Relationships: A Great Study. . . Coming to a Theatre Near YOU!

L.I.F.T. (Living In Faith Together; Pasadena Presbyterian Church's Young Adult Ministry) is about to begin a really exciting study about emotions and relationships.

Our L.I.F.T. Bible Study meets on the first and third Wednesday of the month from 7-8:30pm at in room PH201 at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. The church is located on the corner of Colorado Blvd. and Madison Ave.

Our next meeting will be Wednesday, September 7th from 7-8:30pm.

We are really excited about this study. For the months of September and October, we are inviting members of our wider congregation to join us so that we can have an intergenerational study. We'll be using an incredibly creative, imaginative book called Friedman's Fables by Edwin Friedman. The book is filled with short fables about relationships, and it is really astute and thought-provoking. We know that people will gain great perspective from this book.

We will also be looking at the Psalms, a book of the Bible which highlights many human emotions. How do we bring our emotions into our relationships?

How can we build healthy relationships with our families, with partners, with peers, with authority figures, with friends, and with communities? Come explore with us!

If you'd like some more information, please e-mail Renee Roederer, Director of Young Adult Ministries at Pasadena Presbyterian Church. You can contact her at renee.roederer@yahoo.com.

Prayers of the People

Loving God,

As we contemplate You, as we give worship and praise to You, as we question You, as we offer our prayers to You, we give You thanks that You are beyond us. When we dream for this world, we see that Your dreams are often beyond what we can imagine. When we express love, we often encounter You in ways that are greater than we can anticipate. When we serve, we often see that a Power so much greater than ourselves is at work before us and beyond us. We stand in awe of Your greatness.

As we gather before You, as we hear words pointing to You, as we see Your love in the faces of our brothers and sisters here, we give You thanks that You are with us. You are with us and with this world. Beyond us, You come to us in Christ Jesus. You come to us in the Holy Spirit. You meet us here. You meet people on the other side of the world. And you call us to be together in and through You.

We give you thanks for the pastoral leadership in this congregation. We are grateful that Pastor Mark is with us today. Thank you for his words which so often comfort us and challenge us. We are grateful that Pastor Hyun is experiencing You in holy places. We are grateful for Pastor Luis and the service is he is helping to lead right now in the chapel. We are grateful for the years of wisdom and life that Pastor Art has experienced, that he so frequently shares them with us.

We give You thanks for each of these leaders, and we remember anew that we too are ministers. We are called to shepherd the lives around us - called to nurture, to service, to teach, yes, but to also have the boldness to be learners, learners from lives that are different from our own and yet human, like our own. We offer prayers for all the lives here - all the wisdom, experience, questions, gifts, and culture right here. We pray for our brothers and sisters in all three language-ministries of this church, for our Korean fellowship, for our Latino fellowship, for this fellowship which is gathered in this room.

As we continue in worship, send us out into this world - a world with great needs, a world that our Bigger-and-Beyond God comes to meet.

We pray for all the inequities and struggles of this world. . . .

For the East Coast as it is ravaged by the Hurricane Irene. . .

For the Southeast as it is ravaged by drought. . .

For farmers and individuals who are reaping a healthy harvest. . .

For people in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya, who don't know where their next meal will come from. . .

For all students as they begin a new year of school. . .

For Foster Children in Southern California who are lacking school supplies. . .

We pray for the needs of this church - for those who are sick or recovering from sickness, for those who are struggling in their relationships, for those who are out of work, and for those who are looking for a new way to serve.

In love for our people in this sanctuary and in love for people beyond this sanctuary, we are bold now to live as Your children and to pray the prayer that Jesus taught us, saying. . .

Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy Name,

Thy Kingdom come,

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil,

For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever.

Amen.

-A Prayer of the Community at Pasadena Presbyterian Church

Prayers for Grocery Workers and Management

Dear Faith Leaders and Grocery Worker Support Team,

Good Morning! I hope this email finds you all well. I wanted to give you an update on the grocery worker’s contract negotiation news.

