Psalm 133 is a song of ascents, an ancient liturgical lyric of the children of Israel. They would climb a mountain to come closer to the Most High God in a...

Joseph stands before the brothers who once drove him into exile. He not only forgives them but also affirms God’s gracious initiative shining through their past vicious behavior: “And now do...

Today’s reading from Genesis has a backstory: Joseph, one of Jacob’s twelve sons, is his father’s favorite. Joseph is self-confident, imaginative, clever, and insightful. But his resentful brothers see him as...

A bumper sticker compassionately proclaims, “God bless the whole world. No exceptions.” The sentiment echoes that of Paul in today’s reading. Paul is writing to Gentile Christians who are suffering from...

On the last Thanksgiving I spent with my little sister, Linda, she was all smiles. Her son was home from the Marines; her first grandchild was due that summer. Unfortunately, she...

My son lives on a boat. He says that a storm at sea—the world pitch-black, the rudder a plaything, crashing waves tossing the boat at will—can drive him below deck balled...

Years ago, I made a pilgrimage to Saint Peter’s cathedral in Rome. My core intention was to see Michelangelo’s Pieta. Mired in grief at the tragic death of a sibling, I...

Joseph survives the abyss of slavery. In fact, incomprehensibly, he not only survives, he thrives—becoming the ruler over all of Pharaoh’s possessions, even lord over the entire land of Egypt. Joseph’s...

“So the brothers sold Joseph to some traveling merchants who promptly took Joseph to Egypt” (ap). We know what that means. As sure as if Joseph had been taken to the...

Beaten and left for dead in a dried up well; sold into slavery by your own family; tossed about by tempest winds within a stormy sea. Life can be brutal. Sometimes,...