Month: July 2019

An IMDb search of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat comes up with the following description: “In this filmed adaptation of the long-running musical, we see the story of Joseph, son of Jacob. The favored son, he is betrayed by his jealous brothers and sold into slavery and driven to Egypt. Though beset with adversity, Joseph perseveres through wit and faith and becomes the Governor of Egypt, second only to the Pharaoh.”

Many of us have probably seen this exact movie or maybe even the original musical itself. But what about the rest of the story? Today’s first reading from the end of the book of Genesis gives us a little glimpse!

We see the deaths of both Jacob and Joseph. We see fear and deceit from the brothers (smh) and forgiveness on the part of Joseph. Again.

What we don’t see in this passage is the blessing that Jacob imparted on his 12 sons prior to his death, which he then followed with instructions regarding his burial. Nor do we hear about Jacob’s funeral but we do get the emotional ramifications.

Almost as if they don’t know Joseph, the brothers become fearful of retribution. Will he kill them? Put them in jail? Starve them? They know deep in their hearts the wrongs they have committed against Joseph. The punishment must fit the crime, right? And so they resort to lies and conniving words to avoid consequences.

I step back and put this scene in perspective. Almost as if we don’t know our Heavenly Father, we become fearful of retribution. We know deep in our hearts the wrongs, the sins we have committed against Him. The punishment must fit the crime, right? But we forget time and time again of His endless love and mercy. All He desires, all He longs for, is for us to return to Him. To express forgiveness for our sins. Pope Saint John Paul the Great said, “God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking His mercy.”

Joseph embodies this spirit SO WELL. His brothers literally sold him into slavery in Egypt and he forgave them. His brothers seek to harm him again, this time by their words, yet Joseph forgives them AGAIN, saying, “Even though you meant to harm me, God meant it for good, to achieve this present end, the survival of many people.” Joseph then took his brothers in, cared and provided for them and their children.

Take heart, brothers and sisters. Sin will always be treated with forgiveness and mercy in the eyes of Our Lord. Praise Jesus.

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Today’s Gospel may make us think twice about being disciples of Jesus! He has called the Twelve and begun to give them instructions about their mission in the world, and he is very straightforward about what it will look like. It is not all sunshine and roses.

On the contrary, he sending them “like sheep in the midst of wolves” where they will be handed over to the courts and scourged because they will be “hated by all.” Hm. We might anticipate that they would run from a task with this kind of job description. Why don’t they?

They remain with Jesus for the same reason WE remain with Jesus: because Jesus really is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the image of the invisible God, the One who loves us to the end, giving himself over to death, even death on a cross, so that we can be with him for all eternity in the House of the Father!

Jesus is not trying to scare them away with this reality check. Rather, he is helping to free them of their mistaken notion that they will reign on thrones in this world, and giving them instructions for how they should respond to the persecution that will come: they must be “shrewd as serpents,” not oblivious to what is happening against them, but also “simple as doves” in their singlemindedness about their mission; they must not worry about how they are to speak, but focus on remaining open to the Holy Spirit, Who will speak through them.

Why must they suffer these things? “As a witness before them.” Persecution – even the little persecutions we undergo in everyday life – are always an opportunity to witness to the truth, in love. When we respond with love, when we remain steadfast in the truth, when we do not let the opinions of others keep us from doing what is right, we are witnessing to the truth that Jesus Christ really is Lord of our hearts. When this is difficult (and let’s face it: even something as simple as stating the truth about the sanctity of human life or making the Sign of the Cross in a restaurant can be difficult, and can be looked down upon even by fellow Catholics!), we can either be conquered by our need for human approval, or we can conquer the subtleties of the opposition by doing the right thing. Will we be conquered or will we conquer?

Jesus gives his disciples the way to conquer: be aware, but do not worry; trust in the Spirit to guide our words and actions; above all, persevere. He does not say those who make great speeches will be saved, or those whose lives are marked with dramatic witness, or those who glow in the dark because of their holiness! He says, simply: “Whoever endures to the end will be saved.”

We must steadfastly persevere in doing what is right and growing in relationship with Jesus, so that we can do what we are called to do. So let us all pray for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially fortitude, and receive the fruit of faithfulness, no matter what kind of opposition we face today.

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It is truly amazing how God can turn around a horribly difficult situation and use it for the good. I wonder if in the moment, Joseph was able to catch a glimpse of that. I mean, his brothers hated him. They were so jealous of him that they despised him and wanted him dead. One of them interceded on his behalf and thought it better to sell him into slavery. What?! You think you’re a hero because you’re selling your brother instead of killing him? Isn’t it essentially the same thing, since he is never more to be seen by his family and friends anyway? But in an interesting and fateful turn of events, the very brother they once despised was now the one saving them from famine. They are bowing down to his mercy and he is calling their evil actions a work of God!

This passage is tremendous proof of God’s power and mercy for me. Only God could orchestrate such an unforeseen turn of events. Not only did Joseph’s family live but many, many others as well.  God could have struck his brothers down, punished them for their wicked deeds and here He was, designing a way to feed them and give them life. And He does the same for us, day in and day out. He does not punish us for our sins, but rather seeks us out, chases after us, and feeds us with His Body and Blood.

My husband and I are in the midst of a very difficult family situation. We have talked about it for hours, thought of every possible reason, looked at it from every possible angle and come up with every possible solution. We have suffered emotionally, psychologically and financially. We have had extremely hard decisions to make that affect others. Today I read “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up on God” (paraphrase), but what about people? Do we give up on people who never change and end up doing us harm?

While the First Reading seems to be intent on second chances, the Gospel states “Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words – go outside that house [] 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 th[em]. Those are some strong words and Jesus is not one to mince them. He says what He means and means what He says. It seems we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. What are we to do?

Perhaps my answer is found in this one phrase: “If the [person] is worthy, let your peace come upon [him]; if not, let your peace return to you.” I must not lose my peace. With the knowledge of God’s presence and His unfailing love, my peace should return. I cannot rely on other human beings to maintain my peace. It comes from God alone. And who knows, perhaps God will turn this family situation around for the good as well! One can always hope…

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