On Monday morning, anxious to hear the results of the third and final strike vote by workers, CLUE-LA headed over to Ralphs on 3^rd and Vermont. There, the president of UFCW Local 770 announced that the workers had voted to approve a strike by 90%. However, this does not mean that a strike will happen, but the workers may choose to do so if negotiations don’t produce a fair proposal on the side of the companies.

In fact, a federal negotiator requested that both sides return to the negotiation table this next week on Monday, August 29^th. The workers continue to say that they absolutely don’t want to strike, but they will if need be.

This leaves us as clergy and faith leaders with the opportunity and (in my faith) obligation to pray for Monday’s negotiations. Those of us who will be leading religious services this weekend, please- if you are so moved, offer up a prayer for these workers who are in great need of affordable healthcare and fair wages. Don’t forget to also pray for the companies, that they will choose people over profit and respond in uprightness towards their workers.

I have included a prayer that you may choose to draw from. Remember, I am a Presbyterian Christian pastor and so this prayer likely reflects my understanding and my theology. Please feel free to adapt this prayer according to your faith tradition.

Dear God, we call you be different names throughout the ages, in different voices, in distinct languages, but today we unite with faith communities in one voice to ask for your hope in a difficult time.

We pray specifically today for the local grocery workers of Ralphs, Vons and Albertsons who have been working now for over 5 months without contracts. Negotiations will resume on Monday but we have heard of the possibility of a strike. We know God that nobody wins in a strike, but we understand also that the workers need affordable healthcare and fair wages if there are to support themselves and their families.

We pray for these workers, many of whom we see weekly on our trip to the market. We know their faces; we know their names; they are our community. We also ask for the owners and decision makers of these stores, that you may transform their hearts so that they too will negotiate in a just manner that reflects your compassion deep inside. Specifically, we ask that if there is a strike, that these companies will not choose to lock out their workers, causing even more devastation in a time that is already intensely difficult.

We offer this prayer and these concerns to you God and trust that you hear them and hold them close to your heart. Amen.

In closing, I wanted to continue to thank you on behalf of the workers for your continued support. Yesterday I found a link on the UFCW Local 770 in which they had posted the pictures that I had taken of some of you on your delegations. Please feel free to take a look:

http://www.ufcw770.org/node/222

in addition, here are some other stories and news clips you may want to read:

http://www.ufcw770.org/

http://www.ufcw770.org/news

In Solidarity,

Peace and Blessings,

Pastor Erin Tamayo

CLUE-LA

etamayo@cluela.org

Sermon: Vision and Fulfillment

SCRIPTURES:

Psalm 138; Isaiah 51:1; Matthew 16: 13-20; Romans 12: 1-2, 4-8

Following Woody Garvin and Renée Roederer may not be the best way to write a chapter on “How to Succeed in Preaching Without Really Trying,” but I shall do my best to emulate their excellence this morning.

As many of you know, preachers at PPC tend to follow the Revised Common Lectionary, which is a three-year cycle of scripture readings used by many denominations around the world. You could, for example, be worshipping today in a Presbyterian church in New York City or a Lutheran church in Minnesota and find the preacher du jour using the same scripture texts for his or her sermon.

Nearly every Sunday the lectionary offers a Psalm and readings from the Old Testament, Gospel and Epistles. Year A (in which we are now) uses Gospel readings from Matthew, Year B uses Mark, and Year C uses Luke (the three Synoptic Gospels). Readings from the Gospel of John are interspersed throughout the three-year cycle. The other readings, to a greater or lesser extent, pivot around the Gospel lesson for the day. A preacher using the lectionary might, theoretically, never need to preach on the same text for 12 years.

