A Light in the Window

A Light in the Window
Susan Hoyle, pastor Trinity United Methodist Church

There are superheroes all around us. Some of them leap from tall buildings and fly through the air. Others climb up those tall buildings from the outside! Then there are those superheroes who save the world from certain destruction. And if you don’t know the latest superhero just ask a child. He or she probably has the action figure and can tell you the whole, exciting story. Most of us remember Superman, Batman and Robin and the Power Rangers. But do we ever think about superheroes in the Bible? People who take risks and follow God even when it doesn’t make any sense at all.

Genesis is filled with stories about superheroes. How about Noah who kept building that boat even when his neighbors were laughing at him? He continued to build that boat because God told him to. It certainly didn’t make any sense but he knew it was what he had to do. Noah “saved the day” didn’t he?

Abraham and Sarah were superheroes, too. They continued to follow God for 24 years after God said they would have a child in their old age. Oh, they weren’t perfect people and they got impatient with God and Abraham had a son with Sarah’s maid. But God continued to promise them that son. And they believed and eventually Isaac was born. And as God had promised, Abraham had more descendents than stars in the sky and grains of sand on the beach.

Joseph is another superhero in Genesis. He was born when his father, Jacob, was very old and he was his father’s favorite son. Joseph has lots of older brothers and they knew he was their father’s favorite. Now that doesn’t make for healthy family dynamics, does it? Joseph could interpret dreams and he told his brothers that he had a dream that they were all bowing down to him. Not a smart thing to tell his older brothers! Jacob even had a coat made for Joseph that was unlike any coat in the world. It was made with fine fabric and had many colors in it.

One day, Jacob asked Joseph to check on his brothers as they were tending the flocks. Well, let’s just say that one thing led to another and those older brothers wanted to kill him. But instead they sold him as a slave and took that coat, tore it and put blood on it. They took it to their father and told him wild animals had killed Joseph. Joseph was sold in Egypt to a man and his wife made advances towards Joseph and he said, “no, thank you.” But she was angry at him and told her husband that he had attacked her and he was put into prison. After awhile he interpreted a dream for the king and told him that there would be 7 years of abundance and 7 years of famine. He also told the king to take a portion of everyone’s crops during the 7 years of abundance so there would be food during the famine. The king saw that Joseph was a wise man and he was put in charge of the whole kingdom.

The dream came true and during the famine a group of men came to buy grain and guess who they were? They were Joseph’s brothers and they didn’t recognize them. After a while, Joseph told them who he was. He told them that even though they sold him and that was wrong, God took that and made it right by helping him save thousands of people from starvation.

Now, as we look at the story of Joseph, was he a superhero because he could interpret dreams or because he saved thousands of people from starvation? Or was he a superhero because he forgave his brothers? You see, superheroes go beyond their human nature. Joseph depended on God more and more and God’s strength filled him so he could forgive his brothers. Forgiving others who have hurt us or our family members is the most difficult thing we ever try to do. And we can’t do it on our own. Forgiveness comes when we rely more and more on God and God gives us the strength to forgive.

Perhaps there are people who have hurt you and you’ve tried to forgive them but you just can’t seem to do it on your own. It may be time that you and God had a long conversation about your pain and suffering and you take that pain to the cross of Christ and lay it down. When we offer Christ our pain and suffering, He will hold it for us and we truly can forgive others.

Why not read Genesis, the first book in the Old Testament, and find some superheroes for yourself…