JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT Text: Genesis 50: February 12, 2012 Faith J. Conklin. Prologue

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1 JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT Text: Genesis 50: February 12, 2012 Faith J. Conklin Prologue Two men are talking about world issues, high taxes, and the problems of everyday living. They also talk about their families. I have three boys, one man says proudly. That's a nice family, the other responds somewhat sadly. I wish to heaven I had three children. Don't you have any children? asks the proud father. There s a touch of sympathy in his voice. Oh, yes, sighs the other. I have six. Jacob would understand. He had twelve sons and one daughter. They were his blessing and his burden. I m sure there were days when he wished he had less. He sometimes acted as if he only had one. The musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, is based on the story of Joseph. It s found in chapters in Genesis. It s the longest and most detailed narrative account of a single individual in the entire book of Genesis. Joseph was the eleventh of Jacob s sons. His mother was Rachel. Jacob loved Rachel best of all his wives. Joseph is his favorite son. As a sign of his love, Jacob gives Joseph a coat of many colors. Actually it was a long, luxurious robe with sleeves not at all like the short, sleeveless tunics worn by his older brothers. It s a gift of respect and royalty. Joseph's brothers are already jealous of him and his father s treatment of him. The coat only makes it worse. They re also angered by the presumptuousness of Joseph s dreams which by his own interpretation suggests that, though younger, he will rule over them. One day while they re in the fields working Joseph walks toward them. He s wearing that coat. They decide to kill him. His older brother Ruben convinces them to throw Joseph in a pit. (He plans to rescue him later.) They see some passing traders and decide to sell Joseph to them. The brothers then put goat s blood on his coat. They bring it to Jacob saying he s been killed by a wild animal. Joseph goes to Egypt as a slave. He rises through the ranks until he s the chief steward for a high court official, Potiphar. When Potiphar s wife tries to seduce Joseph, he rejects her. She accuses him of rape. Joseph is put in jail. There 1

2 he interprets the strange dreams of his two cellmates. One of those cellmates, the butler, is eventually returned to service. Meanwhile, Pharaoh has dreams no one can interpret. The butler tells him about Joseph and his skills. Pharaoh orders Joseph to be brought to him. He tells Joseph his dream. It s about seven fat cows, seven skinny cows, seven healthy ears of corn, and seven dead ears of corn. Joseph says it means seven plentiful years of crops followed by seven years of famine. Pharaoh is amazed and pleased. He puts Joseph in charge of carrying out the preparations needed to survive the impending famine. Joseph becomes a power in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. The famine also affects Joseph's family. His brothers hear Egypt has food and decide to go there to beg for help. They re met by Joseph whom they don t recognize. He doesn t identify himself. He gives them food and sends them home. He asks about their family and tells them to bring their brother Benjamin back with them. They do. When they leave a second time, Joseph plants a golden cup in Benjamin s sack. He then sends soldiers to stop them and search for the stolen cup. The brothers protest their innocence and empty their sacks. The cup is found in Benjamin s and Joseph accuses him of theft. The others beg for mercy for him. They implore Joseph to take them prisoner and set Benjamin free. Moved by their pleas, Joseph tells them who he is. He also sends them to bring back Jacob. The family is reunited. They begin a new life in Egypt. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was the first Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly. It has no spoken dialogue, only music. It s a re-telling of Joseph s story in a variety of styles and parodies. Here s how it originated. A family friend, a music teacher at a preparatory school, suggested that Tim and Andrew write a pop cantata for the annual school concert, ideally on a Biblical subject. Tim s favorite Bible story had long been Joseph and his coat of many colors. In his autobiography, Oh, What A Circus, Tim writes: This great tale has everything plausible, sympathetic characters, a flawed hero, and redeemed villains. It s a story of triumph against the odds, of love and hate, of forgiveness and optimism. As with all great stories, the teller has no need to spell out the messages if he tells the tale well. Perhaps risking comparisons with the youthful Joseph s lack of modesty, I believe Andrew and I told the story very well indeed. 2

