God's Will

Homily for Sunday, August 7 Buck Mountain Church

Lessons:
Genesis 37: 1-4, 12-28
Psalm 105: 1-6, 16-22
Romans 10: 5-15
Matthew 14: 22-33

The collect appointed for today, like many others, could be a little sermon on its own. "Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will." As I interpret the collect, it suggests three things. The first is we want to follow God's will, but we find it hard to do so. Secondly, to follow God's will means to think and do what is right. Finally, the only way we can manage to do that is if God enables us. Hence, we pray. Does this really mean that whether we follow God's will or not is completely up to God? Surely human free will also has a role to play. How do we discern God's will for us?

In his famous book, The Will of God, Leslie Weatherhead offers a convincing clarification. He wrote the book because he didn't agree with people who explained away awful tragedies, like the death of a child, by saying they were the result of "God's will." He said such expressions made no sense, adding, "Surely we cannot identify as the will of God something for which a man would be locked up in jail." Weatherhead explained God's will by dividing it into three parts. The first is what he called "the intentional will of God," or "God's ideal purpose." Quite often, however, "God's ideal purpose" is thwarted by circumstances related to human free will and the existence of evil in the world. Then God has to work through such bad circumstances in order to fulfill his ideal purpose, and Weatherhead calls that "the circumstantial will of God." Finally, in spite of all of the difficult things that may have stood in the way, when God is able to bring about something truly good and fulfill his original intentional will, Weatherhead calls that the "ultimate will of God."

The familiar story of Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, and all of his brothers is a great illustration of Weatherhead's treatise on God's will. It is clear from the beginning that God has big things planned for Joseph, who can interpret dreams. Remember, Joseph had a couple of dreams--one about sheaves of wheat and the other about the sun, moon and stars--which he interpreted to mean that all of his brothers and even his parents would one day have to bow down to him. The problem was Joseph just couldn't help telling his older brothers about his dreams. How could they hear that prediction and not think Joseph was gloating over them? His words must have sounded like boasting, so there was at least a little bit of hubris on Joseph's part, and pride often comes before a fall, as the old saying goes. It didn't help the brothers feel any more tolerant of Joseph when their father gave him that special robe with long sleeves.

Siblings. If you’ve never had one, you’ve surely heard stories about sibling rivalry. This story about Joseph and his brothers is one of the most famous. You may have seen the movie version of “Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” starring Donnie Osmond as Joseph. Even without Donnie Osmond, it’s easy to see why Joseph annoyed his siblings, and it wasn't just because of his "nanny nanny boo boo" dreams or the fancy coat. Joseph brought his father a “bad report” about his older brothers. Nobody likes a tattletale.

I can personally attest to that. When I was about four years old, I told on my big brother, who is eight years older than I, and got him into trouble. My brother cornered me, grabbed me by the arm, and said in a very soft and ominous voice, “If you ever tell on me again, I will kill you.” That was a message even a four-year old doesn’t need to hear twice. My tattletale days were over. Maybe Joseph's older brothers should have been kind enough to give him a warning. At least Reuben cared enough about him to figure out a way to keep Joseph alive. So, instead of being killed by his brothers, Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt.

The intentional will of God for Joseph, "God's ideal purpose" was that he would one day be the salvation of his family, the salvation, really, of Israel. The dream Joseph shared with them about their bundled sheaves of wheat bowing down to his sheaf may even have suggested the upcoming famine and Joseph's role in saving his family from starvation. The evil circumstances that nearly prevented that from happening--the jealousy and revenge of his brothers--had to be used and redirected by God--the "circumstantial will of God." The entire story of Joseph reads like a novel. When he is sold in Egypt, he ends up in the household of a prominent official in Pharaoh's court, a man named Potiphar. Potiphar learns to value Joseph and places him in a position of trust, but Potiphar's wife develops a thing for Joseph and tries repeatedly to seduce him. When he refuses, she accuses him of trying to "lie with" her, and Joseph is thrown into jail. It is in jail that Joseph's talent as an interpreter of dreams is finally revealed, and two years after he correctly interprets the dream of Pharaoh's chief cupbearer, he is brought before the Pharaoh, who has had some troubling dreams. Joseph predicts the upcoming seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine, and the grateful Pharaoh makes Joseph his second in command. It is in that capacity, and during the famine, that Joseph is able to give help to his starving brothers when they journey to Egypt in search of food. Psalm 105 fills in the details: "Remember the marvels he has done/ the wonders and judgments of his mouth/ O children of Jacob his chosen...He sent a man before them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave./...They bruised his feet in fetters/ his neck they put in an iron collar.../The king sent and released him/ He set him as a master over his household." Think how many twists and turns and unpleasant circumstances had to happen, how many years went by, before the intentional will of God for Joseph could be fulfilled as an ultimate reality. Weatherhead's explanation of God's will supports my belief that God neither causes nor permits the bad things that happen to us. We are the victims of our own mistakes and emotions (fear or pride or envy or anger) or of the bad choices others make. Sometimes we are the victims of unlucky circumstances or natural disasters. But our God is capable of working through all of these things to bring us to his ultimate will for us--that we be happy, well, and free.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul reminds us that discerning God's will for us can be easier than it seems. Quoting Deuteronomy, Paul tells us, "The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart." If we have any conscience at all, if we "think those things that are right," as the collect suggests, then we ought to know how to do the right thing. Listening with our hearts, having faith, trusting in God's love for us will help to carry us through the dark circumstances over which we have no control. His faith in God sustained Joseph through his many trials and brought him to maturity and a gracious generosity when he was finally reunited with his family.

Yesterday was the celebration of the Feast of the Transfiguration. That event in the life of Christ revealed to his chosen disciples that the man they called friend, someone who was much like themselves, could be transformed into a light-filled heavenly creature in the twinkling of an eye. When God exercises his intentional will for us, we too can be transfigured. Our mistakes, our accidents, our weaknesses and sorrows do not have the last word. God can take our darkest circumstances and shed some light on them.


"Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will." How blessed we are to be the children of a loving and persistent God, who grabs hold of us and won't let go