We Don't Always Know the Danger
Jul 14: Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin
Today’s Gospel reading is a variation on a passage from Mark’s Gospel,1 which I quoted in my very first Amateur Theologian post: When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
I pray every day that that’s happening as I write these. Please pray for me, too.
Reading 1
Gn 46:1-7, 28-30
Israel set out with all that was his. When he arrived at Beer-sheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. There God, speaking to Israel in a vision by night, called, "Jacob! Jacob!"
He answered, "Here I am."
Then he said: "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you a great nation. Not only will I go down to Egypt with you; I will also bring you back here, after Joseph has closed your eyes."
So Jacob departed from Beer-sheba, and the sons of Israel put their father and their wives and children on the wagons that Pharaoh had sent for his transport. They took with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Thus Jacob and all his descendants migrated to Egypt. His sons and his grandsons, his daughters and his granddaughters—all his descendants—he took with him to Egypt.
Israel had sent Judah ahead to Joseph, so that he might meet him in Goshen. On his arrival in the region of Goshen, Joseph hitched the horses to his chariot and rode to meet his father Israel in Goshen. As soon as Joseph saw him, he flung himself on his neck and wept a long time in his arms. And Israel said to Joseph, "At last I can die, now that I have seen for myself that Joseph is still alive."
When Jacob2 heard that Joseph was alive, he packed up everything, his property and his family, to head off to Egypt. Yet, he still harbored doubts. These sons of his had attacked and sold into slavery his favorite son. Could he trust them?
No, obviously not.
But he can trust God. God confirms His covenant, that even after this great migration, Jacob’s descendants will become a great nation. God will even go with them.
Jacob is satisfied, with his long, successful life, the reunion of his family, and their future prosperity. But as we know, Jacob is not the end of the story; God has plans for Israel, the nation.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Trust in the LORD and do good,
that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.
Take delight in the LORD,
and he will grant you your heart's requests.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
The LORD watches over the lives of the wholehearted;
their inheritance lasts forever.
They are not put to shame in an evil time;
in days of famine they have plenty.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Turn from evil and do good,
that you may abide forever;
For the LORD loves what is right,
and forsakes not his faithful ones.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
The salvation of the just is from the LORD;
he is their refuge in time of distress.
And the LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
This Psalm is about the problem of evil—why do the wicked prosper and the good suffer?
The answer given is, mostly, it’s temporary. Jacob lost his favorite son, and his other sons were probably racked with guilt, harming the family relationships. But God had a plan for Joseph, to save the family physically and also heal the emotional bonds that had been broken.
Of course, this situation is also temporary.
Alleluia
Jn 16:13a, 14:26d
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
When the Spirit of truth comes,
he will guide you to all truth
and remind you of all I told you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Although He departed from this Earthly life, Jesus hasn’t left us alone.
Gospel
Mt 10:16-23
Jesus said to his Apostles: "Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes."
Jacob and his family moved to Egypt, not knowing that the “great nation” of their descendants would become slaves to the Pharoah. Jesus, on the other hand, sends his Apostles out with full warning that they’re going to be in danger, “among wolves.” He’s speaking to us, as well.
Being a Christian doesn’t always mean getting along with everyone. It means, rather, listening to the Holy Spirit, who Jesus sent to guide us.
Weirdly, Mark’s version isn’t in the regular lectionary rotation, so I’m not sure how I found that quote.
He’s been renamed “Israel” by this point, but I find calling him that confusing.