Today’s first reading, Gen. 37: 3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a,
presents the story of Joseph, whose brothers sold him for 20 pieces of silver
to Ishmaelites. In Egypt, as stated in
today’s responsorial psalm, Psalm 105, Joseph is “weighed down with fetters,
and he was bound with chains, till his prediction came to pass and the word of
the Lord proved him true….[He was] made lord over…[the king’s] house and ruler
of all his possessions.” In God’s plan,
Joseph is destined to be the one who saved the Israelites from starvation. When
his brothers come down to Egypt for food, Joseph says to them: “Have no fear.
Can I take the place of God? Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for
good, to achieve his present end, the survival of many people” (Gen 50: 19-20).
Many times, without us realizing it, God’s plan for our
salvation and for a good unforeseen by us is accomplished through the convoluted, ill-intentioned,
inhumane actions of one person or many persons toward other human beings, of
family members toward other members of the family, though God never wills evil
on anyone. Joseph recognizes that God used misfortune and the evil actions of his brothers to bring about
a greater good for all those involved in selling him to the Ishmaelites instead
of killing him. God also uses everything in our lives to bring about unforeseen good, to save us from death, to rebuild our lives, to make His Presence known, to reveal the ultimate compassion and love of God, our Father, Redeemer and Comforter, whose plan to redeem us is hidden in every event of our lives.
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