In this first half of Lent, we hear in the Mass readings especially about virtue and vice and how we should choose virtue. Today’s first reading shows us a particularly nasty act. In my eyes, it is one of the worst deeds described in the Bible, since it involves the betrayal of a brother. Most of us who read it are amazed at the hatred shown Joseph by his brothers.
Much of the problem described in today’s reading stems from the practice of polygamy, which was allowed in the early part of the Old Testament, but still contrary to natural law and human nature. The story tells us that Jacob has twelve sons, but the wife he loved most, Rachel, did not bear any children until Jacob’s old age. Jacob’s first ten sons were born of concubines and Jacob’s other wife Leah, whom Jacob was tricked into marrying (see Gen. 29). Rachel, on the other hand, was sterile until finally Joseph was born.
Jacob made no secret of the fact that Joseph was his favorite. Today’s reading mentions the long tunic, the famous coat of many colors, which Jacob gave Joseph.
When we get upset at an inequality, our feelings can fall into three categories. Indignation at an injustice is a natural reaction. Sometimes we should get upset when certain people receive favors that others do not. This is more clearly the case when it involves the state, which has an obligation to treat its citizens equally.
The second type of feeling is jealousy. Someone has something that I don’t, that I desperately want. This isn’t always a sin, if it involves something that should be mine by right, or if I have a special relationship to the person involved, like marriage. When it is a sin—and usually when we see it, we recognize it as something bad—it is a sin of the flesh, since it involves the inordinate desire of some thing or person.
When I experience envy, on the other hand, I don’t even want the thing or person—I just don’t want the owner to have it. Thus, it is a sin of the spirit, a type of hatred. I think we have to say that most of Joseph’s brothers suffer from envy.
There is something else at work here, a group dynamic. Often when we’re in a group of people, we get caught up in an enthusiastic spirit, either for good or for ill. In this case the hatred of the brothers gets magnified as various comments are made. We see that Reuben and Judah do not get caught up in this, as both of them make interventions to save Joseph’s life.
When we encounter a story of evil, it is nice when we also see goodness. Of course, the story of Joseph presents us with one of the two great men of virtue in the Book of Genesis (I’m excluding Enoch, who is mentioned just briefly in Genesis).
We definitely see how Joseph grows in virtue as he suffers unjustly. At first, he does things like boast about his dreams to his brothers—hardly the act of a humble man. I suspect he did other things that roused the resentment of his brothers. After the first betrayal, as Joseph suffers various injustices—and he did suffer these repeatedly—he does not react with bitterness, but grows in virtue and in the determination to do good. God does not keep him from injustice, but He always rewards Joseph and magnifies his activity with His grace.
When we feel negative emotions, I hope we turn to God in the conviction that He will magnify both our actions for good and the power of our prayers when we suffer patiently in doing good.
