Saturday, March 10, 2012

Alone

Bill Searight

Genesis 43:16-34
The plans are in motion. Joseph has orchestrated a great revelatory moment, when he shall stun everyone with the news that he is alive and well. His brothers will be chastened. His father will be ecstatic. He will be vindicated. Everything is exactly as Joseph wants it.

But… he didn’t realize it would hurt so much. Each time his brothers come before him, Joseph cannot help but ply them with questions about Jacob, old and alone back home. How is he? Is he healthy? Is he alive? And then he meets the youngest son, the newly crowned favorite of Jacob. And Joseph is overcome. He weeps—in another room, where no one will see.

Then they sit for dinner. Egyptians don’t eat with foreigners. And so Joseph, torn between his old life and his new, eats by himself. He cannot yet reveal to his brothers that he is a foreigner and he cannot eat with the men he works with everyday. Trapped in his own grand scheme, he is alone.

Manipulations bring loneliness. When we try to control friends, control family members, or control neighbors, we alienate others and we isolate ourselves. We may believe we have the best intentions, but the cliché is true, good intentions line the road to hell. Joseph, weeping alone and eating alone, reminds us of the pain and suffering that comes from manipulations performed with good intentions. He hurts, his brothers fear, and his father mourns. The joy of the revelation to come will be scarred as a result of Joseph’s inability to be open and forthright.

Thankfully, God continues to work behind the scenes to make the reconciliation happen. But that comes later.

Prayer: Lord, guide us in ways of openness and reconciliation that we may fine true community. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Bill Searight is a writer and a Presbyterian minister serving congregations in northwest Louisiana. Bill and his wife, Sarah - also a Presbyterian minister - have recently become the parents of a daughter, Maggie.

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