Of course, nothing is quite that simple. For example, the Epistle reading for the Day of Pentecost is always Acts 2: 1-21 because there is no other telling of the accounts of that momentous day. Christmas Eve uses the same Gospel lesson — can you imagine Christmas Eve without the Luke story of shepherds and angels? When I last preached here, on the 4^th Sunday of Eastertide, the 23^rd Psalm was the lectionary psalm for all three years. What can I say? It happens.

One other thing I learned as I prepared for today’s sermon is that there are actually two versions of the Lectionary for the Sundays between Pentecost and Advent, what we call Ordinary Time and others call Proper: a semicontinuous track, which moves through stories and characters in the Old Testament and acomplementary track, which ties the Old Testament texts to the theme of the Gospel texts for that day. ¹ While Presbyterians tend to follow the semicontinuous track, I used the complementary readings today because of how well they tied to the Gospel text that my mother just read. In fact, while it often happens that a preacher focuses on just one of the four readings for the day, we’re actually using all four selections today, including Psalm 138, which we sang for our opening hymn.

Today’s Gospel reading is one of those very familiar texts that we often gloss over simply because is it so well known. It’s also a text that appears in all three synoptic Gospels, but with crucial differences. Luke (9:18-20) uses just three verses and the setting has Jesus praying. In both Mark and Matthew, Jesus is on the road to Cesarae Phillipi. In all three accounts, Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” and in all three versions, the disciples respond that the crowds compare Jesus to John the Baptist, Elijah or one of the ancient prophets. So far, everything is pretty much in synch between the Gospels.

Then Jesus asks, “But who do you say that I am.” It is Peter, the most impetuous of the disciples, who answers but the three Gospel writers phrase that answer differently. In Mark, Peter says, “You are the Messiah.” In Luke, Peter responds, “You are the Messiah (or the Christ) of God.” Matthew reports that Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”

Then Matthew, alone of the three writers, goes on to record Jesus saying (using Eugene Peterson’s words in The Message):

"God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn't get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I'm going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out. And that's not all. You will have complete and free access to God's kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven.” ²

This addition to the story by Matthew has been the subject of endless debate for centuries. First, of course, is the inclusion of the final section by Matthew and not by the other Gospel writers. Dr. Lyle HYPERLINK "http://udtslearning.net/user/view.php?id=37&course=1"Vander Broek, Professor of New Testament at Dubuque Theological Seminary, is not alone in believing that Matthew’s use of the addendum was because he had a much higher opinion of Peter than did Mark.

For Roman Catholics, of course, the metaphor of Peter as the rock on which Jesus would build the church is the cornerstone of its entire hierarchical system — Pope Benedict XVI is the 264^th successor to the Peter as the head of the Roman Catholic church. However, Pastor Charles E. Hambrick Stowe responds:

“Protestants, on the other hand, have argued that it is Peter’s FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST that is the foundation of the church. In Isaiah 51 — Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug, the prophet identifies Abraham and Sarah as the first ‘rocks’ dug from the quarry of faithfulness.” In the NT,” Stowe continues, “I Peter picks up the image that Christ is called ‘a living stone, though rejected by mortals, yet chosen and precious in God’s sight.’ Now we are called to be like Jesus himself and like Peter and others down through the generations who have confessed Jesus as Lord and Savior: ‘Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house’ (I Peter 2:5).” ³

Of course, this is an important distinction — it’s one of the bedrocks on which Reformed Theology and our Presbyterian faith is based (although, to be perfectly candid, there are times — for example in the midst of interminable committee meetings — when the idea of having a Pope in charge seems attractive).

But it terms of where I’m headed today, it’s not the most important part of this Gospel passage. The key portion of this passage, it seems to me, is that this is the moment when Jesus established the church. Why he chose this seemingly unlikely vehicle to further God’s Kingdom is not for us to say. What is important is that he did it. This morning the question for our Adult Education class that my Mom will be leading is “Why do we need a church?” Well, at least one answer is because Jesus said so! “The church,” says Pastor Stowe, “is essential to Christian faith and theology. It is not merely a means to achieve a greater goal, nor is it just a voluntary association of like-minded individuals. It is an article of faith … When Jesus gives ‘the keys of the kingdom’ and grants authority to ‘bind’ and ‘loose,’ he is creating the church that is the epicenter of the Father’s answer to Jesus’ prayer that God’s kingdom will come, that his will may be done ‘on earth as it is in heaven.’ (Matt. 6:10)” ⁴ It is, in one word, our vision.

