At church yesterday Lou talked about Joseph. She described his broken family – his father Jacob, who’d lied, schemed and cheated… his eleven brothers and one sister from four mothers… the brothers who’d hated him and sold him into slavery… his final imprisonment on false rape charges.
We thought about how, the reject from a broken family, determinedly changed things, choosing to believe that, through all of his life’s misfortune, his God was present and active.
After church we had lunch together; 50-60 of us discussed the future of our church. We talked about the appointment of a church youth worker, enabling young people to be valued and included in the life of our church.
The discussion developed… how do we include folks with hearing difficulties, those with dementia, recovering addicts, mothers with young children, elderly folk who feel unwanted, wheel chair users… all valued and included?
Agreeing the principle of inclusion was easy. It’s what Jesus would do; good people don’t want to exclude anyone… We sometimes get stuck between inclusion’s principles and practicalities.
We went to see the stage show ‘Footloose’ on Saturday. Ren, the outsider, comes into the small town of Bomont, challenging the status quo, calling for a dance that’s been forbidden on religious and moral grounds…
There’s a broken family… Reverend Shaw Moore uses his power and strict religious principles to control the town. His daughter Ariel rebels against her uncompromising father. Shaw’s loving, loyal wife Vi tries to keep her husband and daughter together… The whole family is grieving the loss of Ariel’s brother who died in a car accident…
…The story’s final resolution comes when the law is changed and everybody – the Moore family and the whole town – comes together in the dance…
Problems… broken families… inclusion where practicalities aren’t as straightforward as principles… religion sometimes getting in the way. My prayer is that we shall discover the dance that will bring us together, recognising with Joseph that God, though sometimes hidden in the brokenness, is still at work.
malcolmsmusings.org 
God sometimes hides in the brokenness. I’ve found this to be true in my own life. I’ve been to rock 🪨 bottom; thankfully, Jesus was (and is) my Rock.
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I agree, David. Sometimes he chooses to stay hidden for a while… My experience is that although it’s tough at the time, I come out wiser, stronger, and trusting the reliability of The Rock more
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Malcolm, you give us so much to consider, it seems overwhelming. Then you remind us, “God is still at work.” Thank you!
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Getting that balance right is important, Dana, but it isn’t always easy.
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So true!
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Inclusion has limits. We should include people with disabilities and differences. We shouldn’t be inclusive if it means normalizing immorality. So many movies were purposedly created to influence teenagers against their parents values. Grease and Dirty Dancing, both wildly popular thanks to the music, both normalized teen sex and abortion. I watch a Bob Hope movie from the 60s yesterday and I was surprised that they were pushing sex outside of marriage even then.
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Good point, Paula. I think Jesus example was such that he included people of all backgrounds without condoning their previous behaviour… but you’re right, the inclusion argument isn’t as straightforward as some would make out.
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Wow, Malcolm, what a perfect last line. “My prayer is that we shall discover the dance that will bring us together, recognising with Joseph that God, though sometimes hidden in the brokenness, is still at work.” Amen!
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There’s so much I like about Footloose, Wynne… especially the reconciliation and resolution through the dance, that the ‘church’ had previously opposed and forbidden.
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