Thursday    June 9, 2009

This morning I woke up just before the Divine Mercy hour of 3:00am, I couldn't sleep, partially due to crazy dreams I was having and definitely because I believe that Jesus was calling me to prayer and contemplation. I looked up today's scripture readings and there before me was the story of the mercy of Joseph upon his seemingly unscrupulous and merciless brothers. I speak of the Old Testament Joseph, the coat of many colors Joseph. The same Joseph whose story has been made into the popular and entertaining musical entitled, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat" and for good reason, not only was his dream coat amazing, his life was as well! This is the Joseph that was given the gift of interpreting dreams. Boy could I use his expertise about now!

Jealousy, Envy and Hatred

To refresh your memory, the story of Joseph goes like this. Joseph is the favored son of Jacob, the most beloved of all of his twelve sons. He is Jacob's eleventh son, but the first born son of Jacob's beloved Rachel, who was barren for many years. Rachel only has one other son with Jacob, Benjamin who is born after Joseph. At the age of sixteen, Joseph is helping his brothers tend sheep when he witnesses some of them commit a "most wicked crime" and informs his father of what his brothers have done. This does not sit well with his ten older brothers and when Jacob gives Joseph a beautiful coat made of many colors they become even more jealous of Jacob. God sends Jacob two dreams which he shares with his father and brothers which clearly predict a future where they will "bow down" to him. This certainly didn't help the situation as the brothers envied and despised Joseph all the more. Scripture states that the brothers "hated him and could not speak peaceably to him". 

Jacob decides to send the young Joseph to check on his brothers who are tending the sheep. When the brothers see Joseph coming they remark mockingly, "Behold, the dreamer cometh!" They then suggest to one another that they should kill him, throw his body in a deep pit and tell everyone he was devoured by a wild beast, using a blood stained coat of many colors as proof. BUT WAIT! Brother Reuben sees an opportunity for some personal praise from Dad. He suggests that they not kill Joseph, but just throw him in the pit. He secretly schemes to be the hero in his father's eyes by planning to rescue Joseph from the pit later and undoubtedly with great pomp and circumstance present Joseph to their father as being rescued by the caring and wonderful Reuben himself!

As soon as poor, young, defenseless Joseph approaches his brothers, they strip him of his garments and throw him into the pit! The brothers then sit down to eat and as they are eating see a caravan of Ishmaelites in the distance. Brother Judah suggests that they not kill Joseph, but sell him into slavery. The brothers receive twenty pieces of silver in exchange for their innocent brother and return to their much grieved father with a bloody coat of many colors, which of course had been staged by the conniving brothers.

Temptation, Obedience and Grace

The Ishmaelites sold Joseph to Putiphar, a eunuch of the Pharaoh. Putiphar was good to Joseph and Joseph brought many blessings to Putiphar's house and estate by the grace of God. All was going well until Putiphar's wife took a liking to young Joseph and tried to seduce him. He refused her adulterous advances over and over again out of fidelity to his master and to God. This infuriates Putiphar's wife and she schemes to pay Joseph back for his rejection by telling her husband that Joseph tried to attack her. Putiphar becomes angry and throws poor Joseph into prison. "But the Lord was with Joseph, and having mercy upon him gave him favour in the sight of the chief keeper of the prison." (Genesis 29:31)

While in prison, it so happens that the Pharaoh's chief butler and chief baker are also thrown into prison. They both have dreams and Jacob interprets the dreams for them. The butler fares well. Jacob tells him that in three days, the Pharaoh will reinstate him in his position. The baker, however does not get good news and is told by Joseph, that he will be executed in three days' time. When Joseph's predictions come true, the baker is killed and the butler goes on about his position with no further thought of Joseph!

TWO YEARS later, however; the Pharaoh's nights are disturbed by many unexplainable dreams. He summons all the interpreters, but none can explain his odd dreams. The chief butler recalls how Joseph had interpreted his dream several years ago and tells the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh summons Joseph and remarks to him "...I have dreamed dreams and there is no one that can expound them; now I have heard that thou art very wise at interpreting them." Joseph humbly replies, "WITHOUT ME, GOD will give Pharaoh a prosperous answer." I just love this line of scripture! Joseph fully realizes that he is not wise or great or wonderful but only accomplishes great, wise and wonderful things by the grace of God working through him in obedience to the plan God has for him.

