Good News for Dysfunctional Families!

“Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children because he was the son of his old age, and he made him an ornamented robe.” (Genesis 37:3)

I’m guessing that not all of us know this narrative about the teenage years of Joseph, son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham. When I was a child in 1968 and Andrew Lloyd Webber brought out Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, everyone knew this story (or a version of it), but that was a long time ago. There’s been no Disney version since, and I think I know why. It’s a nasty story where most of the characters are either wicked or clueless. Moreover, there are no miracles in the story, and God doesn’t even get a mention! Even so, there is good news here — but let me fill out the story a bit first for those who have never heard it.

Joseph, great‑grandson of Abraham, carries God’s promises of descendants, of a land, and of a blessing to all nations, though he doesn’t seem aware of any of that at this stage. What he does know is that his father loves him more than any of his brothers and that he has been given a special dress.

I use the word ‘dress’ deliberately. The Hebrew term — ‘ketonet passim’ — appears at only one other point in our Scriptures, in 2 Samuel 13, where it refers to Princess Tamar’s dress – “the garment worn by the king’s daughters who were virgins.” (v.18)

Why would Jacob give his teenage son a princess’ dress? Some queer theorists and feminist theologians have suggested that Joseph may have been gender-nonconforming or that Jacob was projecting his own identity struggles onto his son.

It’s speculative, of course, but it’s worth remembering that Jacob himself is described as a “smooth man” who liked to “dwell in tents”, in contrast to his hyper‑masculine brother Esau, who loved to hunt and was covered in hair (Genesis 25:27, 27:11).

Having said that, Jacob also had eleven sons and at least one daughter by this stage — twelve children to four different women — which makes him look father macho himself, so perhaps we should be cautious speculating on the psychosexual struggles of these ancient people. What is clear is that both Jacob and Joseph were extraordinarily emotionally unaware, for neither of them seemed to realise that Joseph was despised by his ten older brothers.

In Genesis 37:13 Jacob says, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.”

Both Jacob and Joseph seem to be oblivious to the danger. Didn’t they think it might have bothered the older boys that Joseph had been singled out for the princess dress? They might not have wanted the dress, but they might have appreciated something that suggested they too were special to their dad. And these older boys were only Joseph’s half‑brothers. Jacob had had seven children with Leah, his first wife; four more with his slave women, Zilpah and Bilhah; and only one with Rachel at that stage – the woman he apparently truly loved – and that was Joseph.

I don’t know what you think of polyamorous (multi-partner) relationships. Personally, I think that more flexible family structures may be a good option for any number of people today. Even so, there aren’t many examples in the Bible of functional multi‑partner households, and Jacob’s family was an archetypal disaster!

This is good news in a sense. Perhaps your family — like mine — is rather dysfunctional, full of broken relationships and old wounds. Well, compared to the families of the patriarchs, we are the ‘The Brady Bunch’! And if you’re too young for ‘The Brady Bunch’ (which debuted only one year after Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), think ‘Modern Family’ or perhaps even ‘The Kardashians’.

My point is that however much shame or pain you carry over your family story, our forefathers and foremothers in the faith were worse! The Hebrew Bible is full of parents who can’t manage their children and siblings who hate each other — from Adam and Eve to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Samuel, and David; and don’t forget the prophet Hosea! Not many of our heroes in the faith had functional families.

If you’ve made mistakes, you’re in good company. More importantly, your mistakes do not disqualify you from being God’s beloved and chosen servant.

Of course, as I said, God doesn’t actually get a mention in this reading, and in the greater Joseph story, you don’t see any great miracles. Things simply go from bad to worse for Joseph until one day everything is turned upside down and he becomes one of the most powerful people in the world.

I won’t spoil the story if you don’t know the whole of it yet. Suffice it to say that God’s presence is never obvious in Joseph’s day‑to‑day life. Joseph connects with God in his dreams, but beyond that his life is extraordinarily unspectacular — right up until the day when all his dreams come true.

“Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites… for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers agreed. (Genesis 37:27)

That’s where I want to leave this saga for today, with the brothers graciously deciding to sell Joseph rather than kill him. The boy is in slavery, the father is grieving, the brothers are lying and the family is shattered, and if that feels like your family, keep in mind this is not the end of the story.

It is not obvious at this point in the story what God is doing in Joseph’s life, but God is at work in the background. Things seem impossibly bad, but soon enough everything will be turned on its head, and that is the heart of our good news today.

Joseph cannot see God at work. Jacob cannot see God at work. The brothers certainly cannot see God at work, but God is weaving redemption through the very threads of their dysfunction. The robe, the jealousy, the pit, the betrayal — none of these are positive, let alone holy, yet they are the beginning of a story of salvation!

We believe in a God who turns things upside down — who brings down the mighty from their thrones and lifts up the lowly. We believe in a God who can take a boy from the pit and make him a source of life for all nations.

Perhaps we are in the pit right now. Perhaps our world is in the pit. Our story is not over yet either, and the God who brings light out of darkness is already on the move!

