Wednesday of 14th week in Ordinary Time, July 11,2007...St. Benedict

Scripture: Genesis 41:55-57;42:5-7,17-24. Psalm 33:2-3,10-11, 18-19.
Matthew 10:1-7. Lectionary # 385.

This is my favorite part of Genesis, the stories about Joseph who was sold
into slavery by his brothers because of his dreams and for having been the
favored child of his aging father Jacob. I easily relate him to the person
of Joseph, the husband of Mary, who is said to be a righteous person
observing all of the Torah. Joseph would be the one who helps his family
the most as Genesis ends. His development through the narratives of
Genesis starts in chapter 37 to chapter 50. As a young novice with the
Marianists, I learned about the Joseph of the New Testament who probably
was written about in the light of the original Joseph of Genesis. The
group of almost 40 of us learned about the saying "Ite ad Joseph!" Go to
Joseph when you are in need of some spiritual help. The Joseph of Genesis
was the great savior of his family during time of famine and he was the
fulfillment of his father's dreams in his last days of life. His bones
were eventually brought to rest in the Promised Land. The expression "Go
to Joseph" is not in the New Testament; it belongs to the patriarchal
Joseph who was a great leader and provider for many who were in need. The
transfer of his gifts to the Joseph, husband of Mary, is more Catholic
devotional thought and practice. Some Catholics believe in hiding a statue
of the saint in order to sell property or a house! Devotions are not
always balanced ways of thinking or acting but they help people to get
through some difficult times. Undoubtedly, Jesus based his call of the
Twelve Apostles on the twelve sons of Jacob who give rise to the twelve
tribes and have portions of the Promised Land asigned to them except for
Levi who is the priest member and brother of the family. He will be
provided for by the other brothers, and by the other tribes as time moves
on after the death of the twelve. Jesus tells the twelve apostles to make
know that the "Kingdom of God is at hand." Matthew is mentioned among the
twelve and he is considered in our tradition to be the writer of the Gospel
of Matthew. This is the most Jewish Gospel and the one in which Jesus is a
prophetic teacher like Moses. Jesus has not come to destroy one little
iota of the Torah but to fulfill it according to this Gospel. It also is
the Gospel with the most Old Testament references indicating such
fulfillment on the part of Jesus who has a legitimate claim to the
messianic lineage through his foster father Joseph. Finally, the Joseph of
the New Testament has only only the important references to him as husband
of Mary in chapters 1 and 2 of Matthew. Amen.