Looking Good, Feeling...

Genesis 37:3-4

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.

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You gotta look sharp
You gotta look sharp
And you gotta have no illusions
Just keep going your way looking over your shoulder

"Look Sharp" by Joe Jackson

Leave it to Joseph, leave it to the one called "The Dreamer" that he would have illusions. Actually, come to think of it, he didn't have illusions. His brothers, his brothers who imagined that they could get him out of their lives--now they had illusions. Still, Joseph would have been served well to look over his shoulder.

Joseph was the eleventh of twelve sons of Jacob, who was also called Israel. He was the first son of his favorite wife Rachel. He was also "the son of Jacob's old age." Is it no wonder that Joseph got all the good stuff?

And is there any better way to tick off your brothers than stealing the love of your father?  You always knew your mother wasn't the favorite but now it's about you, not just the grown ups?  Little Joe had better keep looking over his shoulder.

Maybe this is a warning to parents: The kids know what's going on in the life of the grown ups.  They know something is going on.  It may be like the elephant in the room, and the kids don't know it's an elephant.  They may just think it's a big gray wall, but they know it's there and when they figure it out they'll be able to see it for what it is.

Joseph had illusions.  He had no idea the depth of his brother's hatred.  His brothers had some illusions, they thought they could be done with Joseph and his coat and his dreams.  Both Joseph and his brothers had to keep looking ove their shoulders.  But one thing we know from scripture is Jacob kept these things in the back of his mind.  In his own way, he was looking back as he looked forward.  The gospel says that's no way to live as a disciple of the Lord, but somehow it worked for Jacob.

You Silly Little Dreamer

Genesis 37:5-8 (NRSV)

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.

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If I could see something
You can see anything you want boy
If I could be someone-
You can be anyone, celebrate boy.
If I could do something-
Well you can do something,
If I could do anything-
Well can you do something out of this world?

Dreamer by Roger Hodgson from Crime of the Century by Supertramp (1974)

Joseph had dreams, oh my did he have dreams. He dreamed of his place in God's creation. He dreamed that his brothers sheaves of grain would bow to his in the field. Then he dreamed that the sun, the moon, and the stars were bowing to him. His father thought enough to remember these dreams. His brothers thought it was time the dreamer be taught what a nightmare would be like.

The story continues, Joseph is held by his brothers, sold as a slave, thought dead by his father. Joseph became a slave to the Captain of the Egyptian Guard, and jailed when framed for a crime he did not commit.

Joseph waits in jail for years, and interprets two more dreams. Years again later, he comes to the attention of Pharaoh as an interpreter of dreams, but Joseph knows that it is God who gives interpretation to dreams.

Joseph becomes what we would call the Prime Minister of Egypt where years again later, Joseph's brothers come, bowing before him, because they need what only he can provide.

In a way, to paraphrase Roger Hodgson, Joseph saw something, Joseph became something, Joseph did something out of this world. Faithful in the light of all that pressed before him, he went from favored son of Jacob to slave to the favored son of all Israel. Through this, Joseph knew what others meant for harm, God could use to redeem his nation.

His life was in danger, and he stood his ground, but only the ground the Lord put before him. He did a difficult job, but only the job the Lord called him to do. He saved many peoples, the peoples of Egypt, Israel, and presumebly a good many Egyptian trading partners.

Dreams can be the things of God which are glimpses of things to come. Roger Hodgson sings "You can see anything you want boy." The road can be tough, but when it is God's road, it is the only road to take. When it is God's road, it is the way to discipleship. The road to discipleship which prepares us not just for the trials of this world, but for something glorious. Again, Roger Hodgson sings, "If I could do anything-Well can you do something out of this world?" He's right, why would we want anything less?