Glory, Honor, and Praise used wisely

The Pharaoh was greatly pleased that Joseph could not only interpret his dreams but could also advise him wisely as to what to do for Egypt. In appreciation, he gives Joseph a ring, silky garments and the title of governor over the land of Egypt. Ironically, the Pharaoh announces to the entire country that they are to "bow down" before Joseph! Can you imagine, this lowly Hebrew shepherd boy, so unjustly treated by his own brothers and his own master rising to the position of second only to the Pharaoh?

I bet Putiphar's wife was shaking in her boots at the prospect of Joseph using his power in repaying her for her lies and adulterous schemes which led to his imprisonment! But, as you might suspect according to what you already have learned about Joseph's character, there is nothing in scripture that states that he took revenge on her in any way. I would imagine her fear at retribution was enough punishment.

Joseph had instructed the Pharaoh that there would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. He had the Egyptians store up food to meet the needs of the people during the years of famine. People came from all over seeking to buy food from the Egyptians....even TEN Hebrew brothers, the sons of Jacob.

Joseph has a few tricks up his tunic!

Yes, the wise old patriarch Jacob sent his ten oldest sons to Egypt for food, keeping the youngest, Benjamin at home because he worried greatly about something happening to him during the journey. The brothers arrive before Joseph, but do not recognize him although Joseph immediately knows them. Joseph quickly accuses them of being spies posing as sons of the same father. They assure him that they are all brothers of the same father and tell Joseph that they have a younger brother at home and one that is "no longer living". Joseph tells his brothers that he does not believe them, that they can take the food back to their father, but that one brother must stay in Egypt, imprisoned until the other brothers return with young Benjamin as proof to what they say.

The brothers leave to go tell their father and discover that their bags are full of food, but that their money has been left inside. This causes them even deeper concern as they wonder if they will now be accused of stealing the food without paying for it. The truth was that Joseph had instructed his servants to return the money to each bag before his brothers departed. 

Their elderly father, Jacob does not want his sons to take Benjamin to Egypt but relents and swears that he will die if they do not return Benjamin safely to him. The brothers return to Joseph in Egypt with Benjamin in tow. They present Benjamin to Joseph. Joseph agrees to once again fill his brothers' sacks and let them return to their father, but there is a twist. Joseph instructs his servant to place a gold goblet in Benjamin's bag. Joseph then releases the brothers to go home without revealing his identity, but before they get too far, he sends his servants to cease them, inspect their bags and find the "stolen" goblet, which of course was not stolen but placed there at Joseph's direction. Joseph's servant tells the brothers that they must return to Joseph. Joseph is eager to see what his brothers will do.

Repentance, Mercy, Forgiveness and Peace

When the brothers return to the palace, Joseph informs them that Benjamin must stay to be punished for stealing from him. Brother Reuben explains to Joseph how their father, Jacob would be devastated to lose a second son after he had lost a son already. Reuben pleads with Joseph to take him in place of Benjamin and to let the boy return to his father. Joseph is overwhelmed with his brother's sacrificial offering and reveals to his brothers that he is Joseph, the brother sold into slavery.

So, after all these years of being separated from his brothers and suffering as a result of their schemes and decisions, what does Joseph do when he sees that his brothers are truly sorry, truly repentant and willing to do the right thing to save Benjamin? Does he pay them back for their injustice? Absolutely not. He lavishes them with riches, he brings them with honor before the Pharaoh and they are blessed abundantly by having all their needs  met.

Do we make the best of second chances?

Joseph shows great mercy because when his brothers were given a second chance, they rose to the occasion by being heartily sorry for their actions and doing the right thing. Reuben, acted selfishly in the case of Joseph. Although he prevented Joseph from being killed by his brothers, his own self-interest was his motivation. He wanted to spare Joseph's life for a very selfish purpose, to be praised by his father for Joseph's safe return. But, years later when Benjamin is faced with imprisonment and slavery, Reuben makes a self-less decision and offers his own life in Benjamin's place.

