Joseph: endurance

Week 2: Friday

Reading

Genesis 37.12-18

Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, ‘Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.’ He answered, ‘Here I am.’ So he said to him, ‘Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.’ So he sent him from the valley of Hebron.
He came to Shechem, and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, ‘What are you seeking?’ ‘I am seeking my brothers,’ he said; ‘tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.’ The man said, ‘They have gone away, for I heard them say, “Let us go to Dothan.” ’ So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.’ But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, ‘Let us not take his life.’ Reuben said to them, ‘Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him’—that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.’ And his brothers agreed. When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

Reflection

The Joseph narratives of Genesis are compelling and profoundly relatable to people who have been oppressed and must wrestle with the deepest of trials and betrayals. Joseph is sold into servitude by his brothers, out of jealousy. The family drama – from his grandfather Isaac through his father Jacob – finds its way into his own life. Joseph endures being betrayed and sold into slavery by his brothers, sexually harassed, falsely accused, imprisoned, ignored, and forgotten. In the midst of violence, trauma, and misfortune, he clings to God’s gifts and presence in his life.

Joseph’s faith and his coming to terms with his traumatic past ultimately brings him to a place of exaltation. The one despised becomes the hope for the very ones who betrayed him. Joseph is a powerful symbol for the faith of Black people, who have similarly endured oppression yet remained rooted in God.

Watch

Reflect on any episodes in your own life that have involved trauma and adversity.

...and pray

for peace and healing over all these moments of your life.

Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.