Observation: After years living in Egypt, Joseph has a tearful reunion with his father Jacob. Poignantly, Jacob says to Joseph "I can die now, having seen for myself that you are still alive." Joseph arranges with his family to go before Pharaoh and announce themselves as shepherds (which for some reason are "abhorrent" to the Egyptians), and this works to their benefit: Pharaoh allows them to graze their flocks in Goshen, the best part of the land of Egypt.
Application: This story of welcome is remembered many times through the Old Testament. Exodus 22:21 says "You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for once you were aliens in the land of Egypt." For all of Jacob's ancestors, remembering a time when they were welcomed as guests into a new land became part of the people's identity.
I don't know a great deal about my ancestors. I have heard the story that Paul Adolf Jahn, my great-great grandfather, came to this country from Germany to work in the copper mines of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I'm not clear on when he relocated to the Detroit area, but it's my understanding that it was my great grandfather, Howard Jahn, who convinced him to go into the printing business full time, which then became our family business, Monarch Press. My maternal grandmother has told me a little about the Norwegians in South Dakota from whom my mother is descended, but I'd like to learn more.
The story I read in Genesis today is a reminder that we all are descended from travelers and immigrants, strangers who wondered about the welcome they would receive in their new home. Just as Pharaoh welcomed Jacob's family on Joseph's behalf, I pray that we all have had the gratifying experience to come into a new place and be treated like we belong. Even in the last year, I have had that experience here in Northern Michigan. I'm pleased to say that my family and I have received a warm welcome here, and I hope we can be half as good at welcoming others into our community, remembering that we were once new to the community too.
Prayer: God, keep fresh in our memory that we were all strangers at one point, and we were welcomed. We are guests on this planet you created, and you have provided abundantly all we need for survival. We are strangers in your household, alienated by our sin, and yet like the prodigal Father you have welcomed us in and made us your children by the grace of your son Jesus. Fill us with humility, to welcome strangers with the same love we ourselves have received, in the name of him who welcomes us, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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