If Matthew’s Gospel lesson is our vision, then the 12^th chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans acts as a blueprint as to how we fulfill it. This is not a unique scripture; Paul uses similar — and perhaps even more familiar — words in his first letter to the Corinthians and in the letter to the Ephesians.

So let’s listen again to the word of God from Romans, chapter 12, verses 1-8, reading from Eugene Peterson’s The Message:

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life — your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life — and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.

If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.” ⁵

There’s enough for a dozen sermons in this passage but one thing in it really stands out to me for us here at PPC in the year 2011: We need to stop acting as if we were — in Peterson’s words — chopped-off fingers or cut-off toes. We need to recommit ourselves to the concept of Many Gifts, One Spirit, to being fully engaged members of Christ’s body — this church in this time and in this place. Individually, we can do little; as a body, we can help God work miracles.

This is a critical juncture in the life of Pasadena Presbyterian Church and we all need to answer God’s call, just as people have done for more than 135 years. We stand on the shoulders of saints who have come before us; Dr. Jon M. Walton, in a recent sermon at the First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York, called this legacy “drinking water from wells that we have not dug.” ⁶

However, we need not just to honor these saints with lip service but to learn from what their lives and service can teach us. And not just them but from saints around us, as well. “We grow as Christians,” says Ellen F. Davis, “by listening acutely to others, living and dead, within the community of faith, and letting their authority be a shaping force in our lives. That is what it means to stand within a tradition.” ⁷

How do we respond to God’s call? I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but here are three things for you to consider in the coming days as we move toward a new programmatic year at Pasadena Presbyterian Church.

1. Pray. Every day. Start with the prayer list each week’s bulletin, but don’t stop there. Pray for people you know who are not on the list. Head Christ’s call and pray for one enemy — just one — this week. Pray intentionally for this church, for the city in which you live, for Pasadena, for this state, this nation and our world. Consider joining the Friday morning 9 a.m. prayer group when it resumes in September if your schedule permits. Do you realize that we have Korean members who gather each morning at 5:30 a.m. for prayer? Come and join; prayer is a universal language.

2. Learn. “Many of you have encouraged me in my online studies and have asked what I hope to do when I’m finished with the curriculum. The answer is, “I don’t know but I’m having a great time learning.” After a lifetime of “accomplishing things” — in my case, putting out a magazine every other month, a 300-page directory every year and dozens of other tasks every day (along with chairing numerous church committees, and wrestling with budgets, health and other financial and personnel matters here at PPC) — I had forgotten the sheer exuberant joy of learning. Looking back 45 years, what I remember about my college education are not so much the formal classes but reading books like Paul Tillich’s The Shaking of the Foundations, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together or Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s A Coney Island of the Mind … simply reveling in learning for its own sake. That’s what’s happening in my online courses — that and interacting with others who are walking paths similar — and yet quite different — to mind

So I encourage you — indeed, implore you — to learn … about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit — the whole panoply of our faith. Participate in an adult education class sometime this year; in fact, join the group this morning even if you haven’t attended before — every class is a new adventure. Consider a Bible study — we have at least five that meet regularly (men’s group, women’s group, Bible and Bagels, Presbyterian Women and L.I.F.T., our young adult Bible study). Do you know that every other week Doug Dailey and a group of committed Christians gather for theological study? Consider being part of that group. Commit this year to joining an Advent or Lenten study group. Heck, you could even sign up for online classes at Dubuque Theological Seminary.

