{"id":857,"date":"2014-02-13T14:34:24","date_gmt":"2014-02-13T18:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/?p=857"},"modified":"2014-02-13T14:34:24","modified_gmt":"2014-02-13T18:34:24","slug":"var-_gaq-_gaq-_gaq-push_setaccount-ua-25646250-2-_gaq-push_trackpageview-function-var-ga-document-createelementscript-ga-type-textjavascript-ga-50","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/?p=857","title":{"rendered":"<script type=\"text\/javascript\">  var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-25646250-2']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);  (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text\/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https:\/\/ssl' : 'http:\/\/www') + '.google-analytics.com\/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();  <\/script>  <\/heat> Joseph, God, and Success &#8211; Held on Sunday, February 09, 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Outline of Post on the Scripture Session held on 02\/09\/14<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Introductory Remarks<\/li>\n<li>Background to today\u2019s Reading<\/li>\n<li>Reading Gen. 39: 01 &#8211; 23<\/li>\n<li>Discussion<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><b>Introductory Remarks<\/b><\/p>\n<p>I passed as a handout Walter Brueggemann\u2019s schema of the Joseph Narrative, Gen. 39 \u2013 50.\u00a0 [Walter Brueggemann, <i>Genesis: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, <\/i>Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville KT, 2010, page 297]\u00a0 The schema gives an overview of these fourteen chapters, the dominant themes that run through them and the relationship of the chapters to one another.<\/p>\n<p><b>Background to today\u2019s Reading: Gen. 39: 01 \u2013 23.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>As we approach this chapter there are a number of points to pay attention to, to recognize in the text itself.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The chapter opens and closes with reference to Yahweh being with Joseph, bringing him success.<\/li>\n<li>Throughout, however, there is no mention of Joseph\u2019s family.<\/li>\n<li>Again it is important to realize that it is a literary work and not a history book.\u00a0 Joseph symbolizes Israel, Potiphar and others symbolize Egypt.\u00a0 Egypt itself symbolizes imprisonment, slavery.<\/li>\n<li>Potiphar speaks not a word.<\/li>\n<li>His wife, however,\u00a0 commands center attention; a woman of power, used to getting her way, commanding with the expectation that she whatever she wasn\u2019t she will get.<\/li>\n<li>Sex also plays a central role, though the outcome is quite different than the previous chapter\u2019s presentation sex in the persons of Tamar and Judah.<\/li>\n<li>On a final note, Yahweh is presented throughout as being with Joseph.\u00a0 It reminded me of the very sentence in Matthew\u2019s Gospel, 28: 20, in which Jesus speaks his final words to this disciples, \u201cAnd behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.\u201d\u00a0 Of course, the \u201cyou\u201d is us.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The chapter itself can be subdivided into three episodes:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Vv.\u00a0 01 \u2013 06 establishes Joseph rise to power in his new situation because of Yahweh being with him and blessing him with success.<\/li>\n<li>Vv.\u00a0 07 \u2013 20 tell of the wife of Potiphar\u2019s failed attempt to seduce Joseph and in retaliation has her husband through him into the royal prison.\u00a0 Joseph\u2019s resistance is couched in words that reveal both the human and the divine dimension of life.<\/li>\n<li>Vv.\u00a0 21 \u2013 23 reveals, like a book end to the chapter, Yahweh\u2019s presence and blessing of Joseph even though imprisoned.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><b>Reading: Gen. 39: 01 &#8211; 23 <\/b><a href=\"http:\/\/usccb.org\/bible\/genesis\/39\">http:\/\/usccb.org\/bible\/genesis\/39<\/a>.\u00a0 <b><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Discussion<\/b><\/p>\n<p>We took a slightly different tack this time around.\u00a0 I first pointed out from the Handout, how this chapter fits into a thread that continues through chapter 41 under the heading of \u201cJoseph and the Empire (read Egypt)\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 With that background I read the entire chapter.\u00a0 I had intended to read the first section again but Rosemarie questioned in a general way why there is so much sex in the bible.\u00a0 It should come as no surprise that Rosemarie\u2019s question opened up to include not only why there is so much sex but why is there so much violence, war, dysfunction, etc. in the bible.\u00a0 Of course, this is the stuff of human life.\u00a0 We quickly recalled J. Edgar Hoover\u2019s uncovering of the seamy side of MLK, Jr. life.\u00a0 Then there was President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal.\u00a0 The 50<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary the Kennedy assassination was example of violence and his own numerous affairs.<\/p>\n<p>For some, the very presence of this material in \u201cGod\u2019s Book\u201d is evidence not to believe in this God.\u00a0 How are we to respond?\u00a0 Let\u2019s begin with a simple but profound observation the bible at its core is an account of the entrance of God into human history.\u00a0 And human history is filled with sex, violence, war, dysfunction, etc.\u00a0 As Ken remarked, the inclusion of these very human realities is not God\u2019s condoning of them but rather God\u2019s engaging us as we are.\u00a0 This is the underlying meaning of Paul in writing \u201cBut God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.\u201d [Rm. 08:05]\u00a0 For the believer this is really good news.\u00a0 In the words of Paul Tillich, \u201cYou are accepted.\u201d\u00a0 It is in being accepted as we are that we are empowered to become whom God intends us to be.\u00a0 The invitation is to love others as they are so that our love my invite them to be who they are.<\/p>\n<p>Our conversation brought out another critical point.