As Joseph's story unfolds, we find once again that his gifts as an interpreter of dreams play an important role in his destiny. Today's reading in some ways provides a transition from the earlier account of Joseph's dream interpretation (Gen 37) and the one that follows (Gen 41), but in and of itself it also offers some insights worth pondering.
I notice, for instance, how willing Joseph is to step forward to use his gifts. First, he notices the troubled prisoners and asks about the source of their "downcast" faces. And when they lament that there's "no one to interpret" their dreams, he offers himself as mediator between God and these troubled souls. Joseph's availability to his peers offers a powerful example of noticing others' pain and bringing our gifts to bear in service to them.
Even more impressive to me is that, once Joseph commits to the task of interpreting their dreams, he follows through, even when the "truth telling" gets uncomfortable. I don't know about you, but I'm not very good at telling people things they'd rather not hear. I want folks to like me, and sometimes that gets in the way of bringing a clear but inconvenient word. Notice, though, that Joseph's truth-telling doesn't come out of a spirit of harsh judgment. He simply calls things as he sees them, stopping short of any rebuke or advice or outcome management.
I get the sense, in this story, that Joseph's freedom to care enough to tell the truth in this way comes from his starting point. Dream interpretation, he says, belongs to God; he is just God's mouthpiece, which means he's freed from the tendency to manipulate results. It's another reminder that, even in jail, Joseph's trust in God brings its own enticing freedom.
- How do you respond to those around you who are "downcast"? In what ways can you offer your particular gifts to them?
- How do you deal with telling a difficult truth? Where is God in the midst of that truth-telling?
- What other details did you notice in today's reading?
Prayer: O God, give us Joseph's sense that he's part of a bigger picture than his own little dramas. Use us, use our gifts, to care for those around us without controlling them. Amen.
Breath Prayer: Belong // to God.