3. Find a way to make use of those special gifts that God has given. There are ministries of caring, teaching, singing, and serving in many other ways here at PPC. Your call may be something you already do in your work life but have you never considered offering to the service of the Lord?

It may be a way you’ve never considered. Three years ago we had never considered an E-Waste Collection program. Thanks to the vision of people like Karen Lee, we’re holding another event on Saturday. The money we raise will be important to our Young Adult Ministry — the earth we help save will be even more so.

Many of you commiserated with me when you learned that Christine Cox and I were taking a group of 10 high school youth on a mission trip to Northern California two weeks ago. As you can see, we survived — and it was a mind-stretching experience not only for the youth but also for the adults. I’m sorry you missed it … and, oh by the way, we need Church School teachers and youth advisors this year. Perhaps God is calling you for that important task.

There are, of course, many other areas. I gave you a break by not mentioning Stewardship in this sermon (oops, did I just say the dreaded “S” word?) We need everyone on board this year and next and the year after … If you want other suggestions, see me after worship or talk to Carol Kaufman or speak to Mark Smutny or to many other people about how you can get involved.

Let me close with the way author Maria Harris presents the challenge: “No longer is it enough to be passive members receiving a word told us by someone else, filing that word away to be taken out for a reading now and then. No longer is it enough to leave the work of the church to pastors and ordained leaders, as if the total responsibility was theirs. Instead … the word of God is addressing us, saying something to us, making demands on us, and asking us to live that word in our lives. We are a people called by the gospel, called to make a difference in our world.” ⁸

Let it be so, beginning today, for all of us. Come, labor on! May we be the church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out. Amen.

-Elder Robert Thomas and the Community at Pasadena Presbyterian Church

_______________________

¹ Feasting on the Word. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors. © 2011, Westminster John Knox Press. Introduction.

² Scripture taken from The Message by Eugene Peterson; page 1777. Copyright ©1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

³ Charles E. Hambrick Stowe, Pastor, First Congregational Church of Ridgefield, Conn. Quoted in Feasting on the Word; op cit. Proper 16.

⁴ Ibid

⁵ The Message by Eugene Peterson; op cit. Pages 2054-55.

⁶ From a sermon by The Reverend Dr. Jon M. Walton on July 3, 2011 at The First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York. © Copyright 2011 by Jon M. Walton.

⁷ Getting Involved With God: Rediscovering the Old Testament by Ellen F. Davis. © Copyright 2001 by Ellen F. Davis. Published by Cowley Publications, Rowman & Littlefield, Publishers, Pg 101

⁸ Maria Harris: Fashion Me a People: Curriculum in the Church. Louisville/Westminster John Knox Press, 1989, Pgs. 23 and 24. Quoted in Basics of Christian Education by Karen B. Tye. © Copyright 2000 by Karen B. Tye. (Chalice Press) Pgs 27-28

Faith in the News!

How are faith and religion in the news this week?

Here are three news stories which feature religion this week: a story about growing up Muslim in a post-9/11 world, a story about religion and education, and a story about religion in American politics.

Growing Up Muslim After Sept. 11 Test of Faith

Pope: College is More Than Job Training. It is a Journey to Truth.

American Politics More Religious than American Voters

Updates in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya

We continue to keep the children and adults in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya in our thoughts and prayers as drought, famine, political turmoil, and a refugee crisis are affecting the region. We invite you to stay aware of conditions on the ground and to consider concrete ways to aid those who are currently suffering.

Let's stand in solidarity with the people in the Horn of Africa in thoughts, prayers, awareness, and action.

'Kids Are Definitely Starving,' Says NW Aid Worker in Somalia

Somalia: A Very Man-Made Disaster

Drought Puts Ethiopia Teetering on the Brink of Food Crisis

Kenya-Somalia: A Refugee's Story

Young Adults in the News!

As a young adult community, we want to stay aware of the particular gifts that young adults bring to our world as well as the particular challenges that young adults face. We are also curious to learn about culture and trends among young adults.

