20210708 UNDERSTANDING GOD’S PROVIDENCE IS THE KEY TO RECONCILIATION
08 July, 2021, Thursday, 14th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading |
Genesis 44:18-21,23-29,45:1-5 © |
Joseph reveals himself to his brothers
Judah went up to Joseph and said, ‘May it please my lord, let your servant have a word privately with my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself. My lord questioned his servants, “Have you father or brother?” And we said to my lord, “We have an old father, and a younger brother born of his old age. His brother is dead, so he is the only one left of his mother, and his father loves him.” Then you said to your servants, “Bring him down to me that my eyes may look on him.” But you said to your servants, “If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not be admitted to my presence again.” When we went back to your servant my father, we repeated to him what my lord had said. So when our father said, “Go back and buy us a little food,” we said, “We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, we will go down, for we cannot be admitted to the man’s presence unless our youngest brother is with us.” So your servant our father said to us, “You know that my wife bore me two children. When one left me, I said that he must have been torn to pieces. And I have not seen him to this day. If you take this one from me too and any harm comes to him, you will send me down to Sheol with my white head bowed in misery.” If I go to your servant my father now, and we have not the boy with us, he will die as soon as he sees the boy is not with us, for his heart is bound up with him. Then your servants will have sent your servant our father down to Sheol with his white head bowed in grief.’
Then Joseph could not control his feelings in front of all his retainers, and he exclaimed, ‘Let everyone leave me.’ No one therefore was present with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers, but he wept so loudly that all the Egyptians heard, and the news reached Pharaoh’s palace.
Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph. Is my father really still alive?’ His brothers could not answer him, they were so dismayed at the sight of him. Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come closer to me.’ When they had come closer to him he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not grieve, do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here, since God sent me before you to preserve your lives.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 104(105):16-21 © |
Remember the wonders the Lord has done.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord called down a famine on the land;
he broke the staff that supported them.
He had sent a man before them,
Joseph, sold as a slave.
Remember the wonders the Lord has done.
or
Alleluia!
His feet were put in chains,
his neck was bound with iron,
until what he said came to pass
and the word of the Lord proved him true.
Remember the wonders the Lord has done.
or
Alleluia!
Then the king sent and released him
the ruler of the people set him free,
making him master of his house
and ruler of all he possessed.
Remember the wonders the Lord has done.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Ps94:8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mk1:15 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 10:7-15 © |
You received without charge: give without charge
Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘As you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge. Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with a few coppers for your purses, with no haversack for the journey or spare tunic or footwear or a staff, for the workman deserves his keep.
‘Whatever town or village you go into, ask for someone trustworthy and stay with him until you leave. As you enter his house, salute it, and if the house deserves it, let your peace descend upon it; if it does not, let your peace come back to you. And if anyone does not welcome you or listen to what you have to say, as you walk out of the house or town shake the dust from your feet. I tell you solemnly, on the day of Judgement it will not go as hard with the land of Sodom and Gomorrah as with that town.’
UNDERSTANDING GOD’S PROVIDENCE IS THE KEY TO RECONCILIATION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Gn 44:18-21.23-29;45:1-5; Ps 105:16-21; Mt 10:7-15]
In order to find peace, we need to be reconciled with those who hurt us. But most of us cannot forgive those who have hurt us. Whenever we think of the suffering and shame we endured due to their betrayals and injustices, we feel angry. At the same time, we know that unless there is closure, especially with our loved ones who have hurt us deeply, we will have no peace. Even if we try to suppress it, there will be moments when these memories come back to haunt us. So how can we bring closure to the past hurts in our lives?
Forgiveness and reconciliation are possible only when those who have hurt us not only apologize, but have shown true remorse by correcting themselves. We need to know that they are aware of the pain and suffering caused by their selfish actions. But we also need to know that they are truly repentant as well. Without admission of guilt and regret, we cannot forgive since they are not asking for forgiveness and not recognizing their sins. Forgiving is not easy, but it will be made much easier when we know that the person has learnt from his mistakes and will not cause harm to others as they did to us. At least we know that we have not suffered in vain.
It is within this context that we can appreciate why it took Joseph some time to be convinced that his brothers who had attempted to kill him had changed their attitudes. Joseph first accused them of being spies and put them in prison for three days. Then he released all of them except one. They had to go back and bring the youngest brother to see him. “They said to one another, ‘Alas, we are paying the penalty for what we did to our brother; we saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this anguish has come upon us.’ Then Reuben answered them, ‘Did I not tell you not to wrong the boy? But you would not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.'” (Gn 42:21f) In these words, Joseph was assured that the guilt of their sin against him still weighed on them. It was not just he who needed closure, but his brothers too. However, the time was still not right to be reconciled. More verifications were needed.