Our Sunday Eucharist

We celebrated another wonderful Eucharist last Sunday, and thanks go especially to dear David Baldwin for gracing us with his wit and wisdom. Unfortunately, the other member of that dynamic duo – Tom Toby – was a no-show, and we suspect that’s because he was in Iraq, unable to connect.

Tom did warn me that his next broadcast would happen mid-pilgrimage. He anticipated connecting again from one of the great shrines in Karbala. Even so, it didn’t happen, and I trust that was due to technical difficulties unrelated to the evolving military conflict there. Even so, say a prayer for Tom’s safety and for all those celebrating Ashura in Iraq this year.

Back to last Sunday, our discussion of Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter nine, was a highlight for me. There were a lot of us involved. Apart from David and myself and the rest of the online community, AI Saint Paul made a rather unique contribution.

Normally, we throw questions at AI Paul. This time our virtual brother hit back and started questioning us! Add to this the interview I did with Dr Youseff Koury from Gaza, and it’s amazing we contained it all within 15 minutes. The clip is pasted at the end of today’s newsletter. Enjoy!

As usual, the most popular short videos from the last week are featured directly below, and by far our most popular shorts were once again recordings of our prayers.

One of those who commented on that latter prayer was Dr Hassoun’s son, Abdul Rahman Hassoun, who wrote, “Thank you for your honourable stance with my father. You are a dear friend to my father. Thank you from the Hassoun family.”

I believe this connects all of us to the Hassoun family and to the struggle for justice and peace in Syria. The decision on his case is going to be made on Monday, August 24th. Please keep up with the prayers until then.

For other short videos from our broadcast, see the Sunday Eucharist Instagram page, and for all our recordings, long and short, visit Rumble.

This Sunday I’m excited to welcome a new member to our Sunday Eucharist team – Rob Robayna – who will be joining me and Rev. John Jegasothy on the panel.

Rob is a Baptist pastor whom I’ve been bumping into at various Palestine rallies and fundraisers over the last couple of years. He describes himself as an “organisational consultant and community organiser” and says he’s also journeyed with people involved in global mission projects, and mentored overseas students!

Yes, I’m excited to have Rob on the panel this week, though less excited that the opportunity only came up because I can’t track down Andrew Logan!

Andrew did tell us that he and Gigi were travelling to the US, but I didn’t anticipate losing contact with him. In the past, he’s joined us from a variety of far-flung locations. So … Andrew, if you’re reading this, please let us know that you’re OK. ❤️

Join us this Sunday at the usual time via all the usual channels: from midday on Rumble, Facebook, Twitter (X), LinkedIn, Instagram, Faithia, or StreamYard.

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What’s On?

Saturday, August 8th – Boxing at the Legends Gym in Kensington from 3 pm
Sunday, August 9th – Our Eucharist from noon @thesundayeucharist.com, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Faithia, StreamYard and Rumble
Monday, August 10th – Boxing at Brofit Gym in Bankstown from 6.30 pm
Tuesday, August 4th – Boxing at the Mundine Gym in Redfern from 7 pm.
Thursday, July 30th – Noon Bible Study @www.thesundayeucharist.com/bible
Saturday, August 15th – Boxing at the Legends Gym in Kensington from 3 pm

And so we reach the end of another week.

I look back over the last seven days and see so much to be thankful for – so many wonderful friends and supporters, my beautiful partner and children, and the beautiful house I’ve been given to live in for the next six months. This week I’ve experienced pain at a friend’s funeral and the exhilaration of at least a dozen rounds in the ring. I have much to be thankful for.

At the same time, my heart is aching for Palestine, for Iran, for Lebanon, and for my brother in chains, Dr Hassoun, the former Grand Mufti of Syria. As I mentioned above, the verdict is expected on August 24th. That’s a little over two weeks away. Please pray with me that justice might somehow prevail and that he be freed.

There seems to be a frenzied debate online at the moment about the former Mufti. It’s almost all in Arabic, of course, so I miss most of it. Even so, it seems that he has an enormous amount of grassroots support, which is exactly what I would expect. Evidently, though, a lot of people think the case was decided long before it went to court. I pray that they are wrong.

The story of Joseph encourages me. We left Joseph today sitting in a pit, waiting to be sold. From the pit he goes into slavery, and from slavery into prison, and then he’s suddenly elevated to become the second most powerful man in the world!

Experience confirms that the Kingdom of God does work exactly like that – like yeast in the dough or like a mustard seed. Things change suddenly, radically and mysteriously. One moment your brother is in prison and in pain; the next, he may be free and celebrating.

Of course, we can’t control it, and God’s timing never seems to be in sync with my clock. Even so, we pray.

God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Grant us faith to trust you in the pits and dark places of our lives.
and weave your redemption through all that is broken.

Make us patient in suffering, steadfast in hope,
and confident that you are already turning all things
toward your good purposes.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.