Saturday 13th July,
2019. Genesis 49:29-33, 50:15-26, Psalm 105 and Matthew 10:24-33)_
“Fear not,
therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who
acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in
heaven.” (Matthew 10:31-32)
After their father’s death, the
brothers of Joseph were not convinced that Joseph had truly forgiven them. They
feared that Joseph was only waiting for their father to die before striking
back. So, they went to prostrate themselves before Joseph to ask for pardon. This
was now the second time they would bring Joseph’s dream to reality.
Joseph showed that his forgiveness
was not merely cosmetic but complete. He had not forgotten what they did to him
but he was no longer pained by that. Joseph said to them: “Fear not, for
am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant
it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they
are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.’ (Genesis 50:19-21)
It is interesting to note that Joseph’s
forgiveness came before, not after his brothers offered their apology. Joseph
not only forgave them, he went the extra mile to assure them of his protection
and provision. It is not enough that we say “I have forgiven you” only to cut
ties completely from the person afterwards. Forgiveness is complete when we are
able to restore that friendship and brotherhood that existed before.
Like these brothers of Joseph, there
are times we still feel guilty even after we have gone for confession. There
are times we feel we haven’t been forgiven by God or that God is punishing us
by allowing bad things come our way. By so doing, we show that we do not really
know God who is all loving and all merciful. As Joseph assured his brothers, we
need to let go of our fears and trust that having been absolved of our past
sins, God no longer holds anything against us.
Coming to our Gospel passage, Jesus
tells us not to be afraid of those who can only kill the body and afterwards
can do nothing else. We should not fear people because we have God himself as
our security. God is so close to us that he knows even the number of hairs on
our head. So why should we be afraid of people?
Jesus says: “everyone who
acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father in
heaven.” Do I acknowledge Jesus before the world? Am I proud of my Christian
Faith? Do I act, talk, behave or dress in a way and manner that clearly shows I
belong to Jesus? Or am I too scared of being laughed at, ridiculed or excluded
from my peers because of my faith? Fear Not.
Let
us pray: Lord Jesus, may my every thought, word and deed be a profession of my
faith and devotion to you. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith.
It is well with you. God bless you. (Saturday of the 14th week in
Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Genesis
49:29-33, 50:15-26, Psalm 105 and Matthew 10:24-33).
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