Today's reading tells us about Joseph's first meeting with his brothers after a long separation. Of course, the first thing that catches the eye is the mention of how the brothers bowed down to the ground before Joseph (v. 6). And Joseph immediately remembered the dreams he had seen in childhood (v. 9) and... accused his brothers of something of which they could not possibly have been guilty: that they were spies and had come in order to learn where and how best to attack the borders (vv. 9-12). At first glance, this is strange behavior: Joseph recognized his brothers (v. 7), and they bowed down to him; it would seem that now was the time to reveal himself to his brothers, remind them of the past, and enjoy the triumph of restored justice. But instead Joseph begins a complex game: he gives no sign that he has recognized his brothers, accuses them of utterly impossible things, and demands that as proof they present to him the younger brother left at home, Benjamin (vv. 3-4, 13-16). One could think that this is punishment for what they had done, a kind of revenge, a desire to let the brothers feel what it is like to risk the younger, beloved brother. It is easy to get rid of a brother whom you hate, but what is it like to risk the life and freedom of the one whom you love? Yet even this decision turns out not to be final: in the end Joseph releases all the brothers, leaving only one as a hostage, with the command that next time they must certainly bring the younger brother with them (vv. 18-20). Joseph had no doubt that the brothers would have to return: he knew how long the famine was to last. More than that, he ordered that the entire sum each of them had paid for the grain bought in Egypt be returned to them (v. 25).

The former Joseph, who joyfully told his father and brothers about his dreams, would not have delayed revealing himself to those who came and reminding them of everything that had happened before. But the present Joseph wants neither proof that he was right nor even the triumph of justice. He wants repentance and conversion from his brothers. And that is impossible until one has been, so to speak, in the place of the one who suffered from one's sin. Joseph lets his brothers feel what it is like to lose a beloved brother. At the same time, he lets them understand that the great Egyptian official with whom they had to speak, for the brothers did not recognize Joseph, is by no means hostile to them: look, he even returned the money for the grain they bought... And Joseph's brothers gradually begin to understand that what is happening to them is because of Joseph, because of their sin against their brother (vv. 21-22).

At last the day came when the brothers had to do what they had so wanted to avoid: they had to bow down to Joseph. They did not recognize him, of course, which is no surprise: they never expected to find their brother in the position of first minister. Joseph, however, recognizes his brothers at once: he had never forgotten them.

The only strange thing is the way Joseph behaves toward his brothers. If he wanted to teach them a lesson or punish them, what would have kept him from doing it immediately? If he had forgiven them everything, why not reveal himself to them at the first meeting? Joseph clearly has other plans; he wants something from his brothers.

Either to obtain something from them, or to explain something to them. Explaining it "head-on," of course, would be useless: if Joseph's brothers had managed without him until then, without remembering him in any special way, that means they simply sold him into slavery and forgot him. Well, not completely forgot him, but they certainly did not think of him often. So Joseph wants to make them remember. Precisely to remember, not simply to see him in all the splendor of his position, of which none of the brothers left in the wilderness could even have dreamed. The brothers would surely have recognized this new Joseph, and just as surely they would have been afraid: now he really could call everything to mind against them if only he wanted to. But Joseph wanted them to remember that former younger brother, the one they had so wanted to get rid of, to remember how they sold him into slavery. Now the situation had changed: before, Joseph depended on his brothers, depended on them completely and unconditionally; now they depended on him just as completely and unconditionally.

From there everything is simple: if you are not spies, next time bring your younger brother to me, and until then leave a hostage - a practice quite ordinary for those times; even solid rulers of solid states resorted to such methods. Now they will never forget their younger brother, never. But not only that - there is also the grain received for free. So that they would understand: in the world not only evil happens, but also good, and a person can choose what will enter the world through him. So Joseph gives his brothers their first lesson - a harsh one, but an absolutely necessary one.

And now the most gripping part of this story begins: Joseph meets his brothers. Unrecognized by them, he plays a complex game with them: several times they come to Egypt for grain, where ever new meetings with Pharaoh's strange official await them. This man is constantly trying to catch them in a crime, calling them spies, but implying an entirely different matter that lies on their conscience. What is all this game for? Would it not be simpler to reveal himself to his brothers at once and accuse them directly? But Joseph has another plan: he does not want to accuse them; he wants them to understand for themselves the full horror of their crime. To this end he several times places them before the possibility of losing yet another brother, Simeon or the youngest, Benjamin. Several years earlier they had renounced their brother without a second thought, but now conscience begins to awaken in them. Was this Joseph's design? This intrigue also has a spiritual meaning, because here Joseph acts, as it were, on God's behalf. God, too, rarely accuses a person directly; the risk is too great that the person will laugh in response. God begins a game with him, gradually revealing to him the true essence of his life, patiently waiting until at last he wakes up and sees it in an entirely different light.