Today’s Scripture Reading (June 25,
2015): Genesis 40
One of
Mahatma Gandhi’s guiding principles for uniting India was a strong belief in
the importance of every person – and of every belief system. It was this
commitment that led him to believe strongly in the idea of religious pluralism
for the future of Hindu dominated India – a belief system that was put to the
test with a movement toward an Islamic State outside of the Hindu majority
state of India – a movement that ended with the creation of Pakistan. But in
Gandhi’s thought process, such a move was unnecessary because of the importance
of each individual – and the meaning that was inherent in every life.
Whatever
you do in life will be insignificant. But it is very important that you do it because,
you can't know; you can't ever really know the meaning of your life, and you
don't need to. Just know that your life has a meaning. Every life has a
meaning; whether it lasts one-hundred years or one-hundred seconds. Every life
and every death changes the world in its own way.” – Mahatma Gandhi
The
belief that every life has meaning and purpose should change the way we look at
our world. Life and death are not only an essential parts of our existence,
they change the world every time that they make their presence known to us.
Joseph
interprets the dream of the cupbearer. In this moment they are equals. Both are
prisoners, and both have been unjustly placed in this prison - they share in a
persecution that has been perpetuated against them. But the cupbearer’s dream
reveals to Joseph that in a few days the cupbearer will be restored. In a few
days, things will change between Joseph and this servant of the king. Suddenly,
the cupbearer’s life will seem to be worth so much more than that of Joseph’s –
and Joseph’s request is that, in that moment, the cupbearer will simply remember
him. Even though the trajectories of their lives will suddenly change, in
reality they will remain as equals.
There
is absolutely no indication that Joseph realized the special path that his life
was going to take. This was not about some sort of delusion of grandeur on
behalf of Joseph. He would have probably agreed with Gandhi that everything
that he did in life was insignificant. But it was important that he do it,
because ultimately the meaning of his life was not in his hands, it was in the
hands of his God.
Sometimes
we need to step back and remember exactly this – that all life is important and
that all meaning ultimately belongs in hands that are not ours - that regardless
of the many things that we sometimes believe separates us, we are all the same –
and all of us are created by the same God.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis
41
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