Wednesday, July 06, 2005
THURSDAY 14TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
JULY 7, 2005
THURSDAY 14TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - YEAR I
GENESIS 44:18-21, 23B-29; 45:1-5
Judah approached Joseph and said: "I beg you, my lord, let your
servant speak earnestly to my lord, and do not become angry with your
servant, for you are the equal of Pharaoh. My lord asked your
servants, `Have you a father, or another brother?' So we said to my
lord, `We have an aged father, and a young brother, the child of his
old age. This one's full brother is dead, and since he is the only
one by that mother who is left, his father dotes on him.' Then you
told your servants, `Bring him down to me that my eyes may look on
him. Unless your youngest brother comes back with you, you shall not
come into my presence again.' When we returned to your servant our
father, we reported to him the words of my lord. "Later, our father
told us to come back and buy some food for the family. So we reminded
him, `We cannot go down there; only if our youngest brother is with
us can we go, for we may not see the man if our youngest brother is
not with us.' Then your servant our father said to us, `As you know,
my wife bore me two sons. One of them, however, disappeared, and I
had to conclude that he must have been torn to pieces by wild beasts;
I have not seen him since. If you now take this one away from me,
too, and some disaster befalls him, you will send my white head down
to the nether world in grief.'" Joseph could no longer control
himself in the presence of all his attendants, so he cried out, "Have
everyone withdraw from me!" Thus no one else was about when he made
himself known to his brothers. But his sobs were so loud that the
Egyptians heard him, and so the news reached Pharaoh's palace. "I am
Joseph," he said to his brothers. "Is my father still in good
health?" But his brothers could give him no answer, so dumbfounded
were they at him. "Come closer to me," he told his brothers. When
they had done so, he said: "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."
MATTHEW 10:7-15
Jesus said to his Apostles: "As you go, make this proclamation: `The
Kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse
the lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without
cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your
belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or
walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. Whatever town or
village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there
until you leave. As you enter a house, wish it peace. If the house is
worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to
you. Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words- go outside
that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to
you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on
the day of judgment than for that town."
REFLECTION
The story of Joseph and his brothers has a happy ending. The
brothers are astonished that this high official of Egypt, second only
to the Pharaoh, is the brother they sold off into slavery. And
they're overwhelmed when Joseph forgives them.
Christians have long seen in Joseph a model or preview of Christ.
Christ's own brothers betrayed him, yet he forgives them.
One very striking aspect of this story is that it clearly shows that
forgiveness liberates not only the recipient of forgiveness but also
the one who forgives. Joseph's tears are clearly tears of joy, which
he never would have shed had he not forgiven his brothers. Had he
not forgiven his brothers, he would have destroyed them, and of
course he would have destroyed his own humanity as well. Some one
once told me of an old Chinese proverb: "if you intend to bury your
enemy, dig two graves, one for your enemy, the other for yourself."
So often, we replay the tapes of past hurts and await impatiently an
opportunity to even the score. Forgiving others is not without
effort. Our hurt emotions resist forgiving. And hurt emotions die
slowly. Normally we come to terms emotionally with our decision to
forgive only after a prolonged period of time. If we are Christ-
like, no time at all will pass between the offence and
forgiveness . . . if we are Christ-like.
In any case, whether forgiveness is offered soon or long after the
offence, forgiveness will free us from the domination of the past and
from the cancer that otherwise will infect our every waking moment.
Forgiveness offered to another sets us free.
PRAYER
"Lord, may the joy and truth of the gospel transform my life that I
may witness it to those around me. Grant that I may spread your truth
and your light wherever I go."
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
- for the personal intentions of JP.
- for the personal intentions of Lydia and family.
- for the prayer intentions of Julie.
- for the prayer intentions of Julie and Joseph Dyhengco. May they
continue to put God in the center of their lives and may God continue
to bless them and their children.
- for the speedy recovery of Ernesto Hernandez.
- for the personal intentions of Joey Devela.
- for the personal intentions of Cresencia.
- for the well-being of Nina.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Prayer Intention: Antonio Dee Ryan Dee
- Prayer Intention: Erica Dee Jillian Dee
- Prayer Intention: Gilbert Dee III Gerard Dee Jr.
- Prayer Intention: Gregory Dee Jr. Nathan Dee
- for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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