Monday, February 27, 2012

Dream big, but take care of the little things.

From today's reading: [Joseph] had another dream, and told it to his brothers, saying, 'Look, I have had another dream: the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.' But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him, and said to him, 'What kind of dream is this that you have had? Shall we indeed come, I and your mother and your brothers, and bow to the ground before you?' So his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. Genesis 37:9-11

Through the whole story of Joseph, which spans 40% of the book of Genesis, Joseph goes about living his life. He tends the sheep, he's given a gift of a special coat, he tells his dreams, he's assaulted and sold into slavery. He's bought by a prominent man and works his way up to head of the household. He is falsely accused of attempted rape and wastes away in prison. There he meets the king's baker who later remembers his kindness. Joseph is eventually released because he has a gift of interpreting dreams. He is placed in charge of the program to save the people from famine and eventually his brothers and his father come to Egypt and bow down before him. The initial dreams are fulfilled.

God worked through this whole story to bring about salvation for Jacob's family. Both the good things and the bad things that happened to Joseph were part of the plan to place Joseph in a position to help, not only his family, but also a whole nation to survive the severe famine. And in the meantime, wherever Joseph was, he did the tasks set before him and accepted whatever came as a part of God's providence.

Today is the day set aside to remember George Herbert, a parish priest, poet and author. Part of the prayer for his remembrance says: Give us grace, we pray, joyfully to perform the tasks you give us to do, knowing that nothing is menial or common that is done for your sake. That could also be said about Joseph. The Bible tells us that if we are faithful in the small things, God will bless us and will entrust us with greater things.

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