Genesis 37:23-28:

So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the ornamented robe that he wore, and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. Then they sat down to eat, and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?  Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers agreed. When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

Matthew 14:22-33:

Immediately he made the disciples get into a boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,  but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”  When they got into the boat, the wind ceased.  And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.

The Great Treasure

This summer as we study the Gospel of Matthew, we have been talking about the Kingdom of Heaven. We have been asking, “What is the Kingdom of Heaven?” and “How do we get there?” This morning I want to offer a simple answer. The Kingdom of Heaven is peace of mind. Peace of mind. When you are at peace with God and with your life and with your relationships, then you have peace of mind. And this is the Kingdom of Heaven. What could be more valuable than that? Peace of mind is the Great Treasure, the One Pearl of Great Price.

This morning I want to talk about how finding this great treasure is related to letting go. Letting go of control, letting go of attachment to the past, letting go of anger, resentment, and jealousy. And letting go of the way we thought our life was supposed to turn out. Letting go is key to finding peace of mind.

My friend Scott

Years ago, when I lived in a small town in western Maine, my kids had friends from school that they used to go skiing with. And so, we got to know their family, and they were a very nice family. I got to know all of them, the parents, Scott and Sharon, and their kids, Craig and Kristen. We had a lot in common. We were young parents with young kids growing up in a small town.

One day Sharon told me that her husband, Scott, was coughing a lot and she was worried about him. As it turned out, a few weeks later, Scott was diagnosed with lung cancer. The doctors told him there was nothing that could be done. It was terminal cancer. They gave him about six months to live.

I remember the last time I went to see Scott. I found him outside his house, walking near the trees and the flower gardens in his landscaped yard. It was a beautiful afternoon. And I was nervous. I didn’t know what I was going to say to him. But he put me at ease. He was calm and quiet and peaceful, and he said to me, “It’s ok. I’ve had a good life.” He died later that week. He was forty-four years old. And I have never forgotten that last time I spoke with him, when I was so surprised at his response to the end of his life. At the time, I was forty-two years old, only two years younger than Scott. But he was much wiser than me. And I learned a lot from him that day, and I have often thought about that last conversation with him.

Monhegan Island

This past Friday, Shari and I took the ferry out to Monhegan Island. We were celebrating her birthday, and for several years she has mentioned how much she enjoys Monhegan Island. I was apprehensive about the weather, but I looked at the weather report for Friday, and it called for a high of only 63! So I was all for that! After the heat wave we’ve been having, “Let’s go to Monhegan!”

Now, is it just me, or have you also noticed that recently, the weather predictions have been less than accurate? I mean, sometimes, not even in the ballpark? After a delightful ferry ride, we got to Monhegan at 8AM and walked up to the lighthouse. It was foggy and cool. Then we hiked across the island, three quarters of a mile, to the cliffs on the eastern side. And by then, the fog was lifting and the sun came out, blazing hot. There was no shade on the cliff trail. In a few minutes we were roasting. And then, for the rest of the day, we were roasting hot. It was quite uncomfortable. Needless to say, the temperature was well above 62 degrees! There is no air conditioning on the island, and very little shade. And there was nothing we could do about it. Nothing to do but wait for the return ferry at 4:30.

Do you know this feeling? Something happens that is unpredictable, making you very uncomfortable, and yet there is nothing you can do about it? It’s a feeling of being out of control. You have no control over the situation. There is nothing to do about it. And so, the only thing you can do is work on your attitude. It is amazing how much our attitude has to do with the way we perceive things.

Joseph betrayed

In our reading from Genesis this morning, Joseph goes to his brothers to greet them, to just say, “Hello, how are you?” And they attack him. They strip off his robe, and they throw him into a pit. Imagine Joseph’s shock. Imagine how it must have felt, falling down into that pit, thrown there by his own brothers. The sense of betrayal, and the lack of control –have you ever felt like this? Something happens, you are blindsided, betrayed, attacked, and thrown down. You have absolutely no control over the situation. What can you do? What is there to do? It’s the feeling of being stabbed in the back. And there is nothing you can do about it. You are Joseph in the pit.