\u00a0 In any discussion of the bible we inevitably select out some part of it and use it as evidence of what we hold to be the true interpretation of the part we selected out.\u00a0\u00a0 To exemplify what the modern world presence to us I offered an example that came up as I prepared for the discussion of today\u2019s passage.<\/p>\n<p>We might recall how Ken a few weeks ago argued that there has to be some historical truth to these stories; they aren\u2019t just literature.\u00a0 When critical historians have studied the \u201cJoseph Narrative\u201d they have uncovered a related story in Egyptian literature entitled, \u201cThe Tale of Two Brothers.\u201d What was discovered historically was ancient Egyptian literature; not Joseph\u2019s presence in Egypt. \u00a0The discovery of this material, which cannot really be to denied, raises a series of basic questions.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Did either narrative influence the authorship of the other narrative? If yes, then<\/li>\n<li>Which of the two accounts were written first?<\/li>\n<li>Finally which account influenced the writing of the other account.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Brueggemann thinks that the Egyptian account predates the biblical Joseph narrative.\u00a0 However, more traditionalist scholars argue the opposite.\u00a0 Now they both can\u2019t be true.\u00a0 And we, who are not scholars, are left to believe one or the other or neither.\u00a0 Such is the case not just with biblical debates, but extends to most significant social issues of the day.\u00a0 We tend to select out those who believe as we do and thus reinforce our position, right or wrong.\u00a0 A few examples from today\u2019s hot button issues: Fracking, Keystone Pipeline, Immigration, Same Sex Marriage, etc. etc. etc.<\/p>\n<p>As is often the case, we moved on only to find another point of discussion that somewhat baffled me.\u00a0 Faryl wanted to know how Potiphar could have interpreted Joseph\u2019s success as being a result of Yahweh\u2019s blessing him.\u00a0 I pointed to v. 3 \u201cWhen his master saw that the LORD\u00a0was with him and brought him success in whatever he did \u2026\u201d Although it seemed clear to me that this verse lets the audience of the final redactor know what that redactor thought; namely that the \u201cLORD,\u201d was recognized as blessing Joseph.\u00a0 The discussion went on for more than ten minutes. \u00a0It finally dawned on me that it might help if we had some sense of the various time frames involved in any biblical account.\u00a0 What follows are just generalizations, some timeframe that might be more easily remembered but not a product of scholarly work.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>The\u00a0 period of the Patriarchs begins around 3000 BC<\/li>\n<li>The period\u00a0 of the Kingdoms begins around 1000 BC<\/li>\n<li>The period of\u00a0 the final redaction of the Torah around 500 BC<\/li>\n<li>To place a date on the final form of the Bible I would suggest reading http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Development_of_the_Christian_biblical_canon.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Somehow we moved on.\u00a0 As we discussed the episode of the wife of Potiphar attempting but failing to seduce Joseph, I raised a question, what are the two reasons Joseph gives for refusing the wife\u2019s advances?\u00a0 Tim quickly identified those two reasons.\u00a0 There is first Joseph\u2019s sense of obligation to Potiphar who had entrusted all of his belongings to him.\u00a0 Secondly to violate his wife would be a sin against God.\u00a0 These two arguments can be generalized to any of our decisions.\u00a0 In our life we are always involved with both the human and the divine dimensions, even if we do not know it or think about it.\u00a0 It is the divine dimension, however, that is so different than what we would expect, understand.\u00a0 It is very a different world than the one we think we live in.\u00a0 When Jesus reminds us that we are the light of the world that light is an awareness of and appreciation for the Kingdom of God, the world as God intends it to be for us.\u00a0 To know and appreciate that world is to live in the light and to not know and \/ or appreciate that world is to live in darkness.<\/p>\n<p>In the final episode we are reminded that Joseph even though imprisoned found favor with Yahweh.\u00a0 Certainly Joseph was wrongly imprisoned.\u00a0 Even though the LORD was with him, the LORD did not stop unjust things from happening to Joseph.\u00a0 That is rather important to keep in mind.\u00a0 We ended our discussion by bringing out many examples of how we are imprisoned in our life today.\u00a0 Annette mentioned an example of a person living with Alzheimer.\u00a0 Tim thought than anyone living with an addition is imprisoned.\u00a0 There are many other ways in which we can be imprisoned, a false sense of what is important in terms of how we look, where we live, what kind of clothes we wear.\u00a0 Maybe others can identify more significant ways we are imprisoned.\u00a0 The message in these final verses is that God never abandons us.<\/p>\n<p>You are invited to respond to these or other questions that might arise within you as you read this passage.\u00a0 Your comments, observations, questions are welcomed.\u00a0 See \u201ccomment\u201d link below<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Outline of Post on the Scripture Session held on 02\/09\/14 Introductory Remarks Background to today\u2019s Reading Reading Gen. 39: 01 &#8211; 23 Discussion Introductory Remarks I passed as a handout Walter Brueggemann\u2019s schema of the Joseph Narrative, Gen. 39 \u2013 &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/?p=857\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,5],"tags":[15,7,19],"class_list":["post-857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-scripture","tag-historical-method","tag-modern-scripture-scholarship","tag-scripture-study"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=857"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":858,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857\/revisions\/858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rjr.richardross.annaerossi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}