Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. – Genesis 37:34

Today’s Scripture Reading (May 6, 2012): Genesis 37

In chaos theory, there is a hypothesis that basically posits that a small change in one place can result in massive change somewhere else. Very simply put, the idea is that the effect continues to grow over time and space. Technically it is sometimes referred to as Deterministic Nonperiodic Flow. The more popular name is The Butterfly Effect. It is described as the possibility that a hurricane resulted because somewhere, weeks earlier, a butterfly flapped its wings.

The Butterfly Effect is really just a piece of Science Fantasy, at least in its more extreme descriptions. And yet it does hold some validity, although maybe more of a possibility when trying to describe the effects of social phenomenon. The Butterfly Effect was the social beginning of historical movements like the reunification of Germany  or the student rebellion in Tiananmen Square. Both are examples of huge results that really started with a relatively small action.

In religion, we tend to have a limited idea of the effects of sin. For us, it is often contained in an act against a specific person. So when we gossip, and if we think of the damage that we are doing (and I don’t think that we often even think about the effect of gossip but if we do ...) we think of it as being against one person. When we lie, we often think only of the limited effect of the lie. But all sin has a much wider effect. And it really is just an example of a social version of the butterfly beginning to flap its wings.

All that the sons of Jacob wanted was to be finally rid of their brother. To finally prove that the dreams were nothing but the fabrication of a little boy with dreams of grandeur. And their action was against their brother. And, just maybe, they thought that the impact of their action would restore the relationship that they longed for with their dad. But now they stood before their father and they realized the full impact of their sin in the tears of their father. But this was only the beginning of the Butterfly Effect. The rest of the story of Joseph is all about what their actions would create on the world level.

For them, it was just a little step. No one was going to miss this dreamer. But for God, the butterfly had started to flap its wings and the world was going to feel its effects.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 38