Superheroes are awesome. They have super powers, they are usually very smart, and they make great material for epic stories. Imagine with me. You fall asleep late one night and as you dream you discover that you are in a new land and you can fly. At first you hesitate, as you lift off from the ground, as your feet leave the earth. But soon you are comforted in this newly discovered gift and you find yourself soaring to amazing heights. Cool! Then the alarm clock goes off and POW, the dream is over, as you painfully crash down, as your eyes open back to life, back to reality.
The world loves the superhero story and we are taught to love it from an early age. Christians are no different. We read the stories of Noah and his larger than life ship, and imagine ourselves in a 2012 flood seeking to save our way of life. We scream and shout as God reaches through Moses to rage an epic war against the Imperial superpower of Egypt and its evil emperor Palpatine, Pharaoh. We cry tears of joy and sorrow as we watch the enemy discover the kryptonite of the superman, Samson, and how he comes back to sacrifice his life to save his people from the Philistines. We are awe inspired by the tiny boy, this tribute from the district of Israel, David, with an aim like Katniss Everdean, as he shoots from a distance to take down his foe in the original hunger games of life.
This week we have been called to read the story of a young, untalented victim of evil named Joseph. Joseph, this second to last born boy of a man who robbed the rich to bless himself, who spends his young life in slavery and prison, never hearing the voice of God, never seeing a miracle, never experiencing the supernatural, a boy like us.
Joseph worked hard in whatever situation he found himself in. He strove to be a blessing in slavery, a blessing in prison, and ultimately a blessing to those who throughout his life were his enemy. Joseph was amazingly normal and through no special power or verbal or visual encounter by God, ended up saving the world and reuniting what evil had broken and destroyed.
Out of all the people I have worked with over the years, I have never met anyone that didn’t long to be something amazing, to be a part of an epic story. To hear an audible voice from God or to see a supernatural miracle of epic proportion take place before their very eyes. The reality is that we are a part of an epic story. God is leading each of us, guiding and placing us in strategic locations with specific talents and gifts with the intent of using us for his Glory, and to save His people. We are all like Joseph, unlikely, hardworking, not distracted by the enemies of life, but focused on being a blessing wherever we are, and letting God lead us through the epic story of life.
