Lenten Daily Reflection 2020-03-17
Genesis 45:1 - 15
45 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.2And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3Joseph 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.
4 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.5And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvest. 7God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8So 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. 9Hurry 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. 10You 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. 11I 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.”12And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. 13You must tell my father how greatly I am honoured in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.’ 14Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.
Sometimes family be like that.
After being abducted and sold into slavery by his brothers, then falsely accused and thrown into prison, Joseph finds himself in a position of power. A position that brings people from across the region to him in hopes of favor. It is in this position that his brothers, unbeknownst to them, come face to face with Joseph again.
Joseph erupts! He can no longer conceal his emotions anymore, sends all of his underlings out of his presence and after revealing his true identity to his siblings he cries so loudly that almost all of Egypt hears him. We aren't told if these are tears of joy or of rage or of pain, but I would assume they are a mixture of all of these emotions pent up over the years.
But at the end of this outburst he calls his brothers close, wraps his arms around them and tells them not to dismay. Ultimately, that all is forgiven.
What would I do? Who would I have become in that situation? Would I welcome my brothers in with open arms? Would I use my my new found power to retaliate and seek some retribution? I like to think that I would be magnanimous and forgiving, but a modicum of self-reflection and humility would reveal that I might just as likely be unsympathetic and vindictive. Certainly my behavior towards my own brothers, for far less severe slights as Joseph endured, would belie any pretense of sainthood on my part.
And yet I am continuously given opportunities to choose the more honorable path. The path that Joseph took. To embrace my brothers & sisters (the family I was born into & the family I have chosen) and say, "I forgive you" or more often than not, "please forgive me."