We’ve been reading through the story of Joseph, son of Jacob, in our daily readings recently.
And, no, I don’t like “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” I have a high cheese detector and this is a cheese-fest extravaganza. 
Back to Joseph.
Families are messy. They just are. Comprised of sinful humans, nobody has a perfect family. There’s pain over past wrongs. There’s always a few family members that cause embarrassment. There’s at least one family member in an extended family that causes issues with nearly everyone else. And there’s always massive amounts of forgiveness that needs to happen, but people dig their heels in and refuse to offer it.
Joseph had a rough go of it with his brothers. Naturally, being his father’s favorite caused his other brothers to feel jealousy and they acted on that jealousy in an extreme way. They sold their brother into slavery.
Years and years after being sold, Joseph meets his brothers again. This time, he holds all the power—power to let them live or die.
Initially, you can tell that he wants to punish them for what they did to him, but in today’s readings, he relents.
It’s a very powerful moment and we see the healing effects of Joseph’s forgiveness. His brothers must have been relieved and greatly humbled. Jacob got his son back and Joseph gave a gift to his family—restoration.
Let us use Joseph’s situation as an example for us, Catholic Pilgrims.
Live the Faith boldly and travel well this Thursday.
