Remember the Marvels the Lord Has Done

In today's first reading, Gen 37: 3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a, we are given the story of Israel's son Joseph, who was especially favored by his father and thus hated by his brothers.  Israel sends Joseph to join his brothers who are tending the sheep. They see him coming and they plot to kill. His brother Rueben, however, talks them out of doing such a thing to him and instead they sell Joseph for twenty pieces of silver as a slave to some Ishmaelites who happen to be passing by. In  the responsorial psalm we pray: "Remember the marvels the Lord has done," when a seven-year famine hit the land and Joseph's family, as well as the Egyptians, were in danger of starving. It was Joseph, who, at that point, occupied an important position in Egypt, having won favor with the King and was in charge of the silos of grain that had been stored up during the seven years of plenty.  Consequently, Joseph became a significant figure in saving his family from disaster.

In the horrible day when Joseph was sold as a slave, God was at work caring for His people. Many times, we experience tragedies, as Joseph did. At the time, we may, and often are not, aware of God's hand in what is happening. 

There are significant similarities between Joseph and Jesus. Joseph was a favorite son of his father and Jesus of His Father.  Both were sold: Joseph by his brothers for 20 pieces of silver and Jesus by Judas for 30 pieces of silver. Joseph was exiled, so to speak, to Egypt. Jesus became a refugee in Egypt when Herod was seeking to kill him. Joseph played a significant role in saving his family from physical death. Jesus played a significant role in saving us from eternal death.

As significant as Joseph was in salvation history, and, of course, Jesus as well, so, too are we.  What we do or do not do brings others to Jesus, our Savior, or has the power to cause alienation from Jesus. We can be a source of nourishment for others or cause a "famine".  People can be starving of love, of compassion, of understanding, of support because of us or be rich in these gifts. People can be abandoned by us to horrible situations because of our jealousy of them, as Joseph's brothers had done, or worse, kill them spiritually and/or physically because of our jealous natures.  The choice is ours to be a "Joseph" or a "Judas".