In today's first reading, Gen. 44: 18-21, 23b-29; 45: 1-5, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers. He forgives them for selling him into Egypt, saying: "I am your brother Joseph, whom you once sold into Egypt But now do not be distressed, and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here. It was really for the sake of saving lives that God sent me here ahead of you." Joseph, a man of faith, interprets what was an harrowing experience as a blessing from God, a part of God's providence. In Egypt, he was the victim of false accusation and thrown into prison: "They 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" (Psalm 105). When that happened, "[t]he king sent and released him, the ruler of the people set him free. He made him lord of his house and ruler of all his possessions" (Psalm 105).
God worked marvels in Joseph's life, as He does in the life of all of us. God had a plan for him that initially looked horrible and which, in fact, was a criminal act on the part of his brothers. God wrote straight with crooked lines, so to speak, bringing God good out of evil and continues to do so for us today. You and I are the strong persons, the women and men of faith that we are today, because of the sufferings we have endured and which we survived, as was Joseph. In the midst of such suffering, however, we usually do not see God's hand at work. That does not mean that God is sleeping or does not care. He is very much molding, melting, and transforming us through the cross, just as our lives were made holy through the sufferings of Jesus on Good Friday. Clothed in faith, we are transformed by what we suffer for the sake of God! Joseph was and so were his brothers!
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