dream rocks the status quo and too many people feel uncomfortable—they don’t laugh at the dreamer—they kill the dreamer.

You may know this song written in 1971:

You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.

I hope some day you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.

That’s the chorus from the song “Imagine,” written and recorded by John Lennon. Lennon was indeed a dreamer. He once said that the song “Imagine” was inspired by a Christian prayer book someone had given to Ono and him. . .which prompted him to consider the power of positive prayer—that if a person could imagine a world at peace—that it could become true.

The song offended a number of professing Christians, including Mark David Chapman, who, according to a high school friend of Chapman’s, changed the lyrics to “Imagine if John were dead.” Chapman would kill John Lennon in 1980.

Sometimes, they kill the dreamer.

Martin Luther King Jr. would deliver his “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. He was killed five years later in 1968.

Jesus prayed his dream, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” He was killed less than three years later.

Why do we laugh at or even kill the dreamers? Dreams enable us to imagine new possibilities, which immediately threatens the old and calls it into question. The dream disrupts life-as-we-know-it.

So of course the brothers were upset at Joseph’s dreams. But I want to suggest that these weren’t Joseph’s dreams at all; he was merely the recipient of those dreams. God was the author of those dreams, which were but a prelude of things to come.

You see, the main character of this story from Genesis 37 wasn’t Joseph. Jacob wasn’t the main character. The brothers weren’t the main character. The main character isn’t actually named in the story: the protagonist of the story is God. God, who is working through the dreams of a high-school age kid. God, who plants the seeds of the future in symbols of sheaths and stars. And in the vision of sheaths and stars, we find the very promise of God.

The God who plants the dream will be faithful to see it manifest. God who plants the dream is working despite the jealousy, the hatred, the greed, and even the murderous plots humans employ.

Here’s the deal. I believe God plants dreams within each of us. And whether you’re 19 or 90, the dreams God has planted in you are alive!

The Apostle Paul said it this way: “The one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 1:6)

It’s easy to look at the world and begin to lose hope. But the feeling of loss and hopelessness points to the fact that an unrealized dream remains—God’s dream in you.

And no doubt it’s opaque. “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards,” according to Soren Kierkegaard.

LOOK BACK, NEVER STRAIGHT SHOT

When we look back on our lives, whether we’re 19 or 90, we can see that it was never a straight shot to get where we stand now.

In middle school, I played fast-pitch softball. I desperately wanted to be a great softball player, and maybe make the high school team. Problem is, I really stunk at softball. My mom tells me that she and my dad dreaded every time I stepped up to the plate; they knew another strike out was coming. So I gave up my softball career and joined the marching band in high school. I made first chair clarinet! I became the drum major, queen of the band geeks.

That pattern would repeat itself multiple times throughout my life: a dream, a failure, a success.

I wanted that “dream job.” I was crushed when I didn’t get it. I got a better job instead! I wanted that “dream guy.” I was devastated when it didn’t work out. Then I met my husband, who was and is perfect for me! The pattern: dreams are born, dreams are crushed, destiny is revealed. Over and over and over again. This can be true in all aspects of life: career, marriage/relationships, health.

When we think about where we want to go in life, we imagine a straight shot. The reality is, there are hills and rocks and brick walls and, like Joseph found out, there are pits. We must not lose sight of God’s promise when we’re in “the pits,” and let’s face it, most of us find ourselves in the pits at least a couple of times along life’s journey.

Father Richard Rohr wrote a book a few years ago, which has become one of my favorites. He titled it Falling Upward; the women’s book club read it together a few months ago. He said that when he chose the title, Falling Upward, he loved that it conveyed paradox. The first part (the “falling” part) isn't about what we would expect. In fact, most of our concern, especially in our younger years, is about rising, achieving, accomplishing, performing. He deliberately chose a somewhat controversial phrase, implying that there is a necessary falling in every life. He asserts you don’t have to manufacture or create the falling; it will happen. He says, “If you can find grace or freedom in and through that falling, you find that it moves you forward, upward, broader, deeper, better—to growth. That’s just the opposite of what you first think when you fall, fail, or lose.”

When my husband and I moved to Florida six years ago, we discovered all kinds of new flora and fauna—plants and animals unfamiliar to us in the hills and hollers of Tennessee and Kentucky. Like the worm snakes that wanted to live with us when we first moved into our new house. And the plants in our front yard. A few months after we moved in, one of the plants lost all its leaves. I thought to myself, “Well, we’ve killed another plant.” (Neither my husband nor I have green thumbs.) I’m glad we were too busy (read: lazy) to cut it down, because within a couple of weeks, new leaves sprouted in their place.

The cycle of growth, death, and new life is a powerful force in nature. It’s true of plants and trees. It’s true in our journeys of growth and self-actualization. And it was true for Joseph as well.

The scripture lesson we read today ended with Joseph left in a pit. Just because Joseph was in a pit does not mean the promise was lost. You know how the story goes. Some Ishmaelites come along, and Joseph’s brothers sell him into slavery. From a literal pit to a metaphorical pit. He ends up in Egypt as a slave, then in prison. His skills as a dream interpreter land him before Pharoah who needs his dream interpreted. Pharoah is so impressed with Joseph that Joseph eventually ends up second in command in all of Egypt. The C.O.O. to Pharoah’s C.E.O. So when his brothers show up in Egypt decades later looking for food because of famine back home, they stand before guess who . . . Joseph! Joseph is able to forgive his brothers, and Father Jacob and the entire clan moves to Egypt and the family is saved.

Just because Joseph was in a pit does not mean the promise was lost.

And centuries later, a man called Jesus from Nazareth had a promise. At the age of 33, Jesus’ had gained a large and excited following. It seemed he was at his strongest, taking his boldest stance to date against corrupt powers there in Jerusalem. He had spent three years sharing his dream for humanity with his disciples. Then the dream died in one of the cruelest and most inhumane ways imaginable—the dream died there on the cross at Calvary. But Jesus’ fall wasn’t the final story. Jesus showed us the pathway of Falling Upward. When he rose on the third day, he conquered death, not just for himself, but for each of us, for all of humanity.

So my dear friends, whatever you’re facing—whatever your “pit” might be whether past, present, or future—the promise of God remains. The Psalmist said it the best:

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil for Thou art with me.”

God’s presence—the greatest promise of all.