First reading Genesis 44:18-21,23-29,45:1-5
Joseph reveals himself to his brothers
Judah went up to Joseph and said, ‘May it please my lord, let your servant have a word privately with my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself. My lord questioned his servants, “Have you father or brother?” And we said to my lord, “We have an old father, and a younger brother born of his old age. His brother is dead, so he is the only one left of his mother, and his father loves him.” Then you said to your servants, “Bring him down to me that my eyes may look on him.” But you said to your servants, “If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not be admitted to my presence again.” When we went back to your servant my father, we repeated to him what my lord had said. So when our father said, “Go back and buy us a little food,” we said, “We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, we will go down, for we cannot be admitted to the man’s presence unless our youngest brother is with us.” So your servant our father said to us, “You know that my wife bore me two children. When one left me, I said that he must have been torn to pieces. And I have not seen him to this day. If you take this one from me too and any harm comes to him, you will send me down to Sheol with my white head bowed in misery.” If I go to your servant my father now, and we have not the boy with us, he will die as soon as he sees the boy is not with us, for his heart is bound up with him. Then your servants will have sent your servant our father down to Sheol with his white head bowed in grief.’
Then Joseph could not control his feelings in front of all his retainers, and he exclaimed, ‘Let everyone leave me.’ No one therefore was present with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers, but he wept so loudly that all the Egyptians heard, and the news reached Pharaoh’s palace.
Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am Joseph. Is my father really still alive?’ His brothers could not answer him, they were so dismayed at the sight of him. Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come closer to me.’ When they had come closer to him he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not grieve, do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here, since God sent me before you to preserve your lives.’
Responsorial Psalm 104(105):16-21
Remember the wonders the Lord has done.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord called down a famine on the land;
he broke the staff that supported them.
He had sent a man before them,
Joseph, sold as a slave.
His feet were put in chains,
his neck was bound with iron,
until what he said came to pass
and the word of the Lord proved him true.
Then the king sent and released him
the ruler of the people set him free,
making him master of his house
and ruler of all he possessed.
Gospel Matthew 10:7-15
You received without charge: give without charge
Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘As you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils. You received without charge, give without charge. Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with a few coppers for your purses, with no haversack for the journey or spare tunic or footwear or a staff, for the workman deserves his keep.
‘Whatever town or village you go into, ask for someone trustworthy and stay with him until you leave. As you enter his house, salute it, and if the house deserves it, let your peace descend upon it; if it does not, let your peace come back to you. And if anyone does not welcome you or listen to what you have to say, as you walk out of the house or town shake the dust from your feet. I tell you solemnly, on the day of Judgement it will not go as hard with the land of Sodom and Gomorrah as with that town.’
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Sowers of Good News
“As you go, proclaim that the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand”. Jesus calls us to proclaim the Good News of God’s unconditional love through our words and actions. Let us ask ourselves if we truly share with others that God is full of compassion and love and is a God close to them in their suffering and pain. Or if we reveal bad news of our pessimism and constant complaints of life, of situations of the world and church. Or if we preach moral laws and put heavy burdens of do’s and don’ts on people. What kind of news do we transmit? Is Jesus- His life, words and actions- good news for us?
What we have is what we will give. Thus, to share Good News, we need, first and foremost, to experience Jesus as our Good News. Let us always seek to encounter Jesus and experience being loved by Him. Jesus sends us out to give Him to others so that they can have a living faith in Him that sustains them as they journey through life with all its ups and downs.
Reflective question:
Am I transmitting Jesus and His message to others through my words and deeds?
Am I transmitting Jesus and His message to others through my words and deeds?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year A” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.
