The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with our attitude towards famine in our relationships and our hunger for reconciliation.
Relieve the famine
The reading from the Book of Genesis describes the actions of Joseph in the Famine.
* [42:1–38] The first journey of the brothers to Egypt. Its cause is famine, which was also the reason Abraham and Sarah undertook their dangerous journey to Egypt. The brothers bow to Joseph in v. 6, which fulfills Joseph’s dream in 37:5–11. Endowed with wisdom, Joseph begins a process of instruction or “discipline” for his brothers that eventually forces them to recognize the enormity of their sin against him and the family. He controls their experience of the first journey with the result that the second journey in chaps. 43–44 leads to full acknowledgment and reconciliation.1
Psalm 33 praises the greatness and goodness of God.
* [Psalm 33] A hymn in which the just are invited (Ps 33:1–3) to praise God, who by a mere word (Ps 33:4–5) created the three-tiered universe of the heavens, the cosmic waters, and the earth (Ps 33:6–9). Human words, in contrast, effect nothing (Ps 33:10–11). The greatness of human beings consists in God’s choosing them as a special people and their faithful response (Ps 33:12–22).2
In the Gospel of Matthew, the Twelve Apostles are named to the Mission of the Twelve.
* [10:1] His twelve disciples: although, unlike Mark (Mk 3:13–14) and Luke (Lk 6:12–16), Matthew has no story of Jesus’ choosing the Twelve, he assumes that the group is known to the reader. The earliest New Testament text to speak of it is 1 Cor 15:5. The number probably is meant to recall the twelve tribes of Israel and implies Jesus’ authority to call all Israel into the kingdom. While Luke (Lk 6:13) and probably Mark (Mk 4:10, 34) distinguish between the Twelve and a larger group also termed disciples, Matthew tends to identify the disciples and the Twelve. Authority…every illness: activities the same as those of Jesus; see Mt 4:23; Mt 9:35; 10:8. The Twelve also share in his proclamation of the kingdom (Mt 10:7). But although he teaches (Mt 4:23; 7:28; 9:35), they do not. Their commission to teach comes only after Jesus’ resurrection, after they have been fully instructed by him (Mt 28:20).3
Suzanne Braddock is puzzled why Jesus instructs his apostles to go only to the lost sheep of Israel and to avoid pagans and Samaritans. However, as Fr Dennis Hamm SJ pointed out to her, this changes after the descent of the Holy Spirit. Now the whole world should be told by acts of healing and reconciliation the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
For me, the kingdom is already here and we can rejoice that despite global catastrophe-betrayal, famine, plague, Covid-19, - we can hear the word of God and keep it, and know that God is with us through it all. This God who gets foolishly close, as Fr Pat Malone SJ wrote. “What is the Kingdom of God for each of us? What action can I take today to help realize the Kingdom in my life and that of all I meet today? We, too, have been given this authority.”4
Don Schwager quotes “Jesus empowers his disciples to act in his name,” by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD).
" If the Spirit had not yet been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified, how then did the disciples cast out the unclean spirits? They did this by his own command, by the Son's authority.2 Note the careful timing of their mission. They were not sent out at the beginning of their walk with him. They were not sent out until they had sufficiently benefited by following him daily. It was only after they had seen the dead raised, the sea rebuked, devils expelled, the legs of a paralytic brought to life, sins remitted, lepers cleansed, and had received a sufficient proof of his power both by deeds and words - only then did he send them out. And he did not send them out unprepared to do dangerous deeds, for as yet there was no danger in Palestine. They had only to stand against verbal abuse. However, Jesus still warned them of larger perils to come, preparing them for what was future." (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 32.3)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Genesis 41:55-57; 42:5-7, 17-24 comments that this story shows us how powerful reconciliation can be—and how deeply God wants to see it happen. Even when we don’t want restoration, God finds ways to melt our hearts so that we can forgive. Even when we become willing just to begin thinking about reconciling, it’s because God is changing our hearts. It may not seem like much, but it’s a start, and many miracles begin with small starts.
If you don’t know where to begin, try starting with prayer. Spend some time reflecting on the mercy God has shown you. Let the depth of his love for you soften your heart. Pray that Jesus will help you to be just as generous and forgiving toward anyone who has hurt you. He will answer that prayer and graciously give you the opportunity to reconcile when the timing is just right. “Jesus, help me to be generous in extending your mercy to the people who have hurt me.”6
Friar Jude Winkler outlines the circumstances whereby Joseph as vizier of Egypt reconnects with his brothers during the famine. We may reflect on family dysfunction through our tears. Friar Jude reminds us that Matthew’s Gospel reflects the promise in Isaiah that the pagans would come streaming to the Lord.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that the spiritual truth is this: there is a difference between knowledge “on ice” and knowledge “on fire.” For many Christians, their belief is often just knowledge “on ice,” not experiential, firsthand knowledge, which is knowledge “on fire.” Even though we call them both faith, there is a difference between intellectual belief and real trust. There is a difference between talking about transformation and God’s love and stepping out in confidence to live a loving life. Only the second is biblical faith: when our walk matches our talk. Brian McLaren writes about the need for the fire of the Spirit today.
In the millennia since Christ walked with us on this Earth, we’ve often tried to box up the “wind” [of the Spirit] in manageable doctrines. We’ve exchanged the fire of the Spirit for the ice of religious pride. We’ve turned the wine back into water, and then let the water go stagnant and lukewarm. We’ve traded the gentle dove of peace for the predatory hawk or eagle of empire. When we have done so, we have ended up with just another religious system, as problematic as any other: too often petty, argumentative, judgmental, cold, hostile, bureaucratic, self-seeking, an enemy of aliveness.7
Our reconciliation with others is a blessing that we seek as we experience transformation through the Holy Spirit.
References
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