Today’s readings remind us that God reaches out to us across time. In the first reading from Genesis, Joseph, saved by the hand of God from his jealous brothers and Potiphar, feeds the starving masses. Joseph has been given great power from Pharoah. Yet, he wields that power with great mercy; even extending mercy to his scheming brothers. His tears as they lament their past evil reveal that he loves them despite their earlier actions.
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus takes another twelve persons and gives them great power, not to feed with food but to heal the masses and call them to repentance. His words to them in Matthew 10:6 is that they “go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” pulls us back into the story of Joseph. Jacob, called Israel by God, is the father of the twelve sons, eleven of whom went astray due to envy of their brother, Joseph.
A History of Love and Mercy
I love how the Bible gives such a clear timeline of God’s acting in human history. The events of both the Old Testament and the New Testament are rooted in actual places and people. We hear the names of Joseph’s brothers and the names of the first twelve apostles. In those places and through those people we are made aware that God never stops reaching out to us with His great love and mercy in order to save us from sin and the finality of death.
The prophets of the Old Testament, over many years and places, call to those “lost sheep of the house of Israel” of the need to repent for salvation. Then, in the New Testament, John the Baptist, the last prophet, heralds the arrival of Jesus Christ. It is through Jesus that death will be defeated and salvation for all will be achieved.
Our Personal Salvation
I think on my own history where God has acted for my salvation. My parents gave me the great gift of Baptism to start me on my lifelong faith journey. God brought people into my life that caused my often tepid faith to grow strong. Participating in the sacrament of Reconciliation has led me to humility and repentance many times. My day begins with reading Scripture. I know God has been and is calling this “lost sheep of North Carolina” in so many ways! I pray that all of us this week will hear God’s voice. A voice of love and mercy which calls each one of us to salvation.
[Readings: Genesis 41:55-57; 42:5-7a, 17-24a; Matthew 10:1-7]
