Genesis 45:3-11,15
3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me; do not delay. 10 You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 I will provide for you there, since there are five more years of famine to come, so that you and your household and all that you have will not come to poverty.’
Luke 6:27-38
27 “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; 28 bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not ask for it back again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive payment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap, for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

Rivers in Boxes: Creating the Enemy
This is a sermon about enemy image and othering. I want to begin with a couple illustrations, and you’ll see where I’m going with this. The last time we met for Sunday morning worship was three weeks ago. A lot can happen in three weeks. In fact, you are not the same person you used to be three weeks ago. Your name is still the same. Your appearance is mostly the same. But your thoughts and feelings are completely different. We human beings are more like rivers than rocks. We are not fixed and final entities, but rather, we are flowing along, we are a process, we are in motion, we are like rivers. Always flowing, always changing. And yet, we put labels on people. This is like trying to put a river in a cardboard box.
Here’s another way to talk about this: we wear different hats and coats. Sometimes, I wear my old beat-up Carhart work coat and a baseball cap. I have several different hats. Houston. Boston. NAPA.
Other times I wear this heavy wool dress coat. Now, what do I look like wearing the Carhart work coat? When you see that, what assumptions do you make? What do you think about someone who dresses like this? And when you see this long wool dress coat, what do you think? What assumptions do you make?
It’s interesting to experiment with clothing and observe people’s responses. Once in Portland, I was wearing my Carhart work clothes, my good-old boy outfit, and I tried to walk into a fancy restaurant. They wouldn’t let me in. I’ve noticed, too, that when I wear this long wool coat over a button-down oxford into the hardware store, I get some looks. (Not a good working man look.)
Last year I was travelling in Texas, and I wore my clergy collar in the San Antonio airport. I went to the little airport diner to get some breakfast, and the lady working at the counter would not let me pay anything. “You’re a priest,” she said. “No charge for priests.” But other times, when I’m wearing the collar, I get a totally different reaction. Some people hate all church ministers and let me know right away.
But what are these responses, really? They are projections. They are labels. They are judgements. And projections, labels and judgements are simply ideas– stories people tell themselves based on some colors and shapes of clothing. And yet, these stories create the illusion of a fixed and final identity. Again, this is like trying to put a river in a cardboard box. With these stories, we create enemy image. With these stories, we define the “other.” The other is not like me. In fact, the other is dangerous. The other is my enemy.
How does this all this relate to our readings?
As we follow along in Luke’s gospel, this morning we are in chapter 6. Today is the only day this year we will have a reading from Luke chapter 6. But I encourage you to read the entire chapter on your own. Luke 6 is a key chapter because it points to some very unique teachings of the Christian faith. Specifically, the instructions to love your enemy, don’t judge others, forgive, and show mercy.
And then, we have this reading from Genesis. The reading from Genesis gives us an example that illustrates the teachings in Luke 6. These two readings are complimentary. They are like coffee and donuts, you know. Or french fries and ketchup. Or pancakes and maple syrup. They go together. One brings out the flavor in the other.
Let’s look at Genesis 45. The reading from Genesis is from the last major section of the book, the story of Joseph and his brothers. This story begins way back in chapter 37 and goes through chapter 50.
The story describes a family break-up and reconciliation. This is where we can see that the Bible is still a living and breathing document, so to speak. It remains valid, even today, because it deals with timeless human issues. How many of you know of families where there has been a break up or an emotional cut-off, or perhaps you have experienced in your own family, a break-up or an emotional cut-off? There is a fight, and then mother and daughter stop speaking, or father and son stop speaking, brother and brother stop speaking. Emotional cut-offs can devastate people. So this is what’s going on in the Joseph story.
Recall that Joseph was the youngest son of Jacob, one of twelve brothers, and his brothers were jealous of him because he was his father’s favorite son. Remember the famous coat of many colors, and the two dreams in which the sheaves and the stars bowed down. The brothers hated Joseph because they were jealous, and so they made Joseph their enemy, and then they scapegoated him. At first, they wanted to kill him, but later, they decided to sell him to Ishmaelite slave traders. These traders took Joseph to Egypt where he worked as a slave. Meanwhile the brothers went home and lied to their father, saying that Joseph was dead, killed by a wild animal.
Years go by, there is famine, and a lot of other things happen until (8 chapters later) we get to chapter 45, and the scene where Joseph, now an important advisor of Pharaoh, reveals his identity to his brothers who are starving and have come begging for food. There is a family reconciliation. The family is reunited through Joseph’s mercy and forgiveness.
So this story offers us a perfect example of enemy image, sometimes called “othering.” I have talked to you before about the creation of enemy image. And this is a very important thing to understand, because we all do it. It is something that human beings do. And we need to understand it and recognize it, in ourselves, and in our society. I can’t emphasize this enough, especially with what is going on in our world right now.
How can we understand this thing that happens both in societies and in families? What is enemy image?
The creation of enemy image occurs when someone is seen as an enemy, labeled as an enemy. The main point here is that “enemy” is a creation, a mental projection. The research on this in psychology and sociology is huge. Here is a quote from a book called Enemy Images in American History: “It seems to be a tenet of the human condition to perceive “others” as “different” and potentially hostile. In nearly all societies stereotypes are developed to stigmatize suspected enemies within and without.” So, in other words, first someone is seen as different, then, as an outsider, then, as a threat, and then as an enemy. Now, this happens within families. It happens on elementary school playgrounds. It happens in high school cliques. It happens in churches. It happens in small towns. It happens in national and international economic and political affairs. Wherever there is an ingroup and an outgroup, there is the creation of enemy image.
But here is Jesus in Luke Chapter 6: “I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies.” First of all, we have to be listening. This is a difficult message to actually hear. Love your enemies. We think it’s impossible to love our enemies. But what if we take it a step further and understand that an enemy is our own projection. Enemy is our own mental construction. If we can see through the construction, we can unravel the whole thing, and then, we can realize that there are no enemies, because the entire concept of enemy falls apart.
How do we get there? Well, we can see that there really are no outsiders. There are no outsiders because there are no insiders. Actually, human beings are incredibly diverse. The way we each think, and the way we each perceive the world varies across a wide range. You, as an individual, are completely unique. You might say you want to be with other people who are like you, but actually, no one is like you. You are totally unique.
The creation of enemy image happens when someone is labeled as “different.” But we are all different. Each one of us is different. Just take a look at our own congregation. This appreciation of difference is a foundation of the Congregational way. So we could celebrate our differences and celebrate each other’s strengths.
My point here is to simply take a look at this. Become aware of the way we judge, the way we think about so-called “others.” Notice how easily and quickly we become suspicious of people not like “us,” you know? People from “away,” for example. This is the beginning of enemy image. It’s how we create our enemies. We create them in our minds. So, let’s take a look at this.
“Love your enemies” is a core teaching of the Christian Gospel. Let’s continue to read Luke chapter 6 throughout this year: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you. And finally, love your enemies until you see that there are no enemies and that there never were any to begin with. Amen? Amen.
Invitation:
If you feel God is speaking to your heart today, and you would like to talk with me or pray with me, the invitation is for you, right now. As we sing together our closing hymn….