We Don’t Talk About Bruno*

Genesis 37: 26-27 (NIV) —

‘Judah said to his brothers, ‘What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him...’

Have you ever messed up in life? As those mistakes unfold, you start to think ‘God couldn’t possibly forgive this.’ Meet Judah. If ever dysfunction needed a case study, Judah and his family would be it. Judah was raised in a family where his father openly played favourites. In this situation Judah and his brothers are so overcome with jealousy they sell their brother, Joseph. They become human traffickers. Judah’s life becomes more difficult.

In many ways I feel for Judah. What he did was awful, and it changed him. He lived under the weight and guilt of what he had done. It would be so easy to write him off. However, his jealousy may have come from this message: ‘You are not good enough’.

Many of us live with similar messages in our heads. While we may not participate in human trafficking, we do plenty of other things. We all carry guilt and shame which can steer our decision-making and interactions with people. The fallout zone of shame can be wide and deep and painful. As the researcher and author Brené Brown puts it ‘Shame depends on me buying into the belief that I'm alone.’ ** Thankfully we aren’t!

Enter in the God of restoration. God didn’t just step into Judah’s mess; he restored and transformed it. From this human trafficker, later came Jesus. God is not afraid of our mess; God is not angry or judgemental of our shame. He chooses to step into our mess with empathy. From that mess he restores and transforms. ‘Empathy is...communicating that incredibly healing message of ‘you are not alone’’ ' Brené Brown. Your story does not have to be ruled by shame.  

Prayer - Father, thank you that you are willing to step into the messiest situations and sit with us so we are not alone. Please come and sit with us in our mess.

*Song: Encanto

**Brené Brown: Culture of Empathy Builder