“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 honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.”  Genesis 45:9-15

School Shooting Number 14:

“A 12-year-old girl was booked on suspicion of negligent discharge of a firearm Thursday after a shooting at Sal Castro Middle School left four students injured, authorities said. Los Angeles police do not believe that the shooting was intentional, spokesman Josh Rubenstein said Thursday evening. “At this time, the information suggests that this was an isolated incident, involving the negligent discharge of a firearm, where innocent children and a staff member were unfortunately injured,” the LAPD said in a statement. The girl was taken to Los Angeles County‘s Central Juvenile Hall. The gunfire erupted in a classroom at the school in the Westlake neighborhood shortly after the opening bell and caused numerous students to run from the area, according to Los Angeles police Officer Drake Madison. A semiautomatic handgun was recovered from the scene. (School shooting that injured four students now believed unintentional, police say; 12-year-old girl is booked, latimes.com, by Ruben Vives, Feb. 1, 2018)

Is Joseph a paragon of mercy and grace? Was he able to write off his brothers’ crime as a “boyish prank”? Who is the primary agent in this story – Joseph and his ability to forgive, or G-d whose mercy continues to grace Joseph’s story and Joseph’s life? Will Joseph be able to extend grace after he himself received God’s grace?

Can we forgive someone who is accused of “negligent discharge” of a firearm? What exactly is “negligent discharge” of a firearm? Here are some examples of behavior that could lead to charges of negligently discharging a firearm:

• After his favorite baseball team wins the World Series, a man fires his gun into the air during a celebration in a park.
• A 12-year-old boy finds a loaded gun that belongs to his father and decides to engage in some target practice by shooting at toys in a room where his younger sister is playing.
• A woman is showing off a gun she owns at a crowded party. When a man laughingly suggests that she probably doesn’t know how to use it, she shows him that she does by firing a shot at a dart board hung on the wall.

Each and every day there are ways we can be negligent, and sometimes we do several of them in one day. If you ever have started pumping gas into your automobile and walked into the store to buy something, or use the bathroom, you are being negligent. If you ever have seen your child watching a video, or the television, and decided to close your eyes for a quick nap, you are being negligent. If you have driven your car with your cat or dog along for the ride, and they are not properly secured in some restraint, you are being negligent. 

We might be negligent with our behavior, even be negligent toward our family and our neighbor, but we should not be negligent with our relationship with G-d. Joseph’s brothers would come to learn that their personal jealousies and coveting made them negligent with their relationship with G-d. Joseph never abandoned that relationship – and that relationship formed his response to his brothers – “what you intended for evil, G-d intended for good”. Our challenge is to find the good in all experiences – or at least find what we can learn about ourselves, our relationships with others, and our relationship with G-d. In this season of Lent, let us not be negligent with our love of and trust in G-d.

Pastor Dave

“I think that, in view of the impending crisis, it is well for you to remain as you are. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you marry, you do not sin, and if a virgin marries, she does not sin. Yet those who marry will experience distress in this life, and I would spare you that. I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.” 1 Corinthians 7:26-31

School Shooting Number 13:

Police say they were called out to the school for reports of a large fight and gunshots being fired in the parking lot. When police responded, they found several casings outside. Police say a 32-year-old man was shot twice in the leg and was taken to Nazareth Hospital. He was later pronounced dead. The school was on lockdown for just over two hours. No arrests have been made.

The school released this statement following the incident:

“The Lincoln High School leadership called the Philadelphia Police Department immediately upon learning of gunfire.  The school went into lockdown, which was lifted at 5:32 p.m.  No students or staff were injured. School District Police are fully cooperating with the Philadelphia Police Department as this matter is investigated. The safety of our students and staff is our top priority and as a precaution extra School Police and Philadelphia Police officers will be in place at the school tomorrow morning and during the day. In addition, communication was sent to families Wednesday evening about this incident and there will be additional communication to them on Thursday.”

Paul says the “present form of this world is passing away.” One could wonder today if the present form of this world that is passing away is the safety and security of our country, our cities, and our homes. I believe it is. Of course that is always true – for change is always happening. None of us is the same today as we were yesterday, and as we were ten years ago. And none of us will be the same tomorrow. Every day something happens to us that changes us – sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse – sometimes it keeps us on an even keel, sometimes it threatens to upset the boat. But the one thing that will never change is G-d’s love for us.

When anyone, but especially our children, experience a shooting like we have witnessed in the last few years, they often report that nothing is the same – that there is no more “normal” in their lives. It is a hard lesson to learn at such a young age. I say lesson because the longer I have lived, the lesson I have learned that there is really no normal. Or, what we come to learn is that change is the actual normal – that the fact that everything is passing away is the normal of this life.

If everything was the same, I would be living the “Ground Hog Day” experience. In the movie “Ground Hog Day”, one man lives the exact same day for many days – over and over and over again. The same conversations, the same events, the same music, the same weather – over and over again. What changes the pattern is the change in his heart – is his recognition that lives are not lived in repeat – especially when it comes to our interactions with others. When we learn to live for others, to not live only for our own gratification, and to trust G-d, then no matter how our lives change, we can meet the challenges the future brings us – the good and the bad.

Pastor Dave