Reading 1
Gn 44:18-21, 23b-29; 45:1-5
Judah approached Joseph and said: “I beg you, my lord,
let your servant speak earnestly to my lord,
and do not become angry with your servant,
for you are the equal of Pharaoh.
My lord asked your servants, ‘Have you a father, or another brother?’
So we said to my lord, ‘We have an aged father,
and a young brother, the child of his old age.
This one’s full brother is dead,
and since he is the only one by that mother who is left,
his father dotes on him.’
Then you told your servants,
‘Bring him down to me that my eyes may look on him.
Unless your youngest brother comes back with you,
you shall not come into my presence again.’
When we returned to your servant our father,
we reported to him the words of my lord.
“Later, our father told us to come back and buy some food for the family.
So we reminded him, ‘We cannot go down there;
only if our youngest brother is with us can we go,
for we may not see the man if our youngest brother is not with us.’
Then your servant our father said to us,
‘As you know, my wife bore me two sons.
One of them, however, disappeared, and I had to conclude
that he must have been torn to pieces by wild beasts;
I have not seen him since.
If you now take this one away from me, too,
and some disaster befalls him,
you will send my white head down to the nether world in grief.’“
Joseph could no longer control himself
in the presence of all his attendants,
so he cried out, “Have everyone withdraw from me!”
Thus no one else was about when he made himself known to his brothers.
But his sobs were so loud that the Egyptians heard him,
and so the news reached Pharaoh’s palace.
“I am Joseph,” he said to his brothers.
“Is my father still in good health?”
But his brothers could give him no answer,
so dumbfounded were they at him.
“Come closer to me,” he told his brothers.
When they had done so, he said:
“I am your brother Joseph, whom you once sold into Egypt.
But now do not be distressed,
and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here.
It was really for the sake of saving lives
that God sent me here ahead of you.”
105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21
Responsorial PsalmR. (5a)
Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
or:
R. Alleluia.
When the LORD called down a famine on the land
and ruined the crop that sustained them,
He sent a man before them,
Joseph, sold as a slave.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
or:
R. Alleluia.
They had weighed him down with fetters,
and he was bound with chains,
Till his prediction came to pass
and the word of the LORD proved him true.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The king sent and released him,
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel
Mt 10:7-15
Jesus said to his Apostles:
“As you go, make this proclamation:
‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse the lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.
Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts;
no sack for the journey, or a second tunic,
or sandals, or walking stick.
The laborer deserves his keep.
Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it,
and stay there until you leave.
As you enter a house, wish it peace.
If the house is worthy,
let your peace come upon it;
if not, let your peace return to you.
Whoever will not receive you or listen to your wordsC
go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet.
Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment
than for that town.”
Meditation: Genesis 44:18-21,23-29; 45:1-5
“Come closer to me… . I am your brother Joseph.” (Genesis 45:4)
Rejected by his brothers and sold into slavery in Egypt, Joseph rose to a high position in Egypt, where he eventually became a “savior” to the rest of his family. Joseph’s brothers tried their best to get rid of him, only to realize later that he was the one who rescued them from death. Joseph’s generous treatment of his brothers—to the point of saving them—foreshadows the way Jesus, our Brother, treats all of us.
If Jesus is like Joseph, it makes sense that there are ways that we act like Joseph’s brothers. Don’t we all try to “get rid of” Jesus at times? We hit points where we just want to do what we want to do, and we push Jesus aside so that we can do it. We shut him out of our lives, hoping to silence his voice and ignore the claim that he has on our lives.
And how does Jesus respond to such treatment? Like Joseph, he would be justified in being hurt, angry, or even vengeful. But he isn’t! Again like Joseph, he extends a hand of forgiveness and friendship once more, asking us to come closer to him.
Nowhere do we experience this mercy of God more powerfully than in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. As we confess our sins and failings to our Brother, he forgives us and restores us to life. It must have been so freeing in that moment when Joseph’s brothers realized that he had forgiven them and was willing to embrace them as his brothers once more. In a similar way, Jesus wants us to confess our own sins so that we can hear his invitation to “come closer” and embrace him. In Confession, the past doesn’t really matter all that much—just as it didn’t to Joseph. All that matters is this present moment of grace, this moment when we can come to Jesus.
So what are you waiting for? Don’t be held captive a moment longer by guilt or shame. Be reconciled with your Brother Jesus today, so that you can come to him.
“Jesus, I stand in awe of your mercy. As Joseph forgave his brothers, I know that you will forgive me. Thank you for being my brother and for inviting me to come closer to your heart.”
No comments:
Post a Comment