Ordinary Time

February 15, 2022

Scripture Reading: Genesis 45:3-11, 15

So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, “Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there—since there are five more years of famine to come—so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.” And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him. –Genesis 45:8-11, 15

And Joseph delivered all that he promised to the family of Jacob, renamed Israel, Joseph’s family. Exodus 12:40–41 tells us that the Israelites remained in Egypt for 430 years before the Exodus. We do not know exactly when they were forced into slavery. Exodus 1:8 describes that a new Pharoah who did not know Joseph came to power and that was the beginning of the end of their freedom.  One of the lessons of the Exodus is that we cannot rest on our laurels—get lazy or complacent about what we can achieve because we are too busy basking in the memories of former glories. Wealthy empires like Rome generally realized that too late to save themselves. The USA teeters on the edge of such privilege where greed and lust for power blind us from our highest principles.

While we can appreciate what our ancestors accomplished, we should also learn from their mistakes and strive to plan for a better future for our descendants. We cannot rest on our laurels and work toward a world ruled by love at the same time.

Prayer: Lord, grant us the courage to step out in faith and restore our nation to finding common ground for the Common Good. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.