Whenever I read a story like today's reading from Genesis ( 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28 ) I am filled with wonder. I wonder how anyone can say this is the literal word of God. That is, as opposed to the inspired word of God. As certain as it is that these are a faithful people trying to have a relationship with God, they are also terribly fallible. How else can we speak of brothers throwing their very own brother in a well and then selling him off in slavery? I mean, is this a holy, God-like plan? This is almost monstrous. Sadly though, it seems like some of the real life stuff we might even see today in the news.
Many of the stories in Hebrew scripture show blatantly fallible, struggling and sometimes murderous people trying to stay faithful to God in everything they live and do. They so desperately want to see God in all the stuff that is going on around them. They are actually recording their love affair with God at their best and quite literally, at their worst*.
What we see though is the story of jealous men ( brothers all ) who have a younger brother with a "manufactured difference" ( he's a "dreamer" ). Do we use manufactured differences as a reason to hate? as a reason to act shamefully? as a justification for some "righteous act" on our part?
So the lessons of these ancient people do have some similarity to us today don't they? Is the Old Testament to be a justification of similar actions today? Is this God's official guide to behavior?
I don't think so. But as in anything in life, we can see the loving hand of God and a message in it if we are willing to open our eyes.
Perhaps one of the more interesting aspects of this story come later when the "dreamer" and his dreams are what comes around to bite the brothers in the ass so to speak. Super story, super relevant for us. Great messages.
As a gay man, I can fully identify with being the different one, "the dreamer". Joseph's coat certainly emits a gay vibe for me. As a queer person, do you know how it feels to be thrown in the well, unliked, despised or downright hated? Are there any Presidential candidates that are speaking out like they want to throw us away, unneeded, unwanted? ( Google: kill the gays conference ). We are in the position of being Joseph all over again. It is not enough to say we will triumph later or simply that we know that "the Father" loves us ( more? ) The LGBTQ community must stand up precisely because God loves us equally and we must not let history, however ancient, repeat itself.
Reflections and a call to action.
Side note:
* The worst: for those so called literalists out there - and I mean way out there. I recall Lot ( also in Genesis, ( 19:1-8 ) , who as a "holy man" welcomes two travelers ( angels actually ). An angry mob of men from the village come to show the travelers who is boss. The mob wants to "know" them ( i.e rape them, an ancient / modern way of showing power over someone, of degrading someone. ) Lot says he will not send out these travelers, he will not submit the angels to this mob. What does lot do? He says, here take my daughters! You can hardly believe you are reading this in holy scripture! The message some knuckleheads derive from this? Not that rape is evil pure and simple but that being gay is bad. It never mentions anything about being gay in the scripture. What it mentions is a mob of men wanting to gang rape two innocent travelers. So much for literal translations. Biblical scholars agree, the message of Sodom and Gamorrah is not anti-gay, it's that they were destroyed for their inhospitable behavior and their greed.
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