So let's talk about today's readings 7/8/09

[cheeto1]

usccb.org/nab/today.shtml

“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”

What kind of a president is that Pharaoh? Did he even know what Joseph would do?
Would our president ever answer a complaint of the people with, “Go to Joe Biden,
and do whatever he tells you”.?! Why didn’t he go to Joseph himself? It does remind
me of Mary’s words at the wedding though: “Do whatever He tells you”.

"On the third day Joseph said to his brothers:
“Do this, and you shall live” "

Hmm…Jonah in the whale for 3 days, Jesus rising from the dead on the 3rd day…

"R. (22) Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you."
This line from today’s psalm reminds me of 2 things:

1. Divine Mercy Sunday - It’s message of mercy, and it’s slogan, "Jesus I trust in
   You!
2. The Our Father - In the way it contains the line “forgive us our trespasses as
   we forgive those who trespass against us”. It is asking the Lord to forgive us
   in the way we forgive others. In this line of the psalm, “let your mercy be on us,
   as we place our trust in you” it is asking God’s mercy on us to the extent that we
   place our trust in Him.

“'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand” - This is the message of today’s gospel.
What does it mean to you? How does it compare with the time when Jesus said,
“The Kingdom of heaven is among us”?

To me, the Kingdom of heaven is at hand means that the 2nd coming of Jesus is
nearer today than it was yesterday. and the kingdom heaven among us refers to the
unseen spirit world. I am certain that both lines mean more, but alas, those extra
meanings are out of reach of my poor little brain…

So what struck you about today’s readings? :bible1::twocents:

 

[RSD]

The older I get the more aware I am of how very conflicted Joseph must have felt upon seeing his brothers again. Our sermon this morning was about forgiveness (Joseph eventually forgave his brothers, and reconciled with them), and how hard it can be. It is unusual for the sermon to be about the first reading, so it was interesting to me that the priest talked about that when I was thinking about Joseph already.