"The View from Prison" sermon preview

This week's sermon invites us into the stories of Joseph from the Old Testament and John the Baptist from the New Testament.  At first glance, their lives probably seem all together different.  They lived in very different times and they fulfilled very different callings in their lives.  And yet, if we step back in the midst of all the particular differences, there are also a number of bigger picture similarities.

Both Joseph and John were born out of prayer to parents who were advanced in years.  Both had mothers who were barren and both were told from an early age that they had a call to follow or a God ordained purpose for their lives.  And both of them ended up in prison for reproving a woman, which is where our scripture texts for the morning enter into the story, Genesis 39:6b-23 and Matthew 14:1-12.

Both Joseph and John were faithful and lived out their lives in upright ways; and yet in the midst of living out their callings, they got into trouble with the authorities over women.  Joseph was nearly seduced by the wife of his master, but escaped with his morality in tack.  Yet the woman that he refused falsely accused him of trying to take advantage of her and Joseph wound up in prison.  John was calling people to repentance and baptizing them in the river in preparation for the coming Messiah.  He found fault with Herod for taking his brother Philip's wife, Herodias, as his own.  Because of this declaration, Herod imprisoned John.

Both were called and both were faithful, yet both found themselves in prison.  Can we imagine what must have been going through their minds while they were in prison?  We know that God was with them during those times and yet I have to wonder how often they found themselves overwhelmed by the unfairness of their circumstances.  How often they wondered if they had made a mistake or misheard what it was that God had called them to.  We know that while he was in prison, John sent his disciples to Jesus seeking confirmation that Jesus really was the messiah.  Joseph and John were both faithful.  God was with them, and yet they still found themselves in difficult circumstances, a reality that can happen to us as well.

But then things become more troubling for us.  Both were imprisoned even though they did what was right, but both did not get out with a happy ending.  While Joseph was called on to interpret a dream, was released from prison and made second in command in all of Egypt; John the Baptist was beheaded because of a promise that Herod made to Herodias' daughter.  We like to believe that if we are faithful to God that all will be well and we will live happy lives.  Yet these stories invite us to step back and take a bigger picture look at what God promises us and what is good in our lives.   It requires a bigger picture perspective to find the hope within the turmoil.

We like to think that if something makes us happy that it is good.  This is not always true.  Moreover in God's bigger picture plan for the world, there are times that God will allow bad things to happen to us for a greater good.  And so it should not be about what makes me happy but about what makes me holy, about living faifhfully despite the circumstances that surround us, about trusting in God regardless of what comes our way.  Though John's "bad ending" is not what we would hope for, we can believe with confidence that upon reaching heaven, he heard the words, "well done, good and faithful servant."  And though Joseph's ending is one that we might sometimes envy, he certainly had on going challenges from his position of power.  Moreover, we can see in Gen 47 how he was corrupted by his power, how he took advantage of the people's desperate need for Pharaoh's gain.

As you consider the lives of Joseph from the Old Testament and John the Baptist from the New Testament, reflect on these questions in a time of silence, through journaling or in group dialogue.

1. What purpose does God have for your life?  In what ways is God calling you to be a part of God's kingdom purposes on earth?

2. What has been your "view from prison?"  How have you looked at difficult circumstances that you have experienced and where have you seen God in the midst of those trying times?

3. What is it in life that imprisons you, that holds you back from living fully into God's promises and trusting God in all circumstances?

4. How do we reconcile the different endings to these stories?  What does this mean for you in your faith journey?

5. How have you experienced God using difficult circumstances in your life for bigger kingdom purposes or to bring about growth in your faith or your community?

May Jesus richly bless you in this week ahead, leading you in His kingdom purposes. Amen