Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

“Joseph in the Pharaoh's Palace”
by Jacopo Amigoni, c. 1730’s

Readings for Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Genesis 41:55-57; 42:5-7a, 17-24a
 
When hunger came to be felt throughout the land of Egypt
and the people cried to Pharaoh for bread,
Pharaoh directed all the Egyptians to go to Joseph
and do whatever he told them.
When the famine had spread throughout the land,
Joseph opened all the cities that had grain
and rationed it to the Egyptians,
since the famine had gripped the land of Egypt.
In fact, all the world came to Joseph to obtain rations of grain,
for famine had gripped the whole world.
 
The sons of Israel were among those
who came to procure rations.
 
It was Joseph, as governor of the country,
who dispensed the rations to all the people.
When Joseph's brothers came and knelt down before him
with their faces to the ground,
he recognized them as soon as he saw them.
But Joseph concealed his own identity from them
and spoke sternly to them.
 
With that, he locked them up in the guardhouse for three days.
 
On the third day Joseph said to his brothers:
"Do this, and you shall live; for I am a God-fearing man.
If you have been honest,
only one of your brothers need be confined in this prison,
while the rest of you may go
and take home provisions for your starving families.
But you must come back to me with your youngest brother.
Your words will thus be verified, and you will not die."
To this they agreed.
To one another, however, they said:
"Alas, we are being punished because of our brother.
We saw the anguish of his heart when he pleaded with us,
yet we paid no heed;
that is why this anguish has now come upon us."
Reuben broke in,
"Did I not tell you not to do wrong to the boy?
But you would not listen!
Now comes the reckoning for his blood."
The brothers did not know, of course,
that Joseph understood what they said,
since he spoke with them through an interpreter.
But turning away from them, he wept.
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Commentary on Gn 41:55-57; 42:5-7a, 17-24a
 
We take up the story of Joseph, the youngest son of Jacob, in midstream. Joseph’s brothers are in Egypt asking Joseph for rations though they do not recognize him. At this point in the story, they had already sold Joseph into slavery out of jealousy and told his father he was dead. Now they are forced to deal with their guilt as they must decide their own fate, unknowingly at the feet of the brother they had wronged. For the first time, Joseph understands their motives and weeps. For their part, the brothers begin to sense divine retribution for the wrong they had done to Joseph.
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 33:2-3, 10-11, 18-19
 
R. (22) Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
 
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises.
Sing to him a new song;
pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
 
The LORD brings to nought the plans of nations;
he foils the designs of peoples.
But the plan of the LORD stands forever;
the design of his heart, through all generations.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
 
But see, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
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Commentary on Ps 33:2-3, 10-11, 18-19
 
Psalm 33 is a song of thanksgiving and praise.  In this passage, we hear praise for God’s mercy to his people.  The psalmist reflects upon the futility of the plans of humanity and the wonder of God’s plan.  The concluding strophe recalls the salvation God has planned for his faithful.
 
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Gospel: Matthew 10:1-7
 
Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.
The names of the Twelve Apostles are these:
first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew,
Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;
Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot
who betrayed Jesus.
 
Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
"Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"
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Commentary on Mt 10:1-7
 
Following the instructions to the Twelve on how they are to evangelize given in the preceding chapter, Jesus now sends them out. St. Matthew’s Gospel does not tell the stories of how they were called, but provides the names and mission of the disciples. It is only in Matthew that the Twelve are designated as Apostles reflecting the mission and role they fulfill. They are then sent, but only to the “chosen people.” This focus on the Jewish audience tells us that St. Matthew’s Gospel was originally directed principally at Hebrew Christians.
 
CCC: Mt 10:5-7 543
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Reflection:
 
What would we think if a person we did not know came up to us and said: “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand”?  Even if we look at the next verses of St. Matthew’s Gospel, that phrase is not explained.  He sends his disciples into the world to bring healing to the sick and hope to the poor but what does he mean: “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand”?
 
If this phrase were spoken to us in the context of someone attempting to evangelize us, would we not immediately think that person was telling us: “The world is coming to an end” or “It’s the end of the world”?  The disciples Jesus was sending must certainly have had a clear understanding of what the idea of the kingdom of heaven was about.  For our own purposes, since we are also to follow these Apostles in their mission, we must also have a clear understanding of what is meant or implied by the “Kingdom of heaven.”
 
The whole concept of a “kingdom” is the first term we must define.  Kingdom is defined by an unabridged dictionary as:
 
5. the spiritual sovereignty of God or Christ.
6. the domain over which the spiritual sovereignty of God or Christ extends, whether in heaven or on earth.[4]
 
So, when the disciples proclaim the Kingdom of heaven, they are announcing that God’s power or authority will be extended over those to whom this event is announced.  In the terms and tradition in which this message was proclaimed, the idea of a temporal kingdom had a more profound understanding.  The people who were to receive this message, “the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” would have been under Roman authority, part of the Roman Empire, dominated by the emperor of Rome who ruled through Pontius Pilate with King Herod as regional monarch.
 
The whole notion that power and authority would be given over to God, the one true God known to the house of Israel as Yahweh, could mean only one thing: the promised Messiah was at hand.  It would mean that the secular rule and values would no longer be the measure by which their actions were governed, but the Law of God would be the standard by which judgment would be passed.
 
In a very spiritual sense, they announced the end of the world as it was known (we are back to that idea).  God’s kingdom, his heavenly kingdom on earth, must be a different kind of world.  It is a place of love and understanding, a place where God’s will is recognized and the commandments are obeyed.
 
When we come to understand the vision of Jesus for the world both now and in God’s kingdom of heaven, our eternal home, it becomes easier to place into context the message we are to convey through our words and actions.  We must be cautious to use language that will be understood correctly.  We cannot, in the context of our society, use the exact words Jesus sent the Twelve to announce.  Most people would not understand the message.  Rather we are called to find ways to make that announcement in ways easily understood by the “lost sheep” we encounter.
 
Today we pray for the grace and strength to proclaim that message.  We also hope for the faith to understand that it is the message given to us as well.
 
Pax

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[1] The picture is “Joseph in the Pharaoh's Palace” by Jacopo Amigoni, c. 1730’s.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] "kingdom." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 07 Jul. 2015. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/kingdom>.