Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
July 6, 2011
By Colleen O'Sullivan
(A)ll the world came to Joseph to obtain rations of grain, for famine had gripped the whole world… 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… To one another, however, they said: “Alas, we are being punished because of our brother. We saw the anguish of his heart when he pleaded with us, yet we paid no heed; that is why this anguish has now come upon us...” The brothers did not know, of course, that Joseph understood what they said, since he spoke with them through an interpreter. But turning away from them, he wept. (Genesis 41:57; 42:6b-7a, 22-24a)
The Lord brings to nought the plans of nations; he foils the designs of peoples. But the plan of the Lord stands forever; the design of his heart, through all generations. (Psalm 33:10-11)
Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. (Matthew 10:1)
Piety
He leadeth me, O blessed thought!
O words with heav’nly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be
Still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.
(“He Leadeth Me”, Joseph H. Gilmore, 1862)
Study
Life is full of the unexpected. If we look at any ten-year span in our lives, we can see that by the end of that period, many things have happened to us and many people have come into our lives that we never dreamed of in the beginning. When Peter, Andrew, James and John each left their fishing nets to follow Jesus, what did they envision? That the Lord would eventually give them “authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease” would have seemed laughable. But, God had a plan for those fishermen.
And God has plans for you and me. They may not always coincide with the road maps we draw for ourselves. As the psalmist reminds us, God “foils the designs of peoples. But the plan of the Lord stands forever.” Often you and I don’t see the hand of God at work until later when we look back over the journey on which the Lord has led us.
I imagine that’s how it must have been for Joseph. Today’s passage from Genesis starts off with Joseph already in his 30’s, but the story begins long before that when he is a teenager. I don’t think there’s ever been a Dr. Phil episode that could begin to rival Joseph’s story for family drama! Joseph is his father’s favorite. He gets a special tunic, which sparks off untold jealously among his brothers. He also reveals dreams in which he rules over everyone, which makes his brothers dislike him even more. They plot to kill him, but instead end up selling him to a trade caravan. Joseph eventually turns up a slave in Egypt. Through various twists and turns, he comes to interpret a dream of Pharaoh about future harvests. There will be 7 good years followed by 7 years of famine. Joseph is put in charge of the entire country and puts aside grain during the good years so that Egypt will have food during the lean times. This is how he comes to be reunited with his brothers – the famine is widespread and they come to the only place known to have grain. The brothers don’t recognize Joseph, but he is moved to tears by hearing their anguish over having treated him so abominably.
I doubt that Joseph would have planned his life the way it unfolded. No one would wish to be despised by their siblings, sold into slavery, imprisoned in a foreign land, separated for years from the old father he dearly loved. Yet, God used this adversity for his own purpose. Joseph became someone who saved the lives of many people through his oversight of Egypt’s food supply in good times and bad. His experiences at the hands of his brothers must surely have scarred him, but the Lord used the famine as an opportunity for Joseph to be reunited with his brothers and to see that they realized how heartless and cruel they had been to him. In tomorrow’s reading from Genesis, you will see how Joseph reacts.
Action
When you have time, read the entire account of Joseph’s life (Genesis 37-50). It’s a very dramatic and moving story. Or pick a ten-year period in your life and reflect on it. Where was your road map taking you at the beginning and where did God’s plan lead you in the end?
