I could not begin to count the number of times I have read and told the story of Joseph. And yet, when reading it this week, I encountered a phrase I never remember reading before. Joseph has just made his identity known to his brothers and has forgiven them for the violence they committed against them. Pharaoh has agreed to let all off Joseph’s family come and live in Egypt. Pharaoh even sends his own carts and donkeys loaded with supplies for the brothers to use. Joseph is sending them on their way, they are to bring their father and all their families back with them. Everything is good. Or is it? Genesis:45:24So he sent his brothers away, and they departed. He said to them, "See that you don't quarrel on the way." tells us Joseph’s final words to his brother as they head back to Canaan. As they were leaving he(Joseph) said to them (his brothers), ‘Don’t quarrel along the way!” Doesn’t that seem strange? I guess they had been quarreling while in Egypt. Otherwise, Joseph would have no reason to say this. I wonder what they were quarreling about. Blame, credit, who got what cart from Pharaoh? They had just gotten incredibly good news. Things were better than they had been in years. And still they quarreled. Quarreling can indeed ruin a journey. I can remember my brother and I drawing an imaginary line down the middle of the back seat and daring each other to put even a finger across it. Hard to believe that’s the same brother who begins all his phone messages to me now with the words: “Jan, this is your loving brother.” Quarreling ruins lots of things --- trips, holidays, work settings, classrooms, mission trips, even committee meetings. Why I’ve had a few family meals ruined by quarreling. How about you? Seems to me that one of the worst things about quarreling is that it diverts attention and energy away from other good things. That’s certainly true in the church. When there is quarreling inside the church, the effect of the church on the outside is greatly limited. We must not waste energy, attention and time by quarreling. God has way too much work for us to do. And so today … speaking to myself and to all within the church, I echo Joseph’s words: don’t quarrel along the way. Thanks for checking by the blog. We’ll be giving out more information real soon about how to get even more out of this web discussion. Keep reading! Pastor Jan