OYB for Jan 20th

Today's reading has some good stuff! Joseph finally gets a break in Genesis 41 when he is able, with God's help, to interpret Pharoah's dreams, and so ends up as Pharoah's right hand man. Mike's comments suggest that Joseph didn't put himself forward for this position, but the next thing he mentions is the picture from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." While the scripture doesn't indicate that he did so, the play certainly does. Not in so many words, but in the tone of voice used when Joseph makes the suggestion of finding the "right" man. Who knows" Maybe Webber and Rice were right. After all, you can't read tone in the written word. ;)

I personally thing that the more significant portion of the reading, though, comes in Genesis 42, when the brothers come to Egypt. Joseph turns up the heat on them, bur Reuben reacts not in anger or fear, but with the realization that they deserved what they were getting. I think it's a turning point for them.

The Matthew passage has a lot of familiar parables. But the one that jumped out at me was one that I don't remember really noticing before. Matthew 13:33 reads

He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened."

There's no interpretation. Just this one sentence. But it spoke to me. The kingdom of heaven isn't some far-off place with no interaction with this world. The kingdom of heaven is to me so mingled with the world that it is inseparable, but it still has a profound influence on the world. It is all "leavened." Which means, of course, "made to rise." I'm still not sure what all the implications of that are - I'm sort of "typing out loud" at the moment.

And, finally, thanks to Psalm 18, I now have a song stuck in my head. There's a great bouncy song based on this Psalm that've been very popular at the Cursillo events that I've been involved with. It's called "I Will Call Upon the Lord" (I don't care a great deal for this particular record recording, but it's the only one I could find on the web)
I will call upon the Lord
Who is worthy to be praised
So shall I be saved from mine enemies

The Lord liveth, and blessed be my Rock
And may the God of my salvation be exalted
The Lord liveth, and blessed be my Rock
And may the God of my salvation be exalted