Sunday, August 20, 2023
/Proper 15
Genesis 45: 1-15; Psalm 133; Romans 11: 1-2a, 29-32; Matthew 15: 10-28
The Rev. James M.L. Grace
In the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. AMEN.
On Thursday, January 15, 2009, US Airways flight 1549 took off from La Guardia Airport enroute to Charlotte. Moments after takeoff, the Airbus A320 plane struck a flock of geese, and all engine power was lost. Not only were all 155 people on board the plane immediately in danger, but thousands more people in New York City unknowingly were at risk had the plane crashed into New York City’s urban landscape.
Recognizing that they did not have enough engine power to make it back to La Guardia, pilots Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and Jefrey Skiles made a split-second decision to “ditch” or land the plane into the Hudson River. The time from the bird strike to the ditching in the river was less than four minutes. All 155 people on board survived, and the incident quickly became known as the “miracle on the Hudson.” I find it serendipitous that the flight number – 1549 – was also the year the first Book of Common Prayer in our church was published. The Mayor of New York City gave the pilot, who had saved them, the keys to the city. Keys like this are usually given in recognition of great service to the city, and they represent access and authority.
While none of us will likely achieve the heroic notoriety of somebody the pilot of that airplane, we are nonetheless given keys to God’s kingdom. The keys to the kingdom, given to us, by Jesus, also instill within each of us honor, responsibility, and spiritual authority. All of us have received the keys to the kingdom. Yet many of us seem to have lost them. I lose my car keys all the time, and I have a tile on them that helps me relocate them. I also misplace my keys to the kingdom. This happens when I choose productivity over prayer, or superficial conversation over honest sharing.
In the story from Genesis this morning, I see an example of what it looks like to really live a life in which you have been given the keys to the kingdom. In the reading from Genesis, we meet Joseph. Recall from last week’s reading that Joseph was the favorite son of his father Jacob. Jacob’s preferential treatment of Jospeh angered his brothers, and they left Joseph in a pit to fend for himself.
Today’s reading picks up the story several chapters later, and we find that Joseph who was once left nearly dead by his brothers, has come into very good fortune, and is a high ranking official under Pharaoh in Egypt. We see that the tables have been turned for Joseph and his brothers. A famine has swept across Israel, and Joseph’s brothers have travelled to Egypt to appeal for assistance. They do not know the person they are talking to is their long-lost brother until today’s reading.
It is obvious to me that Joseph has held onto his keys to the kingdom, as we see him use them to unlock doors. The door Joseph unlocks is the door of his heart, and when he identifies himself to his brothers, he weeps over them and is deeply emotional. I love this part of the story because Joseph’s emotion, his weeping over his brothers, speaks to me deeply.
When I was in Colorado – two times – when I got to the top of a mountain after a long hike, I wept. I cried, partly because the altitude was so high, but also, I wept because that was all I could offer in response to the limitless horizon I saw all around me. We shouldn’t fear showing our emotions. Jesus wept and showed compassion all the time.
Jospeh totally forgave his brothers, and because he had not lost his keys to the kingdom, he understood that despite all the hardship he had been through, God used him to save lives. Captain Sullenberger saved the lives of 155 people on flight 1549, a heroic achievement. Joseph saved the lives of his brothers, and the people of Israel, also remarkable. Jesus saved all of us, the most incredible accomplishment the world has ever known, and for this remarkable act, was given keys not to a city, but to the entire kingdom of God. And what did Jesus do with these keys which he received after accomplishing the greatest saving act the world has ever known? He gave them away. He gave them to all of us. He gave them to you.
Are you using the keys to kingdom Christ gave you? Or have you put them in your spiritual junk drawer where they do nothing but collect dust? Joseph forgave his brothers. Jesus forgave the sins of the entire world. Who are you called to forgive today? AMEN.