An Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat?

...embracing unknowing as part of the human condition...

Hi, Friends.

I promised a series of posts to help us engage with Scripture and understand God in new ways. When we explore the social-historical contexts and the literary genres of Scripture, we discover the heart of a God whose love covers the entire universe. A God of Liberation and Love.

Last week, I listened to an episode of Brian McLaren’s podcast. In this episode, Barbara Brown Taylor remarked:

“I remember discovering Nicholas of Cusa, who is a 15th century guy who wrote a book, translated into English, on learned ignorance, and I fell in love with him. He talked about people who don’t know that they don’t know, and then people who don’t know but think they ought to know. And then, at the stage of learned ignorance, those who embrace unknowing as part of the human condition. So I suspect there isn’t a person alive who isn’t familiar with unknowing, but they’re stuck at number two, which is they think they ought to know. And so, it’s very difficult to embrace unknowing as part of the human condition, which leaves a lot of room for the divine to function in ways that surpass our understanding. But I love the idea, because again, I’ve cyclically gone through all of those. I don’t know that I don’t know. And then, I know I don’t know, but I think I ought to. And then, finally I can say, “Bring it on,” John Keats, negative capability, the ability to live with mystery and unanswered questions, and that is where human beings meet if they can stand it.

Human beings hate unknowing because uncertainty threatens our sense of security. And sometimes, we even pretend to know, to protect our egos. We know we are right as we slide into a dangerous ideology called “Fundamentalism.” Fundamentalism, the conviction that one possesses all truth, provides a false sense of security. This is why Jesus spoke so often about humility. It is the antidote to fundamentalism. I read this quote once, and I have no idea who said it:

“If you grew up in fundamentalism, here are the four hardest words to say: “I might be wrong.” This admission does not mean we no longer have convictions. It means that we have a proper understanding of our limitations.”

Unknowing is a muscle to exercise. So, let’s work out together by re-discovering a story familiar to many - the story of Joseph and the coat of many colors, found in Genesis 37. Take a moment to read it, or watch this five-minute video.

Genesis 37 tells us about Joseph’s dreams. TWO of them. After the first dream, Joseph said to his 11 brothers, “Listen to this dream that I had. There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Suddenly, my sheaf rose and stood upright; then your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”

After his second dream, he told his brothers, “Look, I have had another dream: the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

If Joseph knew what was good for him, I think he would have kept those dreams to himself. I have always suspected that sharing these dreams did not cultivate a warm relationship with his brothers.

Ten years ago, my son was four, and my daughter was two. I took them to the grocery store, where they asked to use the special and massive car cart - those carts with the giant red cars hooked to the front, with two seats, two steering wheels, and two horns. I hated those carts; they hardly fit through the aisles and definitely not the checkout lines. I told my kids… “We can use the car cart, but if you put your hands on each other, you’ll have to get out and walk.”

We were not even through the produce section when I heard my son saying, “Mom, She’s touching me!” A woman passing by remarked, “She was. Like this.” The woman used her own finger to demonstrate what my daughter was doing with her finger, getting super close to my son’s face without actually touching him.

I imagine that was what Joseph was doing as he shared his grandiose dreams. He was getting righhtttt up in his brother’s faces.

Scripture tells us that Joseph’s father loved him more than his other sons and made him an “ornamented robe.” The term “ornamented robe” is the newest translation of the Hebrew Words, Ketonet Passim. If you’ve been around the church, you’re probably accustomed to hearing Ketonet Passim translated as “coat” - the technicolored dream coat, or the coat of many colors. Scholars haven’t been quite sure how to translate those two words for hundreds of years. You can do your own research by clicking here. Let’s return to this in a minute…

I’m not sure why Joseph chose to share his dreams. Maybe he didn’t consider how arrogant he sounded. Whatever the reason, it pissed his brothers off. Naturally, they conspired to kill him.

[Note: If you’ve ever felt your family is insane, Biblical families might have you beaten.]

Joseph’s brothers stripped him of his ornamented robe and threw him into a pit, where he was found by traders and sold into slavery. Before returning home without Joseph, his brothers dipped Joseph’s robe in animal blood, brought it back to their father, and told him that his favorite son, Joseph, was devoured by wild animals. Joseph’s father, Jacob, was inconsolable. It must have been awkward for the brothers.

