Where were you when Pearl Harbor was bombed? Where were you when President Kennedy was assassinated? I am sure you have all heard those questions posed to people. For my generation, I think the question was always "where were you when the space shuttle exploded?" Of course that was before last year. Now the question that is most often asked is "where were you on 9/11?"

We just passed the first anniversary of 9/11 on Wednesday. As we look back on that dreadful day, it almost seems like everything in our world changed. I can remember sitting in my living room watching the coverage and feeling tears role down my face as the TV news crews interviewed those who could not find their loved ones. I remember getting chills down my spine as I heard bagpipes play "Amazing Grace" at the funerals of firemen and police officers. It was truly a cursed day for our world.

Yet, as we look back now a year later, we can see with better vision. We can see that there were good things that came out of 9/11. With hindsight, which is said to always be 20/20, we can see that God really can turn curses into blessings. This morning, as we look at the account from Genesis before us, we will see how God did this with Joseph. We will also see how he did this most magnificently with Jesus. And finally, we will see how God turns curses into blessings with us. Consider this truth from Scripture this day and praise God for his loving mercy.

Joseph's brothers did a truly bad thing to their little brother. I have three older brothers and I know how these things can go. But this was really bad. They were jealous of Joseph because of the preferential treatment their father showed to him. They let their jealousy get the better of them and they sold their little brother into slavery. They gave him to slave traders who took him to a foreign country, Egypt. There he was thrown into prison for a crime he did not commit. It seemed that this young Hebrew boy was cursed.

Now some speculate that Joseph had some of this coming. They say that Joseph gloated over the fact that dad favored him. Was God punishing Joseph through his brothers? Did he deserve this treatment? The Bible doesn't tell us. What we do know is that Joseph's brothers sinned against him. We also know that God had a plan for Joseph. God would turn this curse into a great blessing for Egypt, his family, and for all mankind.

Joseph eventually became a ruler in Egypt. When a great famine struck the land, he developed a plan to feed the people. He saved the nation from starvation. Now the famine reached all the way into his homeland so his family was going hungry. His brothers came to Egypt looking for food even though they did not know their little brother was second in command of the nation. Eventually they brought their father and entire family to Egypt on Joseph's invitation. Finally Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers who were bearing much guilt for selling him into slavery. Joseph showed his love and forgave his brothers. In the lesson for today, Joseph told his brothers, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."

Now when Joseph was in the shackles of slavery or in the shackles of prison, I am sure that it was difficult for him to see God's plan to save many lives. But he trusted in God. I am sure that it was even harder to see how this would fit into God's eternal plan of salvation. But we have the blessing of seeing how God preserved the line of the Savior through the kindness of Joseph. For Joseph could have sought revenge and wiped out the families of his brothers. But he did not and thus Judah's family would be spared. And from Judah's line would spring great kings like David and Solomon and eventually the greatest king, Jesus Christ.

It is through this greatest king of all that God turned the greatest curse in the world into the greatest blessing ever. It is because of the greatest curse ever that Jesus, the Son of God, had to be born as a human being. That curse is sin. The sin of Adam and Eve, the sin of Joseph's brothers, our sin, and the sin of every human being brought our Lord to this earth. And he did not complain. He came willingly. Oh how we complain and shout out when bad things happen to us. Yet our Savior never hesitated and never grumbled.

And it was this curse of sin that led our Lord Jesus to suffer terribly in his life here on earth. He suffered at the hands of men whom he came to save. His mission was to live perfectly and die innocently. And to do this he would be cursed himself on that wooden cross. For Deuteronomy 21:23 tells us, "Anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse." Jesus bore that curse for us. All of our sins were heaped upon our Savior as he hung, beaten and bloody, on that cursed tree.

But once again, we see God turning a curse into a blessing. Because Jesus bore that curse, our eternal curse was removed from us. Our sins were completely forgiven. Every single sin has been removed from our record and we have been made holy in God's eyes. He sees us as perfect, without any stains. And because our curse was removed, we can leave this world without fear. For we know, through faith, we will enter the gates of heaven. There will be no tears, sorrow, and no death in heaven. Truly the greatest curse ever has been turned into the greatest blessing ever. We owe our loving God and Savior our eternal praise and thanks.

We owe God this because he turns our curses into blessings everyday. Now it is true that we do suffer here on earth. This is a result of our sin, the sin that we inherited when we were conceived and the sin that we commit every day of our lives. We may suffer with that guilt in our lives. For guilt is a terrible thing. It can wear a person down to nothing. It can press you down and erode your resolve to even live. We also suffer here on earth with the results of our sin. When we sin, we know that there are consequences. Adultery can produce the consequence of a broken marriage. Placing worldly things above God can result in a tragic helplessness.

We also suffer here on earth to a certain extent because God allows it. Do we understand this? Rarely. Yet we can see from the past how God always works things for good. We saw it with Joseph. We saw it with Jesus. We see that he has done this in our lives in the past. We have his promise that he will continue turn curses into blessings for us. Trust God's promises. Rely on him in time of trouble or despair. He continues to shower us with his love and mercy even if we can't always see it at the time.

We see God's blessings everyday here on earth. We see it in the greatest blessing, our guilt being removed. This is shown us when we are reminded of our baptisms, where we were washed clean and the Holy Spirit created faith in our hearts. This blessing is shown in Holy Communion, where we are assured of our forgiveness. We see this in God's Word, where we are strengthen in faith and reminded of God's promises. And not only are we blessed every day with spiritual blessings, but God has provided so many material blessings for us. Think about how God gives you food, shelter, family, and many luxuries.

As we consider all these blessings, remember that they are from and made possible through the saving work of Jesus Christ. Then respond to God's love. Trust his plan. We may not always understand it, just like it was hard to understand the events of September 11th. But we only see a small sliver of what God sees. He sees everything past, present, and future. Trust the all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-merciful Lord.

And obey God. Forgive like Joseph forgave his brothers. God tells us to always forgive. Don't chase after false idols. Our nation relies on so much besides God. Don't fall into that trap. Embrace God's Word and hear the about God's love. Then love another. Don't let trivial matters drive wedges into your earthly relationships. This is our God-pleasing response to the Lord who turns curses into blessings.

When we think about where we were on September 11th, it can still bring us to our emotional knees. It was a dark and dreadful day for our nation. Yet we have seen in the last year how God even turned that tragic day into many blessings. People returned to churches in droves to hear God's Word. Family became more important in our nation. Love was poured out from around the country to help those who were suffering directly from the attack. We also see how God turned our cursed lives of sin into a blessing through his Son and by our baptisms. Praise God! Trust God! He truly does turn curses into blessings.