Week 5: Genesis 38-44

Reflection by Miriam Willard McKenney

Friends, I pray your reading of Genesis blesses and challenges you. My faith began to waver at this point in the readings. I had a lot of questions for God, and I was angry. I began to doubt the legitimacy of the story that we are all God’s beloved children when I read that God didn’t like what someone did and put him to death—and not just individuals, but whole cities and nations. I was perplexed and began to doubt where I might stand if scripture told my story. What would I do in Tamar’s situation? How long is too long for someone to be unjustly incarcerated? When do the means justify the ends, or when do the ends justify the means? I had to take a break from writing and do a lot of thinking and praying. Perhaps that might happen to you, or maybe your faith has been tested at other times in Genesis. Or, perhaps, not at all. Ultimately, I realized that scriptures do tell my story, and my work is to find myself in it. 
 
Who knows if anything tested Joseph’s faith during his years in the dungeon in Egypt? And yet, when his time for liberation came, he did not let bitterness and distrust affect the gifts that he shared abundantly with his captor and the pharaoh’s people. His reunification with his brothers and father shows us what he may have experienced. May we all be so generous in spirit and trusting in God’s plan for us. 

About Genesis Chapter 41

In prison, Joseph simply does what he is good at; he interprets dreams. There is no instant reward for Joseph being Joseph. After the dreams are interpreted, Joseph is still in prison. He is still Joseph. But when the interpretation of dreams is what is needed, it is Joseph whom they seek. And his seemingly simple gift of giving meaning to dreams saves countless lives.             
God makes us who we are and bestows upon us the gifts God needs us to possess to be who it is God made us each to be. All God asks is that we keep offering our gifts, even if they appear to go unappreciated, make little difference in the grand scheme of things, or get us thrown into a pit. Someday, God will need us to offer the gifts God gave us, and in that moment, all we need to do is say yes.

— The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey W. Mello,  A Journey through Genesis: The 50-Day Bible Challenge

Questions for Reflection

• What gift(s) has God given you? Can you make a list and offer God thanks for your gifts?
• When the Pharaoh needed someone to interpret his dreams, it was the chief cupbearer who told Pharaoh about Joseph and his gift of interpretation. Think of those you know and love, perhaps those with whom you work or share in ministry. Can you think of a gift each one of them might possess, even if they might not see it in themselves? 

Prayer

Gracious God, giver of every good gift: We thank you for bestowing in us plentiful gifts that we need to be, with your help, the people you call us to be. Give us wisdom to know our gifts, courage to share them, and the grace to see the gifts of others that we might, when the time comes, use our gifts to your purposes and to the honor and glory of your name. Amen.