Love Conquers

“I am your brother Joseph, whom you once sold into Egypt.
But now do not be distressed,
and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here.
It was really for the sake of saving lives
that God sent me here ahead of you.”

Genesis 45:4b-5

Originally published July 19, 2019 by Philip Cheung as “The Greatest Payback.”

"I'm gonna get him back!" "He's gonna pay for this." "I want him to feel the pain he caused me." These are some of the sayings people may say when they are angry and feel that they were hurt or treated unfairly or unjustly. Have you ever felt that way? Sometimes when someone hurt me or when I felt treated unfairly, I whisper under my breath or in my head "They're gonna get it back. Wait til they see. Just let them wait." It could have been a true unfair or unjust situation, but the desire to want to get back at them is not the work of the Holy Spirit. How do I do? Because the thought, desire, or feeling does not reflect the fruits of the Spirit. The twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit are: charity (love), joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity (see Galatians 5:22-23). So, if my thoughts, feelings, and desires do not reflect those fruits, then, yes, they may be coming from a spirit, but most definitely not the Holy Spirit.

When Joseph saw his brothers again I am sure he was surprised and experienced of a mixture of emotions - from joy to sadness to anger and curiosity. His brothers wanted to kill him out of jealousy but ended up selling him into slavery in Egypt. Many years later, Joseph, not a slave, but became second in command in Egypt. When a famine struck the land, his brothers needed to go to Egypt to ask for rations for grain. When they approached Joseph, they could not recognize him, but Joseph recognized them. Instead of paying them back and giving them a taste of what they did to him and scream at them, punish them, or treat them harshly, Joseph was compassionate. The brothers recalled how they treated Joseph and wondered if what was happening to them was the price to pay. At this we are told that Joseph turned away and wept. Later Joseph revealed to them that he was his brother and asked about the family. Instead of asking how they could have done such a thing to him, he comforted them "Do not be distressed and do not reproach yourselves..."

Through this suffering years ago, Joseph was then able to help his family. Joseph saw this as God's plan. If his brothers had not sold him into Egypt, his family probably wouldn't be able to get any rations for grain. So, God used what was a messed up, disturbed, and disgraceful situation and used it for the good. Joseph saw this and understood it. I am sure Joseph was very grateful and was happy that he could have helped his family with his position. So, for Joseph, the greatest payback to his brothers for selling him into Egypt was loving them. In loving them, Joseph challenged his brothers to think about their actions and how good and merciful God is. In loving them in such a way, Joseph was not enabling his brothers or giving them a way out, but rather inviting them to a deeper relationship with God. When we are faced with situations where our initial instinct is to fight back, hurt someone, speak profanity, let us turn to the Father and ask Him to give us the strength to not return insult for insult but rather to return love. When we are able to accept this, love then can truly conquer all things and all evil.

Father, give me the wisdom to differentiate the fruits of the Holy Spirit from the fruits of a mean spirit. Grant unto me the grace to love. Instill within me a spirit that yields to love and the Holy Spirit. Teach me that the greatest payback is to love because in loving we are inviting others to a deeper and more intimate relationship with You.

A Promise Kept

“But turning away from them, he wept.”

Genesis 42:24a

The story of Joseph is quite a moving one. Out of jealousy some of his brothers wanted to kill Joseph but they wound up selling him instead. Joseph ended up in Egypt and became second in command to the Pharaoh. Many years later when all the lands were plagued by famine, Egypt was the only place with grain and all the people came to Egypt to buy grain, including Joseph’s brothers. When they had gone to Egypt, Joseph recognized them but they did not recognize him. When Joseph asked about their family, they reported such and then Joseph gave them a hard time (NOT in a malicious and vengeful way) and asked them to go back and bring back their youngest brother (Benjamin). Joseph’s brothers probably had thought he had died years ago and so they thought to themselves that this trial and difficult time must be punishment for what they did to their brother (Joseph) years ago. At that, Joseph wept.

The man, their very own brother, whom they did away with became the very man that fed them and saved their lives. In some way, Joseph was sent away, sent ahead to save his family. God has promised Abraham that he would be a father of many nations, and He would not break His promise. He wouldn’t let his descendants starve and die off. God brings good out of every bad and seemingly lifeless and hopeless situation. Good will come out of our trials and difficulties — for ourselves and for others. We may not always know or understand why and how, but we can always be sure that it will be for good (if it comes from God).

Jesus kept this promise too when He told the Apostles to “go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.” Many years later, when God became man, He still remembered His promise and tries to bring His people back. And when Jesus was raised up high on the Cross, He drew all peoples to Himself.

Our God is a God who keeps His promises, and He promises to never leave us or abandon us. He did this by becoming one of us. And in order to bring us to the Father He allowed Himself to be humiliated, scourged, tortured, and ultimately died. But on the third day He rose from the dead. His Resurrection fulfills God’s promise, and He continues to fulfills it and keeps it today.

How Deep is Your Faith?

“If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.”

Matthew 9:21

Just recently we heard Mark’s account of Jairus’ daughter and the woman who suffered from hemorrhages, and today we hear Matthew’s account of it. Both people were desperate and were hoping against all hope, but they hoped not in some magic or wishful thinking. They hoped in someone. They hoped in Jesus Christ. They hoped in Him because they knew that He could save them. That’s the difference between hoping and wishing. When we hope, we do so with faith, knowing that God hears us and knows what we need. When we wish, we just cross our fingers and hope somehow, some way whatever problem we are in will resolve itself. As Christians, we hope in Christ because we know that He has also conquered death and evil.

The woman who suffered from hemorrhages for 12 years was desperate. She tried everything. Mark tells us that she spent all her money seeing doctors but to no avail. She had no more money, she was still bleeding, and yet the one thing she still had was hope and faith in Jesus. She believed and knew without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus could save her. How ironic is it that those who should have been able to help her took her money but yet could not, but the One who did heal her and save her was no physician and did so without charge. True healing, the healing that we need, that sets our souls free is always free. It is God’s gift to us. But the question is, do we want it? The woman believed that if she only touched the cloak of Jesus, she would be healed. How deep is our faith? I leave you with the words Jesus told Jairus, the synagogue official, (see Mk. 5:21ff): “Do not be afraid; just have faith.”