Pieces Of Silver

Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age; and he had made him a long tunic. When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons, they hated him so much that they would not even greet him. 

One day, when his brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem, Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers, you know, are tending our flocks at Shechem. Get ready; I will send you to them.” So Joseph went after his brothers and caught up with them in Dothan.

They noticed him from a distance, and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him. They said to one another: “Here comes that master dreamer! Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here; we could say that a wild beast devoured him. We shall then see what comes of his dreams.” 

When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from their hands, saying, “We must not take his life. Instead of shedding blood,” he continued, “just throw him into that cistern there in the desert; but do not kill him outright.” His purpose was to rescue him from their hands and return him to his father. So when Joseph came up to them, they stripped him of the long tunic he had on; then they took him and threw him into the cistern, which was empty and dry. They then sat down to their meal.

Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels laden with gum, balm and resin to be taken down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers: “What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood? Rather, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, instead of doing away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed. They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver.  (Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13A, 17B-28A)

A lot is packed into this reading from Genesis.  Judas sold out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.   Joseph’s brothers sold him for 20 pieces.   It’s all the same: betrayal.  Joseph’s brothers were jealous.  We’re not entirely sure about Judas’ motivation although Judas did have serious regrets and his life cut short as the consequence. Not so with the brothers of Joseph who almost killed him but later decided to sell him into slavery.

Who have we thrown into empty and dry cisterns with jealousy as our reason?   We don’t kill them outright, but we do kill our relationships with them.   We sell them out when we gossip against them and accuse them falsely. We don’t shed their blood, but we make them shed tears.

Today is Friday the 13th.  Have we had any bad luck today?   Have things gone wrong due to our insensitivity, callousness, treachery, or envy?  That’s not bad luck – just purposeful foolishness and self-serving behavior.  Let’s keep our pieces of silver in the bank (or pocket).

Deacon David Pierce