Let’s revisit the Hebrew word combination, Ketonet Passim, the ornamented robe. As I mentioned, scholars have not been able to translate the Hebrew word combination for this garment with any certainty. That is because the combination of these two Hebrew words is found only twice throughout the entire Bible. One author, Austen Hartke, explains:

“Most of the time translators can figure out a word’s meaning by looking closely at the context, especially if the word is used often. When a word is hardly ever used, though, we lose some of the nuance. If you are reading a collection of children’s stories that reference a stuffed bear with a fondness for honey who lives in a forest with an owl, a rabbit, a donkey, and a pig, those words by themselves don’t evoke anything - unless you’ve already read the stories of Winnie the Pooh! We know that the Hebrew word ketonet means “garment, robe, or tunic,” because we see it used all over the Bible to refer to clothing. But we don’t know what the word passim means. The only other time we find this word is in the terrible story of Tamar in 2 Samuel. She was also wearing a long robe with sleeves, an ornamented robe. This is how the virgin daughters of the king were clothed in earlier times. Apparently, this piece of clothing that Joseph had received as a gift from his father, the same type of clothing that Tamar was wearing, had both gender and status connotations attached to it.” Austen Hartke suggests that if the beautiful and luxurious garment served as a mark of distinction for the virgin daughters of the king, and it was the same garment that Jacob gifted his favored son, Joseph, then perhaps the alienation and abuse Joseph receives at the hands of his brothers makes even more sense. Joseph failed to measure up to gender expectations.”

Btw, check out this Bible for Normal People podcast interview with Austen Hartke, who delves into what the Bible says about transgender people.

Anyway, I always assumed Joseph’s brothers hated him because he was the favorite kid, and he dreamed he would rule over his brothers. Maybe they were jealous and irritated. It’s true Joseph and his brothers had a complicated relationship. But maybe they hated him because he was different. Maybe they hated him because he dressed in women’s clothes. Maybe they hated him because he was Queer.

Many of us struggle with complicated family relationships. This is not a new phenomenon; we are not alone in our struggles! The Book of Genesis reveals painfully complicated family relationships since the very beginning of time. Remarkably, God chose to reveal Godself amid the dysfunction through the most illegitimate of candidates.

Joseph, the despised brother, had grandiose dreams, and his dreams came true. In the book, “We Make the Road by Walking,” Brian McLaren writes:

“Through a dramatic series of temptations, delays, setbacks, and recoveries, Joseph rose from slavery to a place of honor in the court of the Egyptian Pharaoh. His brother’s evil intent had been overshadowed by God’s good intent, so that Joseph could save their lives. He had suffered and he had been blessed, he realized, for their benefit. So instead of imitating their resentful and violent example, he imitated the gracious heart of God. By refusing to play god in judging them, he imaged God in showing kindness to them. In this way, Joseph - the victim of mistreatment by his brothers - became the hero. The one everyone cruelly rejected was the one whose kindness everyone needed. The one who was considered favored wasn’t made superior so others could grovel before him; he was made strong so he could serve them…Blessing, power, or favor is not given for privilege over others, but for service for the benefit of others. The one who is deemed ugly or dull or disfavored or illegitimate, is always beloved by God. God shows up in the weaker ones who have been defeated or rejected.”

We have all been victims, like Joseph. We have all been victimizers, like his brothers. Life has been complicated since Genesis 1 and continues to be complicated today, thousands of years later.

What do we learn from this story?

We learn that God is revealed through those who choose love. This implies that, like Joseph, when we have been hurt, oppressed, or victimized, our ultimate goal is to set aside our thirst for revenge by choosing love. Love is wanting the best for others, even if from a distance. Love is praying that our abusers encounter God, a God of justice, in a way that leads to their healing and transformation. It must be said that YOU are no one’s savior. You are not responsible for the growth and healing of others when it comes at the cost of your safety and dignity. Tolerating abuse is not love. It is only self-betrayal.

This is the hardest part of the Christian life for me. When I am hurt, I want to hurt back. I want to help a person understand how much they suck. But, my faith insists that I resist my temptation to inflict pain. My faith compels me to search for the Christ who dwells within ALL people, even those who perpetrate evil. The Christ who dwells within each of us sees and connects with the Christ who dwells in all others. This is nearly impossible. Thankfully, love does not equal good feelings. Sometimes, love holds people accountable for their wrongdoings, allowing them to learn and grow. Love is discovered in the orientation of our hearts.

I’ll close with a few more words from Brian McLaren. He writes,

“If we want to reflect the image of God, we will choose grace over hostility, reconciliation over revenge, and equality over rivalry. When we make that choice, we encounter God in the faces of our former rivals and enemies. And as we are humbled, surrendering to God and seeking to be reconciled with others, our faces, too, reflect the face of God."

This is who God is. Love. Peace. Safety. Abundant Life. And the key to true aliveness.