Here are some recent stories that concern young adults:

Young Adults Use Cell Phones to Avoid Social Interaction

Young Adults Graduate From Foster Care Program

As Young Adults Head to College, Their Next Challenge May Be Their Roommate

CLUE LA Supports Southern California Grocery Workers

CLUE LA (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice) has been participating strongly in efforts to bring the management from several Southern California grocery chains back to the negotiation table with local workers and their unions. The grocery workers at Ralphs, Vons, and Albertsons (owned by Kroger Co., Safeway Inc., and Supervalu Inc. respectively) have been working without a contract for five months. Kroger, Safeway, and Supervalu are negotiating collectively as a group.

Much is at stake in the conflict, including a potential strike by workers as they struggle to negotiate terms of their contract. The deepest point of conflict concerns health care premiums. According to several news stories, Kroger and Safeway are calling for workers to contribute as much as $10,000 - $11,000 per year to their health care coverage, which is 50% of total annual wages for many workers.

CLUE LA has been participating in delegations at particular Ralphs, Vons, and Albertsons stores around Southern California, working to bring management back to the negotiating table. Local government leaders have participated as well. Though the national economy is struggling, CLUE LA argues by use of analytical studies that profits at these grocery chains have actually increased. They advocate that management take this into account as contracts are renegotiated and argue that it is unjust for these chains to require such a change in premiums while profits are increasing.

Here are some news stories which discuss this conflict:

SoCal Grocery Workers Ready to Reject Latest Health Proposal, Strike

S. California Grocery Workers Press for Contract

Grocery Store Workers Poised to Go On Strike

Sermon: "Despite"

Romans 8:28, 31-39

Genesis 45:1-15

‘I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, “Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there—since there are five more years of famine to come—so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.”And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father how greatly I am honoured in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.’

The revelation was a long time coming, but the reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers was just beginning.

Perhaps you remember the larger story of Joseph's life - a story that involves betrayal, estrangement, slavery, false accusations, and imprisonment. That's a story with a tremendous amount of pain. And it all started when Joseph was a young person, when he was especially vulnerable. It all started with some bravado and some jealousy.

Maybe a little bravado and a little jealousy was to be expected. Joseph was one of the youngest sons of Jacob, a Patriarch of Scripture. Joseph was also the son of Rachel, the wife that Jacob adored. As the story of this family unfolds in the book of Genesis, Rachel dies during childbirth as Joseph's younger brother Benjamin is coming into the world. For this reason - and perhaps for other reasons - Jacob looked to Joseph as the favored son, the one who reminded him so deeply of the wife he loved. He gave Joseph favors. He seemed to let him off the hook at times. And as scripture tells us the story, Jacob gave Joseph an expensive, snazzy coat of many colors, one that reminded his older brothers that he was the favorite son, that he had access to their father in ways that they did not, that he had it easier. This favoritism led to some bravado on Joseph's part and a great deal of jealousy among his brothers. That seems understandable.

But it didn't remain there. Sadly - tragically - those emotions and ways of interacting led to horrific choices. On a day of routine work, everything changed. Joseph's brothers were doing what they normally did, shepherding flocks in a nearby town. Jacob asked Joseph to travel to his brothers, to see how they were doing, and then to come back with a report.

But when his older brothers saw Joseph in the distance, approaching as he wore that despised coat of his, their jealousy began to take tangible form. They planned to do what is unconscionable. They threw him into a pit and taunted him. And hateful language like that can often take on a life of its own, empowering hatred to form in even deeper ways. Joseph's brothers did what was unconscionable. They took Joseph out of that pit only to sell him to some traders that were passing by. They took their own brother and sold him into slavery, not knowing what would happen to him or where he would end up. They took that beloved coat away from him and then dipped it in the blood of a slaughtered animal. They returned home and told their father a despicable lie: Joseph, your son, was slaughtered by a wild animal. We found his coat on our way home - the remains of our brother who is now lost. They betrayed their brother, sent him into unknown territory without safety, and covered up their abuse with lies.

