Word to the Wise
Saturday, July 15, 2017 - Saturday in the 14th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gen 49:29-32; 50:15-26a and Matt 10:24-33]"Have no fear. Can I take the place of God? Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve his present end, the survival of many people." [Genesis]
JULY 15, ST. BONAVENTURE, ofm
These words from the story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis are powerful because they speak to our own challenges in forgiveness. Joseph's brothers sold him into slaveryand told their father, Jacob, that he had been killed by a wild animal. Joseph was "resold" to Pharaoh's household and became powerful. When famine struck the land of the Israelites, Joseph's brothers went to Egypt to see if they could get food from Pharaoh's stores. Joseph was in charge of those stores, but his brothers did not know who he was. This sets the stage for the emotional reunion and this scene of forgiveness. I recommend reading the whole story beginning in chapter 37.
In the examination of conscience that I use for parish missions, there is a prayer that asks for the ability to forgive "that one person who has hurt me the most, that one person I said I would never forgive...." In Joseph's case, it was his brothers who had sold him into slavery. Now he turns out to be the salvation of his whole family because he can give them food. He is able to see the workings of God even through the terrible wrong done to him by his brothers. He was "sacrificed" in order that he could save his family. It is no wonder that the Christian community could see in Joseph's story a prefiguring of Jesus' own story. For us, it could be our story as well. When something bad happens to us that later leads to a great good, we are left with mixed feelings. We cannot "take the place of God," but only try to see how good has come from evil circumstances. AMEN
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