3 We can agree. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat offers us a unique way to remember the story of Joseph and to reflect upon its timeless truth. It s in that hope we present this medley of songs from that musical. Epilogue The story of Joseph contains some of the most profound theological lessons in all of Scripture. If we look closely we ll also see a promise of the good news that s most fully realized and proclaimed in Jesus. Joseph s story is often seen primarily as a tale of transformation and forgiveness. Given a most wonderful opportunity for revenge, Joseph chooses reconciliation. Rather than use his position as a powerful official in Pharaoh s court to punish his brothers, he chooses instead to bless them. What could have ended in retribution for past wrongs becomes a means by which the family is restored and reunited. That alone would be a worthwhile lesson to take from the story and the re-telling of it. We d do well to imitate Joseph s spirit and choices. It s here that Webber and Rice conclude their story. In so doing, we miss the deeper meaning. What really matters in this narrative isn t what Joseph does or doesn t do; it isn t about his dream or dreams. This is a story about God. It s is a story about God s dream for his creation and how God works to fulfill it, often despite and beyond our choices. In that sense, any dream won t do. Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good... Those are Joseph s words to his brothers following Jacob s death. They re also the underlying theme and message of the entire Joseph story. It isn t what we do, bad or good, but what God does. It s isn t who we are, it s who God is. In all our circumstances God works for good. Evil doesn t get the final word. We see that truth most clearly in Jesus cross and resurrection. Life is difficult and sometimes dangerous. It doesn t always go as we plan or dream. Circumstances happen beyond our control. Evil is real. Pain is inevitable. As Joseph affirms and Paul tells us, In all things, God works for good. God works with the stuff of our lives our dreams, our choices, our wrong decisions, and our unforeseen circumstances. If we will let God, God will use them to bring good to us and blessing for others. As Geoff McElroy reminds us,.and here is the gospel, the good news found in the Joseph cycle: the dream of God prevails over the plans of human beings. Maybe not always in the forms God intended at first, and there may be long and trying times before it comes about, and 3

4 it may come about in ways that we never expect, but the dream of God, God s desire for the world and God s people is still being achieved. Joseph s story then isn t about guilt (his or his brothers). It s not about grit (his strong determination to succeed). It s about God s grace. It s not about his destiny or his good luck. It s about providence and the ways God shows his care for us. It s about the dream of God that prevails despite everything. That s the dream we re ultimately called to claim and follow. It doesn t fail. Music is often a vehicle to convey truth. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a good example. Here s another. Many of you know of the composer Rossini. Ciro in Babilonia was his first serious opera. It was written when he was just 20 years old. Because the opera was performed in Lent, it had to have a sacred subject. Rossini chose the story of Belshazzar, King of Babylon and his defeat by Cyrus, King of Persia. He dressed it up with romantic intrigues and plotting. In the original opera Rossini had to work with a contralto one had only one good note middle B-flat. As he described it: Besides being hideously ugly, she had the most wretched voice. After trying it with the utmost care I discovered that she possessed one single good note. So I wrote an aria for her in which she had nothing but this note to sing. All the rest I put into the orchestra, and as it was liked and applauded, my singer of the one note was delighted with her triumph. Fortunately so was the audience. See it as a parable. What we do is often hideously ugly. We sometimes don t give God very much to work with in our lives. God is a master composer. God takes the one note we have to offer and works with it. God makes of it something wonderful. It s called hope. It s beautiful. By it we may delight in God s triumph and even call it our own. Like Joseph, we know that no matter what door is closed, we are never alone. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning. You intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good... That s Joseph s truth and ours. This morning we celebrate and rejoice in it once again. Amen. 4

5 Genesis 50: Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph s brothers said, What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him? 16 So they approached Joseph, saying, Your father gave this instruction before he died, 17 Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you. Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father. Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 Then his brothers also wept, fell down before him, and said, We are here as your slaves. 19 But Joseph said to them, Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? 20 Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. 21 So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones. 5