Then Joseph hurried out, for his compassion grew warm for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out. And controlling himself he said, “Serve the food.”
I often got into trouble in school and it was much later that I discovered it was because I have such an expressive face. I can hide nothing. This is why one of the amazing things about the story of the reunion of Joseph with his brothers was his ability to hold it together and not weep in their presence, thus giving up his identity. These verses demonstrate just how difficult that feat was as he had to vacate himself to weep for his younger brother Benjamin, who was born probably just before Joseph was betrayed by his brothers. How different he must have looked!
That is the power of face to face contact. Ever since March of 2020, we have been struggling to return to the time when we all gather together face to face in church to see how we are doing. We can remember each other and what we look like but Joseph shows how different close personal contact is. Remembering Benjamin was not the same as seeing him on a regular basis, watching him grow, and helping him along. That is what we all need in 2022. We need to just not remember each other but see each other regularly, we need to watch each other grow in the Lord so we can be mutually encouraged, and we need to help each other physically which requires physical presence. Come to church, watch your compassion grow for your brother. Then we can say…
Serve the food.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church