So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. 18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
I am reading now a book by Caroline Moorehead titled "Village of Secrets" given to me by my cousin and friend Norm Shulman. It is about the community of Christians who hid over a thousand Jews in Le Chambon and other surrounding villages in Vichy France. The book's preface begins with a quote from Herbert Butterfield:
"The memory of the world is not a bright, shining crystal, but a heap of broken fragments, a few fine flashes of light that break through the darkness."
When you read a book like "Village of Secrets" you can't help but wonder, "What would I have done? Would I have had the courage -- or not?" We are supposed to ask such questions of ourselves; we need to ask them. Norm, a Jew himself, honored me by saying, "I believe you would have been one of the good guys -- the righteous Gentiles." I can only wonder.
Today's Lesson has Joseph about to be killed by his own brothers. But one of the brothers, Reuben, resists. His resistance is not outright. It's subversive and concealed. To resist straightforwardly would have been to put his own life in danger; if they're willing to kill one brother they're likely willing to kill two. So Reuben acts shrewdly. He buys Joseph time. And, as it turned out, a little time was all that was needed for Joseph to be saved.
There is an old poem which has meant a great deal to me over the years. It is said to have been written by a 19th century American slave:
You say the little acts I make
Will do no good
They never will prevail
To tip the hovering scale
Justice hangs in balance
I never said I thought they would
But I am prejudiced
Beyond debate
On which side shall feel
The stubborn ounces of my weight.
Sometimes all God needs is our stubborn ounces, our little acts, and our broken fragments in order for the few fine flashes of light to break through the darkness.
And it's my intent to be as stubborn I can be when I can be.
#DeepWisdom #CourageousFaith
http://www.amazon.com/Village-Secrets-Defying-Resistance-Trilogy/dp/0062202472
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