Today's reading from the Book of Genesis skips over nine chapters and introduces us to the plight of Israel when a great famine gripped the land. Ten of Jacob's sons go to Egypt to procure food for Jacob's family. There they meet their brother Joseph whom they do not recognize. Joseph is eager to connect with his younger brother, Benjamin. (He and Benjamin were the sons of Rebekah, Jacob's true love while the other ten are children of Leah and two other women.) So Joseph takes one of the sons as a hostage and asks the other nine to bring Benjamin to Egypt to prove that they are trustworthy. Our Western mindset may not feel at all comfortable with such duplicity and cunning. However, we have to remember that the culture of the Middle East does not see it in the same way. Joseph is simply preserving his own honor while making his brothers face the shame of their sin in selling him off to slavery. As I have said frequently, this society, this culture is driven by the twin concepts of honor (saving face) and shame (dishonor).
As I was reading the passage this morning, I could not help but connect Joseph and Jesus. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. Jesus freely takes on the "slavery" of our human condition. God's plan of salvation includes the story of Joseph as a proleptic tale to prefigure the story of Jesus. Just as Joseph was restored to his rightful place in this father's house, Jesus was also restored to his rightful place at the right hand of his Father in heaven. Joseph was sold for twenty pieces of silver by his brothers. Jesus was betrayed by Judas for thirty pieces of silver. Joseph becomes the source of food for his starving brothers. Jesus becomes the bread of nourishment for us through the Eucharist.
As we ponder the message of this story, I cannot help but marvel at God's plan of salvation. Stretching back thousands of years, God intervened in our history to prepare us for the advent of a Savior. These stories that we read today are proof of God's love for us, for they show us exactly to what lengths God went to save us from the slavery of sin. How can we help but be grateful for such abiding and persistent love!
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator