The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with the paradox of finding both protection and persecution in our relationships with friends and family.
Paradox in relationships
The reading from the Book of Genesis describes how Jacob brings his whole family to Egypt.
* [46:1–47:26] Jacob and his family settle in Egypt. Joseph’s economic policies.1
Psalm 37 is an exhortation to patience and trust.
* [Psalm 37] The Psalm responds to the problem of evil, which the Old Testament often expresses as a question: why do the wicked prosper and the good suffer? The Psalm answers that the situation is only temporary. God will reverse things, rewarding the good and punishing the wicked here on earth. The perspective is concrete and earthbound: people’s very actions place them among the ranks of the good or wicked. Each group or “way” has its own inherent dynamism—eventual frustration for the wicked, eventual reward for the just. The Psalm is an acrostic, i.e., each section begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each section has its own imagery and logic.2
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus prepares us for coming persecutions.
* [10:22] To the end: the original meaning was probably “until the parousia.” But it is not likely that Matthew expected no missionary disciples to suffer death before then, since he envisages the martyrdom of other Christians (Mt 10:21). For him, the end is probably that of the individual’s life (see Mt 10:28).3
Mary Lee Brock shares her visit to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. This is not just an issue from our past, but indeed today many people are experiencing modern slavery in forms such as human trafficking and exploited workers. Rather than leaving us feeling shame, the Freedom Center lifted up the work of several NGO’s who are committed to working for the dignity of all people. The exhibit offered ways we could support these modern-day abolition efforts.
There is much to inspire us in history, yet the lessons learned can become unintentionally simplified. I begin to wonder how I am showing my fidelity to the Gospel today. Rather than feel overwhelmed or concerned that I am not doing enough, I find solace in Jesus’ words: Do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. These words remind me that I am not alone and indeed I can trust in the guidance of the Holy Spirit.4
Don Schwager quotes “The Spirit of your heavenly Father speaks through you in every age,” by Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD).
"To be sure, we heard in that reading, 'But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious how or what you are to speak... for it is not you who are speaking but the Spirit of your Father who speaks through you.' And he says in another place: 'Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world' (Matthew 28:20). Does this mean that the people who heard those words of the Lord would be here until the end of the world? The Lord was referring, rather, not only to those about to depart from this life but also to the others, including us and those who would come after us in this life. He saw everyone in his single body, and the words he spoke, 'I am with you even to the end of the world,' were heard by them and by us too. And if we did not hear them then in our knowledge, we heard them in his foreknowledge. Therefore, safe as sheep among the wolves, let us keep the commandments of him who directs us. And let us be 'innocent as doves but cautious as snakes' (Matthew 10:16). Innocent as doves that we may not harm anyone; cautious as snakes that we may be careful of letting anyone harm us." (excerpt from the Sermon 44a.2)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Genesis 46:1-7, 28-30 comments that it is natural to focus on loss, or want, or what you believe is the answer to your prayer. It’s also natural, especially after you have waited for a long time, to be resigned to more of the same: silence from God. But just as God foresaw the famine coming to Israel when Jacob did not, he always sees a bigger picture. God had a plan to provide for Jacob’s family and to heal them. God sees the bigger picture for our life too, and he will fulfill it, regardless of how things look today.
Are you waiting for an answer to a prayer? Start by affirming who God is. Name as many of his attributes as you can. When you read Scripture, look for his attributes, and make a running list of them. Praise and thank him for them. Ask the Holy Spirit to plant faith deep in your heart. Ask him to open your eyes to see for yourself how the Lord is watching over your life and doing good for you. “God, you know my heart and my needs. Today I ask that you help me see your goodness and your care for my life.”6
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the narcissism of Jacob as he feels released to die after he is reunited with Joseph. Jesus' warning about persecution from family had come to pass at the time of writing of Matthew’s Gospel. Friar Jude reminds us of the privilege of sharing Jesus' cross in our compassion for those in need.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that what the full biblical revelation has given us is the history within the history, the coherence inside of the seeming incoherence. If we don’t get this inner pattern, then religion becomes simply aimless anecdotes—just little stories here and there, with no design or direction. Only in the final chapter of the Bible can it say, “Now God lives among humans, they have become God’s people, and he has become their God” (Revelation 21:3). Brian McLaren envisions the “great themes” of Scripture ending up in the reconciliation of God’s new heaven and new earth.
Finally, try to imagine that this is also the great, big, beautiful, mysterious goodness, wholeness, and aliveness into which all of us and all creation will be taken up—in a marriage, in a homecoming, in a reunion, in a celebration. . . The whole story flows toward reconciliation, not in human creeds or constitutions, but in love, the love of the One who gave us being and life. . . So our journey in the story of creation, the adventure of Jesus, and the global uprising of the Spirit has come full circle. It all came from God in the beginning, and now it all comes back to God in the end. [1]7
The paradox of our protection amid persecution is lived with the support of prompting from the Holy Spirit to discern our Way.
References
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