Jacob learns of Joseph’s death

Now, these brothers of Joseph were actually his stepbrothers. Joseph was the youngest son of Jacob, and he was Jacob’s favorite. The stepbrothers knew this and they were jealous of Joseph. So they plotted together to kill him. But one of the brothers, Reuben, said, “Let’s not kill him. Let’s throw him into this pit in the wilderness.” See, it was Reuben’s intention to circle back later and rescue Joseph. But that didn’t happen either, because another brother, Judah, said, “I know! Let’s sell Jospeh to those slave traders passing by.” So that is what they did. They sold Joseph to some slave traders, and Joseph was taken away to Egypt. Then, the brothers all went back home and told their father Jacob that Joseph was dead, that he had been killed by a wild animal. And when Jacob heard this, he “tore his garments, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days.” (v. 34)And again, there was nothing he could do about it. He could only mourn for his son. He had no control over the situation.

Joseph in Egypt

Now, what happens to Joseph in Egypt? We might expect him to want revenge. We might expect him to try to go back to his family and kill his brothers out of revenge for what they did to him. But he does not. In fact, Joseph moves on with his life. He steps into his new life in Egypt. “The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man; he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands. So Jospeh found favor in his sight and attended him; he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had.” (39:2-4)

And there is more. That is not the end of the story. But for now, the point is, Joseph moved on. He let go of the betrayal. He did not carry a grudge. He did not seek revenge. Eventually, as you know, he was reconciled to his brothers, even in spite of their treachery.

“Thy Will be Done”

You know, each week we pray together, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.” And that is so easy to say. “Thy will be done.” But it is very difficult to live and to practice. “Thy will be done” means that I am not in control. “Thy will be done” means letting go of control. And that is very, very difficult for us to do, especially as Americans, living in one of the wealthiest, most privileged country in the world. We are accustomed to getting what we want. We are accustomed to getting our way. And we are certainly accustomed to being in control. So we need to take a look at this. “Thy will be done”.

Matthew 14

It is very scary to let go of control. Even when there is no choice. This brings us to our second reading, the reading from Matthew 14. The disciples are out on the sea of Galilee in a boat when a storm comes up. All night, the waves are crashing, the wind is blowing, and finally, in the morning, they look out across the water and there is Jesus, walking. Walking on the water. And they are terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they say. And Jesus says, “Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid.”

And so then Peter decides he wants to prove himself. He wants to show his faith. “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” And Jesus says, “Come on out here.” And so, Peter steps out of the boat and starts to walk. And he sinks.

Right there. Do you see it? He wants to have faith. He wants to step out of the boat. And he starts out. But then he sinks. He begins to doubt. He begins to second guess. He begins to think about everything. He realizes that he is not in control. The wind is howling and he can’t do anything about it. And he can’t control it. And he starts to think, “What if this happens? What if that happens?” His thinking mind, his doubting mind, all his habits of doubting and second guessing. All these mental habits of trying to be in control.  And so, he sinks. And Jesus says to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Letting go is very difficult

It is so very difficult to let go, to let go of the past, to step into a new life, to let go of control, to let go of doubting and second guessing everything, and to say “Thy will be done.” “Thy will.” That is, God’s will. God’s will be done. Not my will. God’s will.

You know, you wake up in the morning, and you think your day is going to go a certain way. You think you know what you are going to do. You have all these plans. But suddenly, something happens, and everything changes. And then you realize you are not in control, and in fact, you were never in control. And that is a moment of grace. That is a gift from God, when you realize that you are not in control, and you were never in control, and you are never going to be in control of the things that happen in your life.

Called to the ER

To conclude, I have one more story for you. This past week, on Tuesday, I had a meeting scheduled for 1:00 in the afternoon. I was getting ready for the meeting, and then, at 12:30 the phone rang. It was the hospital looking for a pastor. There had been a death in the emergency room, the hospital chaplain was away, and the family needed a minister, and I was on the hospital’s list. Was I available?

I didn’t even know I was on the hospital’s list. Well, I realized that was God calling me. I didn’t really want to go to the emergency room and sit there with a grieving family. But it was the thing I needed to do, and it was the thing I was being called to do. And so, I cancelled my other meeting, and I went to the ER.

And as it turned out, I’m glad I did. These things have a way of putting all of my other seemingly-so-important problems in perspective. Sitting in the emergency room with that family was a gift for me. It helped me remember what is most important. It helped me to open my heart once again. I was honored that they called me to go there, to be with them in their grief.

Each day is a gift from God. We are not in control of the things that happen. And we can learn from these scripture stories. We can reflect on them and take them into our hearts as examples of how to live in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Amen? Amen.