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It's All About Trust

            The rat slinked closer. It looked larger this morning. No wonder! Last week it startled him awake by nibbling on his toes. While his ribs stuck out more, that rat was getting fatter. How long had it been? Three years, four, seven? His back ached from the rock-hard dirt floor with only straw for a mattress. He shivered in the morning’s chilled air as the door slit snapped open and a bowl of slop slid in. Who’s going to get it first, the rat or Joseph? A slim ray of sunlight poked in through the tiny barred window way up near the ceiling. “I wonder what it’s like outside?” Suddenly keys rattled in the cell door. “Let’s go. Pharaoh wants to see you.” “Why? Is this the day my neckwear will get a tad tighter with my feet dangling in midair?” “The king had a nightmare and wants to know what it means. He heard you can help.” “Oh, my!” thought Joseph. “God does not normally speak to people through dreams or give someone the ability to interpret them. In the past he did that a couple times for me, but will he do that now? I’ll be on the hot-seat in front of Pharaoh, which is almost as scary as being asked to sing in front of Simon Cowell. But God has been with me every step of the way in the past and even here in jail. I’m banking on the fact that he won’t desert me now.” For Joseph it was all a matter of trust.

            Our globe spins at a rate of one thousand miles per hour (at the equator), but sometimes it feels like our lives are spinning five times faster. Are you ready for fall? Wouldn’t you like to wind the clock back and enjoy the beautiful summer weather with some time off for the festivals, the lakefront, or a stay-cation? And what about those plans for a wedding or a baby? What about that search for an apartment or a better home mortgage? Are you looking for a new job or fretting about a relationship that’s teetering like a circus performer on a high wire? What about making life adjustments when kids go off to college or when it’s time to move into assisted living? What if you’re a student at a new school? Then there’s that unexpected diagnosis or that recurring pain. What about feeling like you could be doing more at church, but you don’t know how you’ll fit it in, to say nothing of the home repair projects on your to-do list. How can you get it all done?

            One of the most familiar Bible stories involving one of the most endearing and familiar Bible characters is before us today in Genesis chapter 41. It’s a historical account that offers helpful answers for our hectic lives. It’s a story that reminds us: It’s All about Trust. Joseph helps us ponder our…

Role

            Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice created a cantata for a London school in 1968, which blossomed in popularity and form into their 1971 musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The story of the ups and downs of Joseph does indeed make for a good stage play or movie plot. Up in the eyes of his dad; thrown down in a pit by his jealous brothers. Up in the house of his first boss in Egypt; down to jail under false accusation. As the scene opens in this Bible portion, Joseph is up in front of Pharaoh, but expecting to be tossed back down to prison. But Pharaoh elevated him all the way up to prime minister status. “‘I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.’ Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command”—a storybook turnaround for Joseph. He didn’t deserve this new role. As much as our heart goes out to him as the innocent victim in prison, he had skeletons in his closet. Humble trust was not his strong suit when he flaunted his thousand dollar Armani “I’m-the-boss-around-here” suit while his brothers slipped and slopped in the sheep pasture. He even “dissed” his dad. But Joseph knew better now and trusted his God. So he knew that his new role as leader in Egypt did not come about because Pharaoh was such a good judge of character but because God is good and gracious. So deep and full was his trust that even if he landed back in jail, Joseph knew his status with God was secure—a forgiven child of God.

            How did you get your role in life? You could say, “I studied hard, worked hard on my resume, applied, interviewed, and performed. I did it.” Nothing wrong with using our gifts to the best of our ability. In fact, God expects that. But could there be a danger of falling into Joseph-like arrogance? Shame on me and shame on you for thinking, “The world revolves around me!” What we deserve is lowering, not just demotion or job loss, but loss of everything, with all we own and splattered on the rungs of the ladder to hell. So, don’t wait! Join me in jumping into Joseph’s jail and trusting with all your heart what one of apostles wrote, “Humble yourselves…under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time”(1 Peter 5:6). Trust that God will raise you up and has, and that your role in life, no matter what it currently is—mother, father, student, single person, busy worker, bored worker—is a gift from God’s gracious hand. How can we be so sure and have such trust? Because Jesus stands behind our role and our status. He took on the role of sinner with no play-acting so we could have the role of God’s forgiven children now and in eternity no matter what our earthly status, station, or role. It’s all about trust.