Who ever said the bible is boring? The stories are timeless and purposeful and there is so much we can learn from its contents when we delve into it. I think it is very likely that this one story would touch a nerve in just about anyone that read it! The bible is the LIVING WORD, it is not dead, it is not outdated, it is NOT irrelevant, but rather God's words to us. When we pray for grace, wisdom and understanding before approaching God's word, He feeds us spiritually and emotionally from what we read. As the scripture says, "For man does not live by bread alone, but on every WORD that comes from the mouth of God" Matthew 4:4

 How many times are we given a second chance to redeem ourselves for our past mistakes. When given a second chance to step up and do the right thing and make a self-less sacrifice, do we react as Joseph's brothers did or do we continue to make the same selfish decisions? God's mercy is infinite and that is definitely bigger than any of our mistakes, past or present. We must know how to respond when we feel the urge to change our hearts and our actions, in order to know how to respond, we must learn how to respond. We learn how to respond through prayerful consumption of the Word of God. We just have to go to Him with a humble and contrite heart and offer him our pain, our suffering, our misgivings, our mistakes and our sins. You will hear His voice, He will speak to you in His time and according to His plan. Then you will be able to bathe in the ocean of His infinite mercies and know what He asks of you in order to fulfill His plan. Joseph had this closeness to God.

Just think how differently this story would have turned out, had Joseph plotted to escape from his captors and seek revenge on his brothers! What gifts they would have all missed out on.

Mary Kidd Flemming blogs for The Handmaids of Mercy which is dedicated to spreading the Divine Mercy Message while documenting her spiritual journey as the wife of John and mother to six blessings, three of which have serious health issues including Ewing's Sarcoma Bone Cancer, Diabetes Type I and Auto-Immune Liver Disease.  

How do we know God's will for us? Discernment is not an easy road to travel. Somewhere between the path God has set for us and the path we rationalize in our minds as our "own" steps to get from A to B, we must have the desire to move closer to His will. Imagine two paths, one straight and narrow and the other ascending, descending and moving in horizontal and even diagonal directions at times. The first path, the one chosen by God. The second the path of nearly every human being that has walked the face of the earth. Even some of the greatest saints, St. Augustine and St. Francis of Assisi wrestled with their own will and the will of God. Due to original sin, our paths are no longer straight and narrow, but characterized by not only straying off of God's path but sometimes even turning our backs completely on it and going in the opposite direction for years, even decades.

So how do we know God's will for us?

In order to know God's will, we must know God.

Nowadays, I find it remarkable how many people profess to "know" God. Yet, the God they know is one they often create in their own minds, based on what ever suits their current situation. They've invested absolutely no time in finding Him, yet they profess to know him in their hearts. For example, "Well, the God I know is love. I love my boyfriend more than any guy I've ever been with. I know we belong together, that is why we chose to live together." They justify their behavior and find a God in their minds that accepts and even endorses that behavior. As a side note, I even had someone suggest to someone I know that I was no different than they were, because I "lived" with my husband BEFORE marriage just as they are living with their own boyfriend before "possible" marriage. The fact that I was invited to move in with my in-laws because of a better job market in the area where they lived and that I shared a room and a bed with my husband's sister for goodness sake, made no difference in this person's rationale! I suppose the fact that we both technically lived together with our boyfriends somehow made her feel better about herself. The fact is there is no difference in God's love for her and for me. The difference is in our choices, which is more pleasing to God is the question. Another example might be someone saying, "The God I know loves unconditionally, that means that I can do ANYTHING I want and God will love me no matter what so everyone else should do the same. That is all that really matters. Whose to tell me that anything I chose to do is morally right or wrong?"

There are absolute truths in the universe. There is right and there is wrong. There is good and there is bad. Everything in the course of salvation history shows us what God deems good and what he deems evil. He lets us know, precisely because He loves us enough to sacrifice His only son for us.  The scriptures convey the story of God's people from before any human being was even created. They also tell the story of God's great love and mercy in the stories of the Old Testament figures. The New Testament tells of the new covenant God has with his people through Jesus, his son, God himself come to earth. The words and actions of Jesus, tell us how to recognize and know God.

The saints take the scriptures and feed upon them in order to model their own lives from them. The saints also spent time reflecting on the events of their lives and striving to surrender their will to God. The great church fathers provide us with additional information on how to know God. The Magisterium of the Catholic Church has given us the Catechism and the Compendium (both reference scriptures and the works of church fathers and saints). Then, we have the Pope, who is infallible on issues of faith who gives us wonderful, timely encyclicals to further guide us.

So, if you want to know God, it looks like you have to spend some time reading his word. You don't have to attempt to interpret it, the Magisterium gives you guidance in the catechism through the wisdom of generations of scriptural and theological scholars.