And the brothers have no idea what happens to Joseph after that. They have no idea for decades. But we learn of more difficulties in Egypt, his new land. Though he's a slave, Joseph prospers in certain ways and is put in charge of his master Potiphar's household, that is until Potiphar's wife makes false accusations about Joseph, and he ends up in prison. Though he's a prisoner, Joseph prospers in certain ways, and he's put in charge of the other prisoners. Things are getting somewhat better, that is until he is given a potential way out of that prison but is forgotten and left there. After Joseph interpreted some dreams that two servants of Pharaoh had one night, those servants promised to make Joseph's name known to Pharaoh and to get him out of prison. But when one of them - Pharaoh's cupbearer - was freed and reappointed to his position, he backtracked from his promise. Joseph is forgotten entirely and he remains in prison for two more years.

But then something happens to change that reality in prison. Something rather unexpected happens, something that leads to some unexpected good in Joseph's life. Pharaoh - the King of Egypt - has a dream too, and it's one he can't understand at all. He searches far and wide for someone who might interpret the dream for him, and that's when the cupbearer finally remembers his promise. He speaks highly of Joseph and has him summoned from prison to interpret the dream.

Joseph tells Pharaoh that major events are about to affect the region of Egypt and beyond, that seven years of unbelievable abundance and plenty are about to happen in the land, but after those, seven more years of unbelievable famine would plague that same land. Joseph suggests that Pharaoh find a wise person to store up food in the years of abundance so that the people will be saved during the famine.

And that's when Joseph's life changes radically. Pharaoh appoints Joseph to be that wise person, to take charge and responsibly plan ahead so that many lives can be saved. All of the sudden, Joseph, a slave and a prisoner is blessed unexpectedly with freedom and with purpose.

Joseph prospers greatly in this role. At least outwardly. We might wonder as we read between the lines of those years of abundance and plenty and leadership and wealth. Did they help Joseph escape the difficulties of the past? Did Joseph think of his brothers? Did he continue to feel his pain? Did he ever confide in anyone about what he had experienced, that his first home was in Canaan? Or did he keep silent about his past and all that pain? Did he try to keep it out of his mind and emotions just to try to move on with his life? Did he have moments when he couldn't escape those memories - when they kept him up at night?

We don't know the answers to these questions, but we can imagine and ask them. But we do know this: Joseph's pain and experiences are felt anew when an unexpected encounter makes them unavoidable. Joseph's brothers show up in Egypt, seeking grain to feed their families in Canaan. They show up in his presence, and they don't recognize him. The very ones who sent him away and did what is unconscionable are suddenly at his feet, desperate for his assistance. Can you imagine what that must have been like?

Maybe Joseph felt a thousand different feelings as his brothers reminded him of so much of his earlier life. Maybe it was too much for him to handle. Joseph gives the brothers grain but accuses them of being spies. He yells at them and demands that they return with their youngest brother Benjamin and keeps another brother in prison until they do that very thing. As his brothers depart from him, Joseph doesn't really know if they'll return, if he'll see their faces again, or if he'll have the words he wants to say if they do come back.

But they do return, this time with Benjamin, leading us to the scripture lesson for today. Joseph can no longer contain himself. The revelation of his identity is a long time coming, but the reconciliation between Joseph and his brothers is just beginning.

Joseph's brothers must have been terrified at the revelation of his identity. Their past was now unavoidable too. They were frightened but they also seemed to be repentant of their actions. So in our lesson today, Joseph gives some words of hope to his brothers.

Even though this scripture text doesn't use it directly, it seems to me that Joseph is proclaiming a word which captures God's goodness while also looking tragedy and wrongdoing straight between the eyes, naming them for what they are. That word is 'despite.'