Responsibility

            Joseph stood there in his new robe wearing the ring of the ruler’s right-hand man. What was going through his mind? “Wow! This will be great! The first thing I’m going to do is soak in a tub and get rid of this rat-stink. Then, I’m going to head to the mall to go to get a new wardrobe and accessorize. I’ll swing by Cairo One Imports to upgrade to a Mercedes-class chariot! I’ll ride through the streets and wave at my subjects. And then it’s off to Pharaoh’s country club for 18 holes, a massage at the spa, and home to grill on my patio. Or I’ll have my servants grill! I can put my feet up, snap my fingers, and enjoy!” But what happened? “Joseph went out from Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout Egypt. During the seven years of abundance the land produced plentifully. Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities.” Why? Because he recognized he not only had his role as a gift from God but the responsibility to use God’s gifts. It was a stewardship issue, a management issue. He had talents and skills from God to use to honor God. Joseph trusted that God had removed the responsibility to earn a role in heaven but that God had given him the responsibility to carry out his role on earth. It was all about trust.

            Whatever our role on earth may be, you and I have been given by God the responsibility to be good stewards, good managers. Leaving our skills, talents, and abilities unused or untapped is as big a waste as tossing twenties into a dumpster. Layer that with laziness, and we’re in essence saying to God, “You owe me, Lord, because I’m so special. I deserve it! I’ll just sit back with my hand out, and you better plop good things into it.” That’s actually a lack of trust. Trust says, “Lord, you promise to take care of me through normal and natural channels, namely, by giving me the responsibility to use wisely whatever measure of skills, talents, and abilities I have, and I trust that you’ll bless me as I do just that.” It’s all about trust.

Opportunity

            You might think it was a no-brainer for Joseph to be responsible in his new role. After all, it was a far sight better than being in prison. But Joseph saw his role and responsibility as more than that. He trusted that the Lord was not only giving him a window of opportunity to care for the people of Egypt but also opening the door of opportunity to help others. “Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.” Joseph recognized the opportunity to help thousands, even those beyond Egypt’s borders. Sure enough, his brothers trudged to Egypt from Canaan and showed up at his doorstep, 23 years after they had sold him into slavery. Did revenge boil up in his gut? No! Joseph had learned as a youngster the promise given to his ancestors and to his family, that a nation would come from them and from that nation the Savior of all nations. Preserving the family meant preserving the promise in which all sinners need to trust. Joseph knew that it’s all about trust.

            There are congregations in some towns that are disappearing because their town is disappearing. That was almost the case in downtown Milwaukee 60 years ago, yet we’re still on this corner, and God is bringing more and more people into our neighborhood. But opportunities to share Jesus aren’t primarily connected with an institution or building. It’s people like you who are making an eternal difference when you read Bible stories and sing hymns with your kids, when you invite your co-worker to church, when you are pleasant with the folks at the store or restaurant, when you reach out to a friend who has suffered loss, when you offer an open ear to someone’s troubles. Trust in Jesus’ love leads to trust that he’ll give us opportunities to see his face “in the hurting eyes of the lonely, in the pained eyes of the sick, and in the searching eyes of the lost” (Christian Worship, p.129). It’s all about trust.

            The globe might be spinning at a rate faster than you thought possible. The pages of your calendar might be flipping as if blown by Hurricane Irene. The summer might be zooming by, and your life may seem out of control. But the Joseph story helps us look at the facts. There is a constant in our fast-paced, ever-changing, hectic world. His name is Jesus. He can take some bread and fish and feed over five thousand people. He can put his body and blood together with bread and wine to assure us that we’re in with God. And if he can do those things, he surely can take care of us now and forever. Trust him! Amen.

     Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) on August 28, 2011

Services

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Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church | 1209 North Broadway Milwaukee, WI 53202 | (414) 271-3006

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