Have heard some use Joseph's story as an example of forgiveness and moving on. Well, maybe not that simple. (🧡 coming):

First, what the brothers did to Joseph was trafficking in slaves. It is a sin punishable by death in the law (Deut 24:7), i.e., a really bad sin. 1/
Now when Joseph finally gets his chance to see his brothers, he doesn't just forgive and forget.

He runs them through a series of brutal tests.
Is this a classic story trope where we see Joseph's genius in testing his brothers? 2/
No. He is methodically seeing if they have actually repented and changed after the horrific thing they did to him.
Btw, this is also why we have the Judah interstitial showing his troubled character via the terrible story of Tamar's rape (Gen 38). Judah is central to this. 3/
So at the culmination of Joseph's tests, it is Judah who offers himself to be taken into slavery so that Benjamin can be spared. He does this not only for Benjamin, but because he recognizes with great regret how selling Joseph crushed Jacob.
Joseph's tests were elegant. 4/
He was able to discern not only if Judah had grown (he had), but also if Judah understood the damage he did (he did), and if Judah was willing to make things right at great cost (he was).

So Joseph's forgiveness and reconciliation was not about moving on and forgetting. 5/
Joseph was responding to Judah's and his brothers' repentance, change, and willingness to set things right.
Joseph measured their righteousness and they proved to be truly changed. It was not in what they said, as much as their actions - a willingness to give up freedom. 6/
So as the church wrestles with abuse, misogyny, and racism, the question is not that different from what Joseph sought to know:

Do we recognize the harm we've done?
Are we repentant?
Are we willing to make things right, even at great cost?
7/
Who is willing to give up their freedom and even their life in order to set things right and protect the Benjamins and Jacobs in the world? βš–οΈβ€οΈ

/End
PS - if you hadn't caught on, my point here is to dispel the notion that our response to past wrongs should not be a demand that the aggrieved forgive and move on.
I see this in conversations about racism, abuse, and reparations.
The goal is not to move on, but make things right.

β€’ β€’ β€’

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More from @SamObiWon

3 Aug
A thread on being poor and parental love.🧡

I grew up poor during my grade school/middle school years & then lower middle class during my h.s. years.

My parents were always so tight with πŸ’° out of necessity. To me & my younger brother, it just felt like stinginess. 1/
Or we thought this was just how Korean immigrant parents were.πŸ€·β€β™‚οΈ
They were so stubborn about not buying anything unnecessary or a little too extra.
They were almost mean about it at times, but I realize they had to be because we were so annoying in asking for stuff. 2/
It frustrated me because in my naivete & immaturity, I thought we could afford more than we could. I didn't think we were truly as poor as we acted (narrator voice: we were).
So fast forward to adulthood...
My parents are retired & live on a meager income in HUD housing. 3/
Read 16 tweets
1 Aug
An encouragement from a study of the Psalms (🧡)

The form & style of a lament psalm and a psalm of confidence are similar. In both, the psalmist expresses strong emotions over a crisis, whether individual or communal. In both, the psalmist appeals to God out of desperation. 1/
And while both types of psalms read similarly up to a point, the lament remains in a minor key as the psalmist keeps faith while wrestling with pain.
The psalm of confidence diverges at the end, going into a major key and culminating in an expression of confidence & trust. 2/
The interesting note is that there is no clear rhyme or reason as to how one psalmist composes a lament while another composes a ps of confidence & trust.

Both are inspired by God. Both teach us precious things about our God and the nature of faith. 3/
Read 6 tweets
12 May
Gracious disagreement on non-essentials (🧡):

I hold to certain positions when it comes to various secondary theological questions. I used to want to correct others who disagreed and saw this as an important part of my Xian walk.

Then something funny happened... 1/
I started to find that intelligent, faithful believers reading the same Bible held different views and yet, I saw the fruit of the Spirit!
Wait! How could this be?

In fact, the further I went in my theological/biblical studies, I realized there's a lot I don't know. 2/
More importantly, I started to see that the Kingdom & Body of XC are made up of believers & congregations of many diverse doctrinal views, confessions, and denominations.
There are wonderfully fruitful brothers & sisters with whom I disagree on various issues. 3/
Read 7 tweets
11 Apr
In John 21:18-19, Jesus reveals to Peter how his life will end. Yes, there is a prediction of martyrdom, but there is more that is often missed. (Sermon notes🧡)

In Peter's earlier journey as a disciple, he wanted prominence and to prove himself to Jesus and the others. 1/
It makes sense that he would see himself as the one who would never abandon Jesus, even attempting to protect Jesus by the sword.

But the trifold denial of Jesus on the ight of Jesus' arrest broke Peter and crushed his sense of identity as a leader. 2/
When Jesus graciously and tenderly restores Peter, he asks him 3 times if Peter loves Jesus so he can repair the 3 denials.
Note that Jesus asks twice if Peter agapan loves him but Peter twice responds that he philein loves him. (Yes, these are somewhat interchangeable terms) 3/
Read 9 tweets
29 Jul 20
Not going to go too deep into this hydroxychloroqione kerfufffle but...
I've worked as a pharmacist at a cancer research center. The strict regulations we have to observe for every clinical trial will make your head spin. Binders of protocols & strict compliance procedures. 1/4
If we have any mishaps including even having a storage freezer lose power, we have to document these incidents and report them to the people supervising that study.
We document every vial, pill, dose and account for every gram & milliliter used. 2/4
To think there's a cure for Covid (or cancer or AIDS) that is being denied or ignored because of the gov, big pharma, political agendas, or some shadowy world power is absurd.

It means you don't understand research, peer review, regulation, & scientific literature. 3/4
Read 4 tweets
28 Feb 20
COVID-19 has a viral profile like the flu. It's respiratory & spread by contact, not airborne.
It responds to the same basic precautions & measures that mitigate against the flu. Let's be wise - use sanitizers, wash hands thoroughly, & avoid unnecessary contact.
And a few more notes while we're here:
I'm an oncology pharmacist and work in sterile prep. COVID-19 is not airborne meaning the virus isn't viable in the air for extended periods of time. It is however spread by aerosol media. 1/
So if the virus is in any liquid that is airborne, the virus can be spread, i.e., vapors from a cough or sneeze or even heavy breathing.
It is killed by most soaps & sanitizers so washing hands, keeping kitchen/bathroom surfaces clean does help. 2/
Read 6 tweets

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