Readings for today: Genesis 34-37
Am I my brother’s keeper? It’s one of the most powerful questions posed by the Bible. Originally asked by Cain when confronted over his brother’s murder, it ripples out through the pages of Scripture and into human history. Jacob and Esau. Joseph and his brothers. The fights between Moses and God’s people during the Exodus. The brutal period of the Judges where “everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” The civil strife between Saul and David and the kings of Israel and Judah. The betrayal of Judas. The conflict in the early church. All of it a result of humanity’s seeming inability to answer this fundamental question. Am I my brother or sister’s keeper? Am I responsible for the well-being of those around me? Am I focused on selflessly serving others or selfishly using others for my own benefit?
Joseph was clearly an entitled and spoiled young man. Jacob repeated the generational pattern of favoritism in his family by loving Joseph more than his brothers. Joseph was given special privileges. Joseph enjoyed special treatment. Joseph was given special gifts like his special robe that set him apart. This bred a level of pride and arrogance in Joseph so when he was given a vision of the future by God, he naturally shared it with his brothers in an effort to demonstrate how truly special he was not only in the eyes of their father but in the eyes of God himself. In so doing, Joseph failed to be his brother’s keeper. His brothers responded like most would in that situation. They grew resentful and bitter and angry. Joseph’s dreams held real world implications for them, impacting their future as a family and clan. So they begin plotting to get rid of their brother, first deciding to kill him and then settling for selling him into slavery. In so doing, they failed to be their brother’s keeper.
Now fast forward to our own day and age. So many of the problems in our world can be traced back to this fundamental question. Am I my brother or sister’s keeper? Of course, this forces us to ask who is my brother? Who is my sister? Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. day in our country. A day set aside to honor a man who truly understood that every human being was his brother or his sister. He sought not to defeat or destroy those who opposed his message but instead to win them over with unarmed truth and unconditional love. He refused to allow the truth of the gospel to be co-opted for partisan political and social agendas and he refused to given into hate. Even in the face of water hoses and dogs and all kinds of other violence, Dr. King remained committed to love as the only way forward. Think about how different things would be if we truly saw one another as a brother or sister? Regardless of ethnicity or economic status? Regardless of cultural or social standing? Regardless of political affiliation? How would it change our debates over important topics like immigration, national security, global diplomacy, and economic policy? Maybe even more importantly and practically, how would it change our relationship with our family, friends, and neighbors who may disagree with us?
Readings for tomorrow: Genesis 38-40