Please read this passage before reading this homily.
Jacob loved Joseph more than he loved his other children. His own father Isaac had a favorite son also, which brought great discomfort to Jacob. Jacob himself had experienced the negative results of this favoritism, yet he passed on to his family the same harmful effects. We humans are hard learners, we pass on from generation to generation the dysfunctionality we inherit. Our dysfunctionality started with Adam, and we have all passed on this dysfunctionality to others.
The saga of Joseph and the children of Jacob is well told, with many facets. Joseph the dreamer becomes the boy bullied. The boy bullied becomes the prisoner turned prophet. The prophet becomes ruler of the land.
Every noticeable event in Joseph’s life seems to involve clothing or the removal of clothing, from the “coat of many colors” to the crown of Egypt.
In the silence of the story, the older brothers grow into maturity. Joseph, however, must test their maturity and growth in character. Joseph’s forgiveness of them follows a lengthy testing of family relationships. Joseph hides from his brothers his true identity, checks to see how they treat his full-blood brother before he finally reveals himself and rescues the whole family from starvation. The whole story of Joseph is told in chapter 37 to 48. You would do well to read the whole story.
As you read it you may notice places where you can predict a bad outcome. It is easy to recognize bad decisions, immaturity, and evilness in the characters, but we ourselves often put ourselves in similar situation and make similar bad decisions. This is part of the dysfunctionality we have inherited from Adam.
Our reading should also allow us to see how goodness and maturity develop in the story. We are not always dysfunctional. Thanks be to God’s grace; we are capable of doing much good in our lives.
The story of Joseph and his brothers is also the story of Ukraine and Russia, of Democrats and Republicans, of the major presidential candidates, and of many of our daily interactions with other people in our lives. I wonder when we shall learn that this dysfunctionality will continue to ruin our lives and planet until we grow up into greater maturity.