10th Sunday After Pentecost, August 17, 2014

The Hebrew Bible Reading: Genesis 45:1-15

Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me.” And they came closer. He said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there—since there are five more years of famine to come—so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.’ And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.

 

Reflections:  This reading might seem to imply that Joseph's brothers plotted against him because it was all part of the Divine Plan for getting Joseph into Egypt, and ultimately into a position to save his family in a future famine. Joseph himself implies this when he says, "So it was not you who sent me here, but God." No wonder St. Paul asks the rhetorical question, "Should we continue in sin so that grace may abound?" (Romans 6:1). This isn't a far step from trying to comfort people suffering some catastrophe by saying, "God let (or caused) it to happen to fulfill His Purpose."

On the surface, that may seem a simple solution for dealing with evil and suffering, but it actually raises more questions. How can we tell the difference between apparently evil events and those that merely appear evil from our human point of view? If God orchestrated Joseph’s brother’s evil acts, were they really guilty of sin? And how far did they—or do we—we really have free will?

       But these speculations may miss the rich complex of associations in the story. Let us focus, not on the brothers’ actions, but on how Joseph responds. He could have become resentful and murderous (which is what the brothers fear when they see him). But instead of nursing grievances—valid grievances—Joseph opens his heart to his brothers. By doing so, Joseph becomes a vehicle for God’s grace, not only towards his brothers, but towards thousands of generations of their descendants.

That said, we must be careful. To forgive does not mean to avoid confronting evil and injustice. For centuries the church has been guilty of reinforcing an oppressive status quo by insisting that the victim “forgive” the perpetrator (slavery and domestic violence come to mind). Forgiveness does not mean pretending that something didn’t happen, or forcing oneself to “believe”—yet again—that it won’t happen again. That cannot result in inner peace. Forgiveness means to find peace through letting go of the grudge or guilt that clouds our ability to act for justice out of love rather than anger and resentment.