The Offer of Forgiveness and Hope
Do you remember me?
Have you wondered about me,
cared if I was dead
or alive?
Or what I was doing?
Have you been able to live,
with what you did?
The first thing I need to know
is if my father,
my precious father
is still alive?
Will he know
that I am here,
safe,
his son?
I can see your fear,
are you wondering what I will do?
If I will seek revenge
now that I ave all the power?
But I don’t blame you
and you mustn’t blame yourselves.
God has worked it all out,
through the results
of your spite and anger,
through my fear and panic
of where I was going
and what was
going to happen to me.
Through being
in this place,
at this time,
I have been able to help,
maybe even save people.
Now it is my time to bless.
Even you,
however you treated me,
are welcome here.
Together
we will work it out.
It’s him!
Now we are for it.
All those things we did to him,
the revenge we wrought on him,
the cruelty we poured on him.
We never thought
we would see him again,
thought he was out
of our lives forever,
and now
he is in charge
And now,
he is the one to save us.
all those dreams,
his boasts
are coming true.
They weren’t dreams after all
they were visions,
truths,
of where we are now.
Will he want his payback?
Are we going to suffer
for what we did to him?
But no.
He is saying that God has worked in it,
taken our cruelty
and brought Joseph to a good place.
He has the choice
and is welcoming us,
accepting us,
forgiving us,
and offering us a new hope
and a new life.
Living together with him
Thank you Lord
for the forgiveness you offer us.
For meeting us in our place
of embarrassment
and shame.
For lifting that from us
and giving us
the offer
of a new life
and a new hope.
Forgive us
for the hurt we have caused to others,
as we pray for those people,
and seek to live a new way.
Thank you for those who forgive us
and are willing to accept us
and work with us.
Teach me Lord
the way of forgiveness
and new life.
The words of this song are beautiful and very apt.
Joseph Tells His Brothers Who He Is
45 Joseph was no longer able to control his feelings in front of his servants, so he ordered them all to leave the room. No one else was with him when Joseph told his brothers who he was. 2 He cried with such loud sobs that the Egyptians heard it, and the news was taken to the king’s palace. 3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But when his brothers heard this, they were so terrified that they could not answer. 4 Then Joseph said to them, “Please come closer.” They did, and he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 Now do not be upset or blame yourselves because you sold me here. It was really God who sent me ahead of you to save people’s lives. 6 This is only the second year of famine in the land; there will be five more years in which there will be neither ploughing nor reaping. 7 God sent me ahead of you to rescue you in this amazing way and to make sure that you and your descendants survive. 8 So it was not really you who sent me here, but God. He has made me the king’s highest official. I am in charge of his whole country; I am the ruler of all Egypt.
9 “Now hurry back to my father and tell him that this is what his son Joseph says: ‘God has made me ruler of all Egypt; come to me without delay. 10 You can live in the region of Goshen, where you can be near me—you, your children, your grandchildren, your sheep, your goats, your cattle, and everything else that you have. 11 If you are in Goshen, I can take care of you. There will still be five years of famine; and I do not want you, your family, and your livestock to starve.’”
12 Joseph continued, “Now all of you, and you too, Benjamin, can see that I am really Joseph. 13 Tell my father how powerful I am here in Egypt and tell him about everything that you have seen. Then hurry and bring him here.”
14 He threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and began to cry; Benjamin also cried as he hugged him. 15 Then, still weeping, he embraced each of his brothers and kissed them. After that, his brothers began to talk with him.
Genesis 45:1-15 GNT
Pam's Perambulation 