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NOTES for Gen 45:1-28

Printable version
1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:
10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:
11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.
12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.
13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.
14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;
18 And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
19 Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
20 Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.
21 And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.
22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.
23 And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.
24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.
25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,
26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not.
27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:
28 And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.
Hide

Today's reading tells us about Joseph's long-awaited meeting with his brothers. Of course, formally this meeting happened much earlier, but in fact it took place only now, when not only did Joseph recognize his brothers, but they also recognized him. And now, at this meeting, Joseph was able to tell them what he may have delayed the meeting for so long in order to say, having made his brothers walk a long road of repentance. It is no surprise that the brothers were dismayed when they recognized Joseph (v. 3): they had already had time to feel and realize the full depth of their guilt. And precisely for that reason Joseph could now tell them something very important: it turns out that it was not they, his brothers, who sold him into Egypt; it was God who sent him there in order through him to save both Jacob and all his kinsmen (vv. 4-8). It turns out that whatever a person may intend, what is carried out is still not the person's plan, but God's plan. But in that case, is there a place in this plan for human freedom? Or is a person's free choice only an illusion, especially when his plans contradict God's providence? No, human freedom is not illusory after all. Rather, the illusion is the possibility of a full human life in a world separated from God, cut off from God's larger world. Meanwhile fallen humanity strives to live exactly like that, in its own small, limited world, separate from God's larger world, whose only illusory advantage is that here a person can be his own little god. Then God leaves a person to live as he wants. And a person, living in his little world and managing it, often drives out or kills the one he does not want to see near him. And here, in his little world, he often triumphs, sure that he has won. It is no surprise: in a world where there is no place for God, only one plan triumphs: the plan of the person who created that little world. But sooner or later the moment inevitably comes when the boundaries of this little, human-made world collapse, and then its creator learns with amazement, and often with fear, that in the larger world, where God acts, His plan is being carried out, and what in the little separate world seemed to be triumph has turned out to be defeat in God's larger world. God truly leaves a person his freedom, and it depends only on the person what that freedom will become for him: joy or punishment.

Other notes

 
For Gen 45:1-28
1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:
10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:
11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.
12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.
13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.
14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;
18 And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
19 Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
20 Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.
21 And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.
22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.
23 And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.
24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.
25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,
26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not.
27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:
28 And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.
Hide
The most important thing Joseph took from the experience of Egyptian life was a whole perception of reality. This statement can sound strange, but that is how it is: God's great world opened itself to Joseph in the twists of his difficult fate...  Read more

The most important thing Joseph took from the experience of Egyptian life was a whole perception of reality. This statement can sound strange, but that is how it is: God's great world opened itself to Joseph in the twists of his difficult fate, while his brothers remained what they had been when he parted from them. The best testimony to this is Joseph's words about his life and his adventures in Egypt. He perceives his life as a mission. He says directly to his brothers: it was not you who sold me into slavery; it was God who brought me to Egypt so that now I might save you yourselves.

This turn of thought and plot occurs so often in all kinds of moralizing texts that it has already become a commonplace; and yet many believers are ready to testify to something similar on the basis of their own personal life experience. Some spiritual pattern is clearly visible here. A pattern connected, above all, with where, in what dimension, events take place. More precisely, in what world. In that great world of God which from the beginning was and remains God's Kingdom, or in that small little world separated from the Kingdom, which appears wherever those who oppose God act. This is the main question.

Joseph and his brothers live and act in different worlds. Joseph, of course, also did not enter God's great world at once; this world did not open itself to him at once. It required the experience of life in Potiphar's house and time in prison, and then the office of first minister. It required "swings" - in life and in existence - he had to live through the complete collapse of all plans, hopes, and expectations, so that God's will would become obvious to Joseph precisely as a force acting in his own life, not "in general." Then, when everything described had taken place and God's will had become reality for Joseph, God's great world opened itself to him. In this world only one will acts - God's - and only one plan is fulfilled - God's.

Joseph's brothers' plans, of course, are also fulfilled, but in their own little world. There, in their little world, they can turn out to be winners, and almost certainly will. That is no surprise: it is their world, and they are its masters. But victory in one's own little world, separate from God's great world, turns into defeat in God's great world. It turns into defeat completely unnoticed by those living in their own little world, at the very moment when they themselves think they have won and achieved everything they wanted. It is then that it is often revealed that the victory was illusory and the defeat was quite real. The brothers sold Joseph into slavery and got rid of him, just as they wanted, but they still had to bow down to him. They had to because such was God's plan.

Hide
 
For Gen 45:1-28
1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:
10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:
11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.
12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.
13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.
14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;
18 And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
19 Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
20 Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.
21 And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.
22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.
23 And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.
24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.
25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,
26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not.
27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:
28 And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.
Hide
Today's reading tells us of Joseph's long-awaited meeting with his brothers. Of course, formally this meeting had happened much earlier, but in fact it took place only now, when not only had Joseph recognized his brothers, but they recognized him. And now...  Read more

Today's reading tells us of Joseph's long-awaited meeting with his brothers. Of course, formally this meeting had happened much earlier, but in fact it took place only now, when not only had Joseph recognized his brothers, but they also recognized him. And now, at the meeting, Joseph was able to tell them what he may have delayed this meeting for so long in order to say, making his brothers go through a long path of repentance. It is no surprise that the brothers, when they recognized Joseph, were dismayed (v. 3), for they had already had time to feel and realize the whole depth of their guilt. And precisely for this reason Joseph could now tell them something very important: it turns out that it was not they, his brothers, who sold him into Egypt; it turns out that God sent him there in order through him to save both Jacob and all his fellow tribesmen (vv. 4-8).

