“Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.”

We are starting a new sermon series called “the messy middle.” We begin with the story of the middle of Joseph’s life. After the coat of many colors but before he was in charge of all of Egypt. The middle is a hard place where there aren’t easy answers or a clear road ahead. It feels like that’s where we are now, not just with the pandemic, but with the state of racism in our country. Usually when I’ve read this story of Joseph I’ve thought of myself in his shoes, and that’s been helpful. But today I wonder if I have more in common with Potiphar than with Joseph. I’ve never been a slave. I’ve never been sold out by my family. I’ve never been in jail. As I read this story today, I feel God encouraging me to think of those who have slavery in their not too distant history, who feel betrayed, who’ve been in or threatened with jail. That’s not a thought journey I want to be on, but one that God has put me on this week.

-Pastor Travis

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