Word to the Wise
Wednesday, July 8, 2015 - Wednesday in the 14th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gen 41:55-57; 42:5-7a, 17-24a and Matt 10:1-7,1009]When Joseph's brothers came and knelt down before him with their faces to the ground, he recognized them as soon as he saw them. But Joseph concealed his own identity from them and spoke sternly to them...[Genesis]
The lectionary divides the daily scripture readings into a two-year cycle, which means that certain narratives become divided and a good story can be spoiled. This morning we land smack in the middle of the story of Joseph instead of at the beginning. I recommend picking up the Bible and reading the story beginning at chapter 37. Or, in the alternative, listen to the delightful musical, JOSEPH AND HIS AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAM COAT, which tells the story in a wonderfully humorous but respectful way.
It is a story of sibling jealousy and forgiveness mixed in with palace intrigue in Egypt and power politics. Joseph's dreams and his unabashed sharing of those dreams which seem to make him superior to his brothers also make them his enemies! Some scripture scholars suggest that this dreaming Joseph is a "type" for the dreaming Joseph who will forgive and accept Mary! The brothers fake his death and sell him into slavery but he somehow is re-sold to Pharoah's household and becomes the most powerful man in Egypt because he controls the grain reserves in a time of famine. This is how the tables are turned on his brothers when they arrive looking for famine relief! It's a wonderful episode in the narrrative of God's plan with the Chosen People.
There are plenty of "morals" in the story, but I will leave them for tomorrow's exciting resolution. Suffice it to say that life has a way of turning enemies into friends, and perhaps we may know of instances in our own lives when we considered our own kin to be the enemy! AMEN