God Has a Persistent Good Plan
Genesis 50:15-20
Jesus’ call to unimaginably large forgiveness comes to life in the story of Joseph, as we will see in just a moment. This summer, we are in a series called “The Good Book: Meeting Our Ancestors in Faith.” We are learning and relearning ancient stories and how they relate to the here and now—not dusty scripture from long ago, but stories that brim with fresh life. We’ve explored the early days of the Old Testament: the story of Jacob wrestling with the angel, preached by Lea Brown, the chaplain at the VA Health System in Western North Carolina; the story of Shiphrah and Puah, boldly defying Pharaoh, as preached by David; and last week, the story of Lot’s wife looking back.
Today, we are at the very end of the Book of Genesis. If you’ve ever entered a room just as the movie was finishing and wished you had seen the whole thing, that’s where we are at the end of the Book of Genesis. I’ll try to catch you up in this sermon, but for now, listen for the word of God.
Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?” So they approached Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this instruction before he died: ‘Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.’ Now therefore, please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then his brothers also wept, fell down before him, and said, “We are here as your slaves.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones.” In this way, he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Because of the summer schedule and travel, it has been several weeks since I have preached. If you are a preacher, you know that stepping back in after time away can be nerve-wracking. I shared this with the congregation at the early service, and one of the ministers who worships with us pulled me aside afterward and said, “You think you’ve got problems? I’m preaching next week for the first time in two years!” So, pray for me and for her, that God would help us to preach. Would you pray with me?
God, we give you thanks for this time to listen for your word. Give to me now the gift of preaching, that the words I share may not be simply mine, but your words reaching us at a point of need and challenge with your grace and truth; through Christ we pray. Amen.
I want to think with you this morning about the story of Joseph and the providence of God in a world that appears to be tumbling apart. Last week, my family and I had the privilege of being at Topsail Island, just north of Wilmington, North Carolina. It’s one of our barrier islands, and the water and wind constantly change the shape of the shoreline. One day, the water will be calm, and the next, the waves will crash at the shoreline in a way that would toss you around.
We’ve been going for almost 20 years. Twenty years ago, when the waves hit me and tossed me around, I would say, “That’s so fun! I want to do it again.” This time, when the waves hit me on Friday and tossed me around, I jumped up and said, “I think it’s time to go in.”
Thinking about being caught by a wave and tumbled around made me reflect on the feelings I’ve been experiencing—and maybe you have too—in the past week: the feeling that the world is tumbling apart. From The New Yorker to The Wall Street Journal, we read that this is an unprecedented moment in our nation’s life. The events we find when we open our phones or newspapers wash over us like waves crashing on the shore. We’re not sure what it means, what to do with it, or what comes next.
I also thought about Joseph and his story, arising from a time of political and social upheaval in Egypt and among Jacob’s children.
We began at the end of Joseph’s life with his brothers. Joseph is standing as the prime minister of Egypt, the second most powerful person in the nation. His brothers are before him, their faces grim. Joseph is a man of great power and wealth, administering the food program in a time of scarcity. Because of his leadership and foresight, Joseph is responsible for saving the lives of millions in Egypt and beyond. His brothers, herdsmen from the wilderness, have come seeking food for their family and animals. Now, they kneel at Joseph’s feet, begging for their lives, fearing he will exact vengeance for their past betrayal.
Why would Joseph exact vengeance? Because his brothers tried to kill him.
The story begins in Genesis 37. If it rains this afternoon and you want something to read, start at Genesis 37 and read through chapter 50. It’s the story of Joseph.
Jacob sowed seeds of discord in his family by having a favorite son, Joseph, who received a coat of many colors from his father, symbolizing this favoritism. Then, Joseph, at 17, had dreams that everyone would bow down to him. Neither his coat nor his dreams endeared him to his siblings. One day, while tending sheep, his brothers decided to get rid of Joseph. They dropped him into a pit, then sold him to traders who took him to Egypt, where he was sold to a wealthy man named Potiphar.
Joseph rose to manage Potiphar’s house but was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and imprisoned. Even in prison, Joseph’s leadership abilities shone, and he soon managed the prison. His skills brought him to Pharaoh’s attention, and Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams of seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine. Pharaoh, recognizing Joseph’s talents, put him in charge of the food program, saving many lives.
Now, at the end of Genesis, Joseph’s brothers stand before him, fearing retribution. They plead for forgiveness, speaking in the voice of their father, who has died. Joseph weeps. Why does he weep?
Perhaps it’s a wave of realization of the broken road that led him there, a wave of gratitude for his reunited family, or a wave of recognition that his dreams had come true in a deeper way than imagined.
Joseph’s tears come for many reasons. His brothers, weeping too, fall at his feet. Joseph reassures them, “Do not be afraid. Even though you intended to harm me, God intended it for good, to preserve many people as He is doing today.”Joseph saw God’s grace at work in his life, bending all that had happened to him into a good plan. This wasn’t a scripted plan but a creative one, where God turned evil intentions into something good.
John Calvin, a theological forebear of our Presbyterian Church, wrote about the providence of God and the assurance of our faith in difficult times, saying, “When the world appears to be aimlessly tumbled about, the Lord is everywhere at work.” This is a theology of providence, and it what we see at work here in this story.
What is providence? It’s not the idea that God predetermines everything or that our lives are scripted with no agency. That’s fatalism. Providence is the faith that underneath the tumbling of days, weeks, months, and years, God’s good plan cannot be prevented. God has a persistent good plan.
Paul Tillich wrote that providence means there is a creative and saving possibility implied in every situation, which cannot be destroyed by any event. God is always working for good, even when the world feels like it’s tumbling apart.
The Apostle Paul said we trust that God is working all things together for good. Not that God causes everything, but that God bends everything into God’s own good plan.
Reflecting on the crucifixion of Christ, we see in the deepest possible way, that out of the worst event, God brought the salvation of the world. One writer puts it memorably like this, “The worst thing that can happen is never the last thing because God is good and God is working.” This is a word of hope, even though it’s hard to see in a crisis or tragedy. If you remember only one line from this sermon today, remember this one: “The worst thing that can happen is never the last thing because God is good and God is working.”
Joseph didn’t see God’s providence in the moments of his life—not in the pit, not when he pleaded with his brothers, not in prison. He saw it only later, and we may not see it in our moments either. We too may only see it later, that God was working on a good plan against all the odds and every appearance.
The assurance of God’s plan isn’t an easy anesthetic for tumultuous times; it is not an easy antidote for frightened Christians, but it is a deep word of biblical hope that empowers us to live with courage and purpose. It is a call to work for good, choose forgiveness, act with compassion, and trust that God is bending all things to good.
Frederick Buechner said ministers are constantly trying to bring dying people back to life with the assurance that God has a plan. Maybe that’s what I’m trying to do today. Maybe that’s what Joseph was trying to say to his brothers, freeing them from fear and guilt to live into a new and creative possibility. Maybe that’s what Genesis is saying after 50 chapters of social and political and familial dysfunction: to lead us into hopefulness about the future.
When it seems the world is tumbling apart, remember there is a creative and saving possibility by the grace of Jesus Christ, a saving possibility that no event can destroy.
The worst that can happen is never the last thing because God is working to bend all things to His glory and our good.
May this be a word of hope, sending us out with courage to be the faithful people of God. Amen.
Rev. Patrick W. T. Johnson, Ph.D.
First Presbyterian Church
Asheville, North Carolina