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Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

Prayer for the Morning

Holy Father, who watches over your children by night and by day; blessed Jesus, my food and my strength; sweet Holy Spirit, the light and guide of my soul; I thank you for this new day and pray that you will watch over me. May my thoughts, my words and actions reflect the Spirit that dwells within me. And may every minute of my life celebrate the gift of grace, earned by the blood of Christ, in whose name I pray.

Prayer of Penitence

My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against You whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with Your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin. Our Saviour Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In His name, my God, have mercy.

Dedication

God of love, Father of all, the darkness that covered the earth has given way to the bright dawn of your Word made flesh. Make me and all who confess your holy name people of this light. Make us faithful to your Word that we may bring your life to the waiting world. Grant this through Christ our Lord.

Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.

Proverbs 17:4

Genesis 45:1-8 (ESV)

Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers

Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?”

But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.

So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.

And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Notes on the Scripture

Generally, when people think about the history of the Jews leading up to the coming of Christ, their minds go immediately to Moses. Genesis is seen as a collection of stories but rather jumbled together. And Moses is a great dramatic hero, leading his people out of slavery, which strikes a brilliant political chord with the past few centuries.

But the narrative begins not with Moses, but with Abraham, and in considering the salvation of Israel, Joseph is as great a figure as Moses. But although the part of Joseph's history dealing with forgiveness is known fairly well, and certainly the family drama makes for a good tale, the great message of the early Bible is usually overlooked. Joseph, who effectively sells his entire tribe into slavery, is as great a hero as Moses.

First off, of course, he literally saves their lives, and probably the civilization of Egypt as well. They were in real danger of starvation. God could have provided for them in Canaan, but this was not His plan. His plan was, first, to humble them and, second, to separate them from absorption into surrounding society for centuries, until their identity was so well-formed as a people that they would never be assimilated. For the Egyptians would consider the Jews nearly subhuman; as we saw earlier, they will not even sit at the dinner table with a Canaanite.

And so Joseph sends all the Egyptians away and tells his family that it was not they, but God, who had sent him to Egypt in chains. Obedience is one of the cardinal virtues in our relationship with God, and possibly the most difficult to come by. God will humble the Jews and then, once they are ready, demonstrate for the first of many times that their only path to freedom is by His power, and their obedience to Him.

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