'Despite.' Joseph seems to say to his brothers, "Despite what you did to me, God has brought unexpected good into my life. God has been with me and has accompanied me through it all. Despite what was unconscionable, I have been preserved by God's grace. And now, through the grace of God, I am in a position to be a person of blessing, despite the wrongs you have done toward me."

'Despite.' That just might be a word for us today too. Despite the tragedies we have experienced, God has not abandoned us. Despite the pains we have endured, good has accompanied us as well - sometimes unexpectedly - along the way. Despite the sin-sick world we live in, sin will not have the final say. 'Despite' might just be a word for us today too.

But it's also a word to be used with caution.

When tragedy and pain strike and individual or a family, people often say a lot of unhelpful things. Maybe you've heard some unhelpful words in the midst of your own pain, or perhaps you've spoken words like these only to regret them later. In the face of sickness, loss, or death, we hear these words like these all the time: "Everything happens for a reason." "God must have needed your family member in heaven." Or maybe with good intentions - maybe even referencing Paul's words from Romans - people say, "Good will come out of this. God works all things together for good." A conviction that God works in all things for good will hopefully sustain us, but sometimes people voice this conviction in such a way that they seem to convey that the tragedy itself is good! Good will come out of this, therefore, let's give thanks for what has happened.

People likely use phrases like these because they don't know what to say. And because they really love those in the midst of such pain, they want to find some way to make it all better. But if you've ever been on the receiving end of such statements, I imagine you've felt the way I've felt in those moments. You just want your pain to be acknowledged for what it is. And if it involves injustice, you want that injustice to be called out exactly for what it is, not for it to be watered down or rose-colored in some way.

Despite is powerful word. It shouldn't be thrust upon someone when they've been wronged or when they are grieving. We don't need to make a person's situation "all better," by telling them that good will come despite this tragedy. In the midst of raw pain, people rarely need to hear explanations or generalizations but instead, need to have our presence in the midst of that very pain. Who knows? That might be one small form of unexpected good that shows up despite difficult experiences - the presence of loving people who are willing to show up in the pain of others, without cleaning it up but giving hope and love right in the midst of it.

The perspective of the word 'Despite' doesn't need to be thrust upon someone. Instead, it's often articulated by individuals and families in their own time and with their own unique ways of expressing that truth. Joseph does that in his own way. At one point he even says to his brothers, "So it was not you who sent me here; but God." I'll be honest and say that my response would be different. I don't believe that God creates such betrayal and abuse for the sake of something good. But who knows? Maybe with these words, Joseph and the author of this story are saying something different than that.. Maybe Joseph is saying that God has made meaning of his life and called him to an ultimate purpose despite what his brothers did to him, that God made him into the person he was to become despite their wrongdoing. I'm not sure. But I know that scripture is filled with a myriad of expressions in which people find all sorts of ways of saying that God has been with them despite the evil that has come their way. Part of of our calling as people of faith is to put all those voices together - Joseph, Job, Jesus, Mary, the Syrophenician woman, the apostle Paul and others- to put those voices and perspectives into conversation and to bring them into the very presence we provide when people are hurting around us.

'Despite.' Perhaps this simple word - this one word - can be a faithful posture that we embody as we practice the Christian life. In this word, we say that God is with us, that God is with all those who are suffering, that God is suffering alongside us and them, seeking to love in such powerful ways that it changes the world. The word 'despite' is an articulation of grace. Evil, suffering, and injustice will not have the last word. At the same time, in this word - this one word - we are invited to call evil, suffering, and injustice exactly what they are: aberrations from what God hopes for us. The word 'despite' is an articulation that tragedy is real and painful. Our partnership to suffer alongside others when they're in pain participates in the love which will have the last word.

So we are commissioned into this world, into this city, into our homes, into the places that are entirely outside of our comfort zone to be people who live with and for others - in all the difficult situations in which they might be found. Perhaps some forms of reconciliation are just beginning, even in and through you. May it be. Amen.

-Renee Roederer, Director of Young Adult English Ministries, and the community at Pasadena Presbyterian Church