Sermon for August 14, 2011 (20th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

“God’s Great Mercy”
Genesis 45:1-15; Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32.
August 14, 2011 (20th Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Rev. John B. Erthein

“Lucy, you got some splainin’ to do.” That’s one of best remembered catch phrases from “I Love Lucy.” Ricky is calling Lucy to account for one of Lucy’s typically hare-brained schemes. We laugh at that, but at root it reminds us of an uncomfortable truth … it is highly unpleasant to be called to account. When you are a kid, you may worry about your parents finding out about something wrong you have done. When you are a pupil in school, you may have anxiety about going to the principal’s office (at least I hope there is anxiety, because that anxiety indicates that there is still such a thing as ‘discipline’ in that school. And without discipline, you eventually end up with riots, looting and disorder as we just saw in London, England). When you are an adult, you may have anxiety when called to the bosses’ office, or pulled over by the police … there is nothing like the flash of blue and red lights to get your heart pumping, is there?

So there are many ways in which we can be called to account, and it never feels good to anticipate those occasions. And I think the level of anxiety rises with the level of offense. If a cop pulls you over and you have been speeding, maybe 10 miles over the limit, that is one thing. But what if you are obviously intoxicated? I think you might anticipate a worse reaction. Or if you have illegal drugs in the car? The worse the offense, the worse the reaction.

I would shudder to imagine what is going through the minds of Joseph’s brothers when he reveals his true identity to them. To summarize what has happened previously, Joseph was the favored son of the patriarch Jacob. As a young man, Joseph was guileless, or arrogant, or a mixture of both. He had a dream in which his other brothers were like stalks of wheat bowing down before him … and he told them about the dream! This kind of behavior enraged his brothers, and they plotted to kill him. One of them had second thoughts about such a drastic action, and convinced the others to “merely” ambush Joseph, confine him in a pit, and sell him into slavery. Joseph ended up in Egypt as a result, and as a result of his brilliance and his closeness to God (he dreamt accurate prophecies), he rose from slavery to become, aside from Pharaoh himself, the most powerful man in Egypt, which was then the greatest empire the world had ever known. Joseph foresaw that the region would enjoy seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine. So he had a portion of grain stored during the good years, so that the people of Egypt would survive the years of famine.

People from outside Egypt even came to avoid starvation. And among those people were Joseph’s brothers. Much time had passed since they cast him away, and they did not recognize him at first. But on the occasion described in the passage from Genesis, he finally reveals his identity. As his brothers stand before him, this man they have so grievously wronged, and who now holds the power of life and death over them, what must be going through their minds? What would be going through your mind under such circumstances? I think you would be waiting for the hammer to drop … for Joseph to make a scathing denunciation of your crimes and then to have you executed or, if you were lucky, to be banished from his presence forever.

But we see that Joseph does not do that. Instead, he sends away his advisors and servants, because his heart and emotions are overflowing. He astonishes his brothers by bursting out weeping, weeping so loudly that he can be heard around the palace. He then bids them to come close. And then, he reveals who he is …” Joseph, your brother, whom you have sold into Egypt.” But he immediately counsels his brothers not to be “distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here.” If I had been in Joseph’s place, I might not have told them that … I might have said, “oh, go ahead, be distressed and angry with yourself.” But Joseph tells them otherwise, because he understands the providence of God. “God sent me before you to preserve life … to preserve a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.” Joseph then recounts what happened since his brothers ambushed him. He will not punish them for what they had done to him.

And not only that, he will provide for him. As he embraces them, Joseph tells them to bring their father Jacob and his whole tribe to Egypt, where they will be safe. He has in effect prepared a place for them.

In this scene, we witness the great mercy of Joseph, a mercy that is covered by the providence of God, a mercy that is undeserved, a mercy that not only spares one’s life, but provides as well. And we are invited to consider the character of God as shown in Jesus Christ. When we approach God, in one sense we are like Joseph’s brothers. We are sinners. In one of our Prayers of Confession we says that we have “offended and grieved” God by violating his law. Every sin we commit strikes at the heart of God. Approaching God could be a fearful experience for us, for he is the ultimate judge, who knows everything we have done or have even thought of doing. We should tremble before him,

But consider what we hear from Jesus Christ. He tells us to come closer to him. He opens his arms to us and embraces us. He tells us not to be afraid. He forgives us for our sins. And he opens the gates of heaven to us where we may enter. And why is that? I think it is because we have been adopted into God’s family. And God will not cast away members of his family. We are in the positions of Joseph’s brothers and the Prodigal Son of Jesus’ story, who sinned against his father but was nonetheless welcomed back into his father’s house with open arms.

Paul’s words in Romans, chapter 11, reinforce the idea that God does not reject those who belong to him. Paul also refers to the mysterious providence of God, which uses unlikely events to advance his purposes. Referring to the Jewish-Gentile relationship, he tells his Gentile listeners, “They (the Jews) are enemies of the Gospel for your sake …” which means the Gentiles have an opening to receive the Gospel. But God has not abandoned the Jews, because they are still in God’s family line: “But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers, for the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.” Paul also explains that God has given mercy to the Gentiles in spite of their disobedience, and will give mercy to the Jews in spite of their disobedience.

What do we learn about God? He works his providence out in ways that are sometimes hard to understand. He gives room for humans to act badly, and in so doing they can do great harm. But his purposes are certain and irrevocable. All events will lead to his providential plan for his elect people. There is no sin than can separate the people of God from the love of God. If God has elected you to his family through Jesus Christ, he will never let you go. Now, do not take that as a license to commit evil acts! A redeemed life reflects itself in good conduct. But do be assured that whatever you have done in your life, however your sins have offended God, you do not need to fear approaching him in repentance and faith. If you abhor your sins and ask for God’s forgiveness, you will receive it. I am reminded of a sermon given by Charles Spurgeon concerning the repentant thief in Luke’s Gospel. The thief admitted his guilt and confessed his faith in Christ shortly before his own death. Spurgeon wrote, that if we wonder if the thief went to heaven, do not ask if he went to heaven if he were sincere. The only right question is, if he was sincere. In other words, with his sincere repentance, the thief was guaranteed entry to paradise, as Jesus himself said on the cross. There was no more question to be asked.

And that is the hope you can have. Speaking for myself, I have a lot of respect for other Christian traditions. But I cannot belong to any church that would not affirm the assurance of salvation. The idea that you can have salvation and somehow lose it is not Biblical, it is certainly not supported in Paul’s writings. It also does not provide the blessed assurance that the Gospel should provide. If you have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior but can nonetheless lose your salvation through your own actions, what does that say about the sovereignty and power of God? What does that say about the promises of God as attested to in the Scriptures? How much sin would be just enough to tip you over into Hell rather than Heaven? You would become so preoccupied with counting your sins, and so anxious about your fate, that you could not serve Jesus Christ in the best possible way … without fear.

And indeed, there is a message for us in these passages, not just to us as forgiven sinners, but also as saints called to service. What kind of service to God can we offer? We can strive to follow the example of Jesus Christ. Even though Joseph lived before Jesus was born, he was anticipating Christ’s example in his radical, all encompassing, total forgiveness of those who had wronged him.

So, while we are given assurance, we are also given a challenge. And they are tied together. If you are willing to accept the assurance, you must be ready to accept the challenge. Are you ready? Salvation and service await you.

May the Lord Jesus Christ, who came to save us and show us how to serve others, give us the faith to accept salvation, and the character to forgive others as he has forgiven us. Amen.