In order to know God, we must participate daily in the process of getting to know Him.

The Catholic church teaches that prayer and the sacraments are God given gifts that aid us in knowing God personally.

A daily prayer life is one of the best things to draw you closer to God. Conversing with God may seem at first, a one-sided process, with you doing all the talking, but sooner or later, you will begin to hear God. It might not be an audible voice, but you may hear him in some other way. It could be in your experiences with others, something you hear during mass or in the words of a loved one. He will speak to your heart if you give him a chance. If you have difficulty praying, as many people do, there are many beautiful prayers that are easily accessible through the internet as a starting point. The important thing is to give it a try and then stick with it.

The seven sacraments of the Catholic Church include, baptism, penance (confession), First Holy Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders and Anointing of the Sick. Each of these sacraments prepare us to know God better. Baptism cleanses us from original sin. Penance allows us to review the daily choices that we are making, confess our faults and be forgiven of them. Our slate is wiped clean so we can begin again with a new heart. First Communion allows us to receive the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, to tell you the truth, there is no more personal relationship than that! The Eucharist transforms us body, mind and soul to be like Christ. Confirmation (one of my favorites, because I am a confirmation teacher), is when we confirm our faith in the Holy Catholic Church. It is a time when a young person, or adult chooses the Catholic Church for him/herself. At Baptism, your parents chose the church for you. At Confirmation, you chose it for yourself. You receivethe Holy Spirit at Confirmation which is an invaluable gift that sets your heart on fire for God. Marriage and Holy Orders are both vocations which lead to a closer knowledge of God. And finally Anointing of the Sick is an invaluable sacrament, I know its remarkable benefits, because two of my six children have received this sacrament due to grave illness. What a gift all the sacraments are to us, if you haven't received all you are eligible for, it is time to look into that.

The Faith Journey: Surrendering your free will, reading scripture, using the Magisterium's Guidance, reflecting on the lives of the Saints, Praying throughout each day and participating in the Sacraments... a plan for salvation....but you must have a living faith.

These are my suggestions based on my own personal faith journey, yet I realize that we can do all these things and still place our souls in jeopardy. We must guard against being a good student of all of these things the church offers without having a living faith. A living faith to me, means striving daily to not only know all this information but to try to live it out.

Loving your neighbor as yourself, for example, sometimes requires doing the very difficult, enraging and even in extreme circumstances, separating you from those you are called to love. We must chose God above all else. God does not expect us, in my opinion, to continue to beat our heads against brick walls if others do not accept us along with our desire to serve God.

We are called to forgive, because God tells us that He has forgiven us, so therefore we, as Christians, must forgive others for wrongdoings. If we forgive, it does not mean that the other person was right, it just means that God has given us the grace to do what we feel in our hearts is impossible, forgiving our trespasses. When we forgive, we are given freedom from the chains of resentment and anger and we have a peace that surpasses all others, we also are merciful towards the other party because we are not binding their sins. 

 Loving our enemies, which sometimes may seem like our very own families or friends, means praying for them daily and harboring no resentment towards them. When those feelings start to bubble up, then it is time to search once again for God's will by accepting His amazing grace in both discerning and doing His will.  His mercy is greater than our sins. We can come back to Him, begging forgiveness and mercy over and over again. That is my God. That is a living faith, and that, I believe is God's will for us all.

"The world with its seductions is passing away but the man who does God's will endures forever" (1 Jn 2:17).

Mary Kidd Flemming blogs for The Handmaids of Mercy , The Splendor of Truth and The Compass Rose (Parenting and Family Life Issues). You may also enjoy her husband's website: Crossroads Family Center  The Flemming Family is facing the greatest challenge of their lives as three of their six kids have health issues and were all diagnosed within an eighth month period. The children's illnesses include: Auto-Immune Liver Disease, Type I Diabetes (insulin dependent), and Ewing's Sarcoma (a form of bone cancer). This has been an incredible journey of faith for the Flemming Family. While they don't fully understand why any of this happened to their children, they place their trust and faith totally in God's goodness. By sharing their faith journey, their hope is that other people will be drawn closer to The Holy Trinity (The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit). It is Mary's great hope that the sufferings of her children and family will be received by God for the conversion of souls. JESUS, WE TRUST in YOU!