Daily Lectionary | Genesis 48 & Matthew 6:19-34
Genesis 48
Summary
Joseph has been faithful to his father, even to his deathbed. Joseph was made something of a son to Pharaoh, given the authorities and the privileges of a royal son, but he still honors his true father. And Jacob honors Joseph. In his dying days, Jacob summons Joseph and his two sons. Joseph had been essentially adopted into Pharaoh’s family, now Joseph's sons, born of an Egyptian mother, will be adopted into the family of Jacob: they will be as sons to him and receive the inheritance just like Simeon, Reuben, and the others.
Ephraim and Manessah, Joseph's two sons, come to their grandfather. Just like Isaac’s eyes were dim and he blessed “the wrong son,” so Joseph’s eyes are dim and he blesses “the wrong son,” the younger son Ephraim. Joseph thinks this is a mistake, but Jacob insistes, “The younger brother shall be greater than [the older].” Once again, as with Cain and Abel, with Isaac and Ishmael, with Jacob and Esau, and now Ephraim and Manasseh, the younger brother “replaces” the older brother. We can think in the larger story of Scripture how Jesus is the younger brother who replaces the older brother Adam.
Reflection Question
What might the significance be of the younger brother replacing the older?
Matthew 6:19-34
Summary
Jesus is a new Moses, who goes up on a mountain presenting the truest form of the law. In the Sermon on the Mount, he’s also a new Solomon who shows the path of wise living. Solomon looked to creation to make observations about wise living (e.g., look at how the ants labor). Jesus calls us to consider the lilies of the field, how God faithfully and gloriously cares for creation (Matt. 6:29). If the Lord cares for lilies of the field, a small part of his created order, how much more will he care for humans, the pinnacle of his creation?
Jesus repeats the call “not to be anxious” (Matt. 6:25, 31, 34). We shouldn’t be anxious about things like what we will eat, what we will wear, and the like. These are necessary things, to be sure, but Jesus calls us to a life of faith in God’s provision. Imagine living a life free of anxiety? Jesus invites us to this sort of life in his kingdom.
So if we’re not to be anxious about very real needs then what should we do? “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33). Jesus calls us to live our lives with his kingdom at the center. And this sermon orients us to his kingdom priorities. Living into those priorities breaks the chains of anxiety.
Before Jesus addresses anxiety head-on, he teaches on money, or mammon as it’s called in Hebrew. This is another great cause of anxiety. Just like we shouldn’t be anxious, we shouldn’t “lay up for ourselves treasurers on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal” (Matt. 6:19). The obvious point is earthly treasures don’t last but heavenly treasures do.
Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be” (Matt. 6:21). Not the heart follows the treasure. Where you invest your resources, money, and time, your heart will follow that investment. Of course, if you invest your resources, money, and time into kingdom priorities your heart will follow likewise.
We think of our vision as receiving light through the eyes. But for the ancient understanding, the eyes are light and send out light. The word for “healthy” is a word that can mean wholeness and may have a connotation of generosity (Jonathan Pennington makes this point in The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing, p. 241-242). This is contrasted with “evil”, as in “evil eye.” The evil eye was associated with greed in the ancient world and in the Hebrew mind (cf. Deut. 15:7-10). If the eye is whole and generous, then this reveals the whole body is whole and generous. And likewise, if the eye is not whole and generous, then the whole body is not.
Jesus has just spoken of the heart, an inner organ that drives our actions. Perhaps we’re to understand Jesus speaking of the eye as an outer organ that reveals the heart. Jesus wants us healthy from the inside-out. Jesus, once again, is concerned about both about our outward actions and the internal disposition of our hearts. The two are always related. And the way to direct the heart is through actions oriented which orient our heart in the right direction.
Reflection Questions
What specific practices can we do to help us “not lay up treasures on earth” but in heaven?
What specific practices can we do to help us “not be anxious” but “seek first the kingdom of God”?