It turns out that whatever a person plans, what is carried out in any case is not the human plan but God's plan. But in that case, is there room in this plan for human freedom? Or is a person's free choice only an illusion, especially when his plans contradict God's providence? No, human freedom is not illusory after all. Rather, the illusion should be considered the possibility of a person's full life in a world separated from God, cut off from God's great world. Meanwhile fallen man strives to live exactly this way, in his small world, separate from God's great world, limited and enclosed, whose only illusory advantage is that here a person can be his own little god. And then God leaves the person to live as he wishes. And the person, living in his little world and managing it, often drives out or kills the one he does not want to see next to himself.

And here, in his little world, he often triumphs, certain that he has won a victory. And this is no surprise: in a world where there is no place for God, only one plan triumphs: the plan of the person who created that little world. But sooner or later a moment inevitably comes when the boundaries of this small human-made world collapse, and then its creator learns with surprise, and often with fear, that in the great world where God acts, His plan is being carried out, while what in the small separate world seemed a triumph turned out in God's great world to be defeat. God truly leaves a person his freedom, and it depends only on the person what that freedom will become for him: joy or punishment.

Hide
 
For Gen 45:1-28
1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:
10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:
11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.
12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.
13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.
14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
17 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do ye; lade your beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan;
18 And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land.
19 Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
20 Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.
21 And the children of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.
22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.
23 And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father by the way.
24 So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.
25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,
26 And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed them not.
27 And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:
28 And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.
Hide
Joseph's meeting and reconciliation with his brothers is the central moment of this whole story. But within this episode...  Read more

Joseph's meeting and reconciliation with his brothers is the central moment of this whole story. But within this episode an even deeper meaning of what is happening is revealed. Having passed through all the trials, the brothers become able to see God's action behind their adventures: it was He who brought Joseph to Egypt and thereby saved his family from famine. If before their life had been full of fear, uncertainty, and despair, then after the despair of losing Benjamin and the joy of meeting Joseph, they can hear his words: "It was not you who stood behind these events. It was God!"

Scripture reveals to its reader the most important mystery of human destiny: a person can see the meaning of his path, the meaning that stands behind trials, suffering, joy, fear, and hope. But not before he has walked that path, not before he has recognized his wrongness and taken a desperate step toward the One who leads him along this difficult road.

Hide
 
For Gen 45:1-16
1 Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
2 And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
3 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
6 For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:
10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast:
11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.
12 And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you.
13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.
14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come: and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
Hide
So who is right, after all? Joseph's brothers, who were sure that by getting rid of their own brother and selling him into slavery they were carrying out their own plan, or Joseph, who was sure that in this way God, through Joseph's brothers, was carrying out His plan for His people? The second answer may look obvious...  Read more

So who is right, after all? Joseph's brothers, who were sure that by getting rid of their own brother and selling him into slavery they were carrying out their own plan, or Joseph, who was sure that in this way God, through Joseph's brothers, was carrying out His plan for His people? The second answer may look obvious, and a religious person will certainly choose it. Yet sometimes such a person fails to notice that here God turns out to be simply a chess player moving pieces on the board as He sees fit. And so that the pieces, which after all are aware of and understand something, will not object, He strings them along, creating an illusion of freedom. Indeed, it would then turn out that if you refuse to take God into account, you will have no real freedom: do what you want, everything will still turn out as God has decided, and you will find yourself deceived.

But on the other hand, how could it be otherwise if we are speaking about the great world, about God's world? After all, God is not going to give up His plans simply because some people He created do not like them. But what, then, becomes of the freedom of those who do not like God's plans and prefer their own plans to His?

The answer here appears to be the very infinity of the world God created, including the form of it called bad infinity. It appears that, if one wants, God's great world can be broken up into an infinite number of little worlds, each with its own master. True, the being of such a little world will be quite relative; it will exist only conditionally, insofar as its master exists. But the master himself will be absolutely free in his little world. And he will be able to carry out any plan of his own. And God will not interfere with him, though of course He will not help him either, because it is not His plan.

Of course, as soon as such a master of a little world steps beyond its borders, or as soon as God's great world breaks into the little world separated from it, it will turn out that his plan is a chimera and its fulfillment is an illusion. But nothing can be done about that: there is only one real world, God's world. And the plan being carried out in it is also one. God's, not man's.

Hide
 
For Gen 45:4-5
4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Hide
Today we read about how Joseph received his brothers. He was able to overcome anger and hurt in himself...  Read more

Joseph received his brothers. He was able to overcome anger and hurt in himself, recognizing that the Lord had given him a special path. "The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory is from the Lord," says the Proverbs of Solomon (Prov 21:31). So it is in the story of Joseph. What happened to him was the work of human hands. But the purpose for which the Lord allowed it to happen is not subject to our logic. Just as it is hard to understand why Pharaoh was pleased when he learned that Joseph's brothers had come. Yet the story of Joseph's meeting with his brothers is described by one phrase from the prophet Isaiah: "Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard" (Isa 58:8). Love that had been hidden from people, love for his family, for his brothers and father, love of which he had been deprived, turned out to be stronger than circumstances. Joseph could have spent all his emotional and spiritual strength thinking about revenge and the restoration of justice. Choosing another path, he was healed from suffering and freed from hatred. He gained new friends, patrons, helpers, and subordinates. By his labor he saved many people from death by hunger. So we too should, through constant labor in our place and in our circumstances, without being distracted by our desires and reflections, build up fruits that will serve for the glory of the Lord and for the preaching of the Gospel. And every day with love for the Lord, we should await the day of Resurrection: the day of victory and Salvation.

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