Given By Rev. Madison Shockley February 24, 2019
The reading today tells the story of Joseph and his brothers. The brothers were going to kill him but instead placed Joseph in a pit. One brother went back to the pit and rescued Joseph only to sell him into slavery. He ended up in Egypt. Joseph had the ability to interpret dreams. After interpreting the Pharaoh’s dreams, Joseph went from slave to prime minister. During a famine, Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to get food and ended up meeting Joseph. When Joseph revealed his identity, the brothers feared that Joseph would take his revenge. Instead, Joseph forgave them. In America, our history has us selling our brothers/sisters into slavery. In 2019, it is the 400th anniversary of the beginning of slavery. By the time of the Civil War, there were about 4 million slaves. While slavery officially ended in 1865, the oppression continues still today. Lynching was/is used as a way to continue the oppression. Like Joseph, we must work to bring our family back together. This is the only way for us to thrive as a nation and redeem our societal soul.
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