DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Genesis 49:33-50:26
(4/18) 1st
The
Eternal God: Genesis 49:33-50:26, especially vss. 19, 20: “And
Joseph said to them, Fear not, for I am God’s. Ye took counsel against me for evil, but
God took counsel for me for good, that the matter might be as it is today, and
much people might be fed.”
We mortals are bound by time and all the constraints of finitude, and so
we yearn to have ourselves, heart, soul, and body, united with the eternal God
- our true destiny. This is the
reason why the Patriarchs, Jacob and Joseph, enjoined their survivors to bury
their remains in the land promised to them by the God Who is from before time
and forever. Their request was a
gesture that expressed their will to be forever one in purpose with the eternal
God and thus overcome the strictures of time.
It
is difficult for us who exist in time, who face definite beginnings and certain
ends, to conceive of a relationship with “the Most High Who dwells on
high for ever” (Is. 57:15). Nevertheless, Beloved in the Lord, let us
strive for fellowship with Him Whose “years will not fail” (Heb.
1:12). After all, “eternal
life which was with the Father...was manifested” and by Him, we have a
real fellowship “with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1
Jn. 1:2,3).
The
Patriarchs had sure a relationship with the eternal God, but we enjoy Holy
Communion with Him. Therefore, we,
especially, should rejoice in the Patriarchs’ actions, for their deeds
express elements of the Mystery of Christ: eternal accountability, “the
light of eternity” in present events, and the knowledge that life and
history already have eternal outcome beyond death.
The Patriarchs lived their lives “before God,” in the
knowledge that they were accountable to Him for their actions. The Righteous Joseph fled from the
lustful advances of the wife of Potiphar, rather than “sin against
God” (Gen. 39:7-12). As
today’s reading shows, when his brothers anticipated his wrath and sought
to avoid it, “Joseph said to them, Fear not, for I am God’s. Ye took counsel against me for evil, but
God took counsel for me for good, that the matter might be as it is
today” (Gen. 50:19-20). He could
not indulge his passion of anger against the purpose of the eternal God. Let us be God’s and beseech Him:
give us grace “to serve Thee in holiness all the days of our life,”
for one day we shall have to make a “defense before the dread Judgment
Seat of Christ.” After all,
Christ has taught us plainly “that for every idle word men may speak,
they will give account of it in the day of judgment” (Mt. 12:36).
Knowing and welcoming the eternal God into every moment of life, the
Patriarchs thereby allowed the light of eternity to shine into all that
occurred. God’s uncreated
light illumines the activities of mortal men when we awaken to the presence of
God whatever the outward circumstances may be: “I Am He; and until ye
shall have grown old, I Am He: I bear you, I have made, and I will relieve, I
will take up and save you” (Is. 46:4). It was natural for the godly Joseph to
reassure his brothers, “Fear not, I will maintain you and your families:
and he comforted them, and spoke kindly to them” (Gen. 50:21). He knew that God had a plan for their
posterity. We who are illumined
also seek the light of God for the eyes of our hearts, for faith unashamed,
that we may love truly, fulfill all wisdom, and obey God’s commandments.
As the end of his life approached, the Patriarch Joseph “spoke to
his brethren, saying, ‘I die, and God will surely visit you and will
bring you out of this land to the land concerning which God sware to our
fathers’” (Gen. 50:24).
Communion with the eternal God will orient your vision toward your
destiny and that of all mankind.
History and one’s own life are understood and experienced from the
viewpoint of their ultimate, eternal culmination. Thus we pray: “Grant unto me the
home-country of my heart's desire, making me again a citizen of
O Christ, Thou didst make the Thief a citizen of