Brotherly Love // Rev. Michele Arndt // Nov 16 2025

The story of Joseph may live only as a musical drama with a flashy coat in some of our minds, but in the biblical narrative, Joseph’s story takes up 13 of the 50 chapters of Genesis. And there is far more to this tale than mere teenage jealousy between brothers.The story of Joseph takes us deep into the heart of a decades long family conflict that illuminates the effects of sibling rivalry and the power of blood in the context of relationships. There is something about family that tests our limits in ways other relationships don’t. Family relationships hold the power to hurt and the longing to heal in ways other relationships don’t.Joseph’s story is not merely instructive for our understanding of kinship in our physical families. It also invites us to reflect on how blood calls us to be reconciled to one another in the body of Christ. Joseph’s response to the mistreatment he endured at the hands of his brothers foreshadows that of our older brother, Jesus, who endured the harsh realities of the cross to “bring many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10). We hope you’ll join us for our one-week sprint through the Joseph story before we land at the communion table to remember our common belonging to one another.