MUSINGS - Joseph, childhood & hope

Ever since I was a child, Joseph has fascinated me!

I heard Joseph's story from my mother's lips first; full of drama and intrigue. I can remember how she spoke of his dad's favoritism and the trouble it stirred up between Joseph and his brothers. Since my mom and dad had fought successfully against any similar urges they might have had, the fear of parentally enhanced sibling rivalry was never a part of my experience. So it was easy for me to see how to rise above it.

When mom spoke of the wicked machinations of Joseph's brothers, and Rueben's cowardly compromise, I wondered how it was possible for brothers to behave like that. But since my mom was older and bigger than me, and, since she had never lied to me before, I figured this part of the story had to be true, too. I comforted myself with the thought that this is what happens in bad families.

I was impressed when mom told us about how Joseph had - through hard work - advanced in his master's house. I was so captured by the ease with which Joseph escaped from the clutches of Potiphar's evil wife that I didn't even mind that it landed him in prison. I had never been to a prison of any kind, so I imagined that it couldn't have been all that bad! And after all, Joseph was God's guy!

I know that my mom told us about the two men that Joseph helped while in prison. You know, the one that got strung up by the neck (whatever that meant), and the one that got to go live in the palace again. The first man never returned the favor, and the other just forgot about Joseph. In any event, Joseph kept doing what good guys always do: He kept trusting the Lord, because in the end God would do right by him. God always did.

And - by the way - that's just what happened.

Eventually, Pharaoh needed a dream deciphered and Joseph's forgetful former fellow-prisoner suddenly had a revelation. As the story goes, he said to Pharaoh, "I know a guy who can interpret dreams." With that Joseph was sprung!

Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream. Then, he saved the Egyptians from starvation - along with a bunch of other people. After that he was made second in command, and Pharaoh even gave him a beautiful wife. Finally, and true to form, Joseph saved the very wretched brothers who had thought to kill him, but who decided to sell him into slavery instead.

I heard Joseph's story many times in my childhood. For all that, there was one detail that I had never noticed: Jospeh didn't know how his story was going to end. He had to go through it blind!

By the time this detail had caught my attention, I had had an encounter or two with strife-torn families. I had also tasted the shameful fruit of cowardice, been wrongfully accused, and had learned something of the power of temptation. The experience of these all too common human weaknesses - coupled with that long unnoticed detail - has altered the way I read the story of Joseph today. Joseph was a man, just like me. Yet, he remained true to God no matter what life dished out.

This has changed my view of Joseph forever. This Lent, I hope that it changes me, too!

Today's Readings: Friday, March 17th, 2006.