In their second visit to Egypt to buy grains because of the famine, they brought Benjamin, the youngest of the brothers, to meet Joseph, much against their father’s wish. To pacify him, Judah gave the assurance that he would bear the blame if anything happened to Benjamin. Judah, after all, was the one who proposed to sell Joseph to the Midianite merchants. Now he was offering himself to be the guarantor for Benjamin’s safe return. “I myself will be surety for him; you can hold me accountable for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.” (Gn 43:9) Indeed, when Joseph had the steward place a silver cup used for divination in Benjamin’s sack as a test, it was Judah who stood surety for Benjamin. Unlike before, when he sacrificed Joseph for his security, now he was ready to take the place of Benjamin instead. “For your servant became surety for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the blame in the sight of my father all my life.’ Now therefore, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord in place of the boy; and let the boy go back with his brothers. For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the suffering that would come upon my father.” (Gn 44:32f)
It was at this point that Joseph decided to reveal himself. “I am your brother Joseph whom you sold into Egypt.” He was overcome by emotions. He “wept so loudly that all the Egyptians heard”, even though he had sent his retainers out of the room. Indeed, it was a moment of healing for Joseph for he came to realize that his brothers had changed. They were no longer absorbed with protecting their own interests, but were truly remorseful for what they did to him. At all costs, they sought to free Benjamin because they could not face their father without him. They were sincere and truly repentant. Joseph found closure, knowing that his brothers had changed, and that they were not jealous of Benjamin as they did Joseph, even though their father loved Benjamin best. They remembered the words of their father, “You know that my wife bore me two children. When one left me, I said that he must have been torn to pieces. And I have not seen him to this day. If you take this one from me too and any harm comes to him, you will send me down to Sheol with my white head bowed in misery.”
However, the closure was aided by a new perspective that Joseph saw with regard to his long and difficult journey, from being dumped into the well, then sold to the Egyptian official, Potiphar, who made him his chief steward, and then imprisoned because he was accused of having an affair with Potiphar’s wife, who took a fancy to him. There, he made friends with the chief cupbearer and the baker who were also in prison with him. He interpreted their dreams for them correctly. When Pharaoh had a dream that none of his officials could interpret, it was the Cupbearer who introduced Joseph to him. As a consequence, Joseph was made second in charge of Pharaoh’s palace and the people. The famine brought Joseph’s brothers to Egypt to buy food. It was then that he was reconciled with his father and his brothers. And so he concluded, “But now, do not grieve, do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here, since God sent me before you to preserve your lives.” He saw this long journey of ups and downs as the way God realized His plans for Jacob and his family. Joseph was to be that instrument in God’s providential plan.
Indeed, when we come to realize that our suffering is not in vain, we will be able to not just reconcile with our trials, hurts and injustices but to see them in the bigger plan of God for humanity. All our sufferings in life, or the events that happened to us, are within the knowledge of God. He allows such events, good or negative, to happen in our lives so that we can grow into God’s plan for us. As St Paul says, “God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28) So whilst we regret the wrongs we have done, the mistakes we have made, we must not give up on ourselves. It is not the end of everything or of our life. Rather, these are moments of grace in disgrace when God will use our mistakes for something greater. This is equally true of Adam’s sin as well. As the Exultet says, “O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the Death of Christ! O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!” So too all our failures in life, our broken relationships and our past. If like Joseph and his brothers, we cooperate with God’s grace, a greater good will come out of them.
The gospel invites us to trust in Him in all things. Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: “As you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge. Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with a few coppers for your purses, with no haversack for the journey or spare tunic or footwear or a staff, for the workman deserves his keep.” Indeed, they were not to rely on their security but in God alone. Just as we receive everything freely, we must give freely. Jesus who gave them the authority to cast out devils and cure the sick would surely provide for their needs as well. Like them, we cannot rely on our own strength but in God’s grace and divine providence. This is also true regardless whether people accept our invitation to believe in Jesus or the Good News. Jesus said, “If anyone does not welcome you or listen to what you have to say, as you walk out of the house or town shake the dust from your feet. I tell you solemnly, on the day of Judgement it will not go as hard with the land of Sodom and Gomorrah as with that town.” God will work His grace.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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