What Do I Really Need?

We saw the anguish of his heart when he pleaded with us, yet we paid no heed.
Genesis 42:21

Facing the truth about ourselves is, often enough, not pretty. It is a condition, however, for our participation in God’s saving work.

The journey of Joseph’s brothers to Egypt was to seek relief from the famine that had spread over their land. What could be more important than survival? But the real drama of the Joseph story hinges not so much on the success of that mission, but on the painful reckoning brought about by their disguised brother, whom they had abandoned and left for dead. To be reconciled to one another through the good graces of a brother scorned and rejected…sound familiar? I write these words at a time when we are still in the teeth of the pandemic. We keep praying for release from the “famine” that has so devastated our world.

Lord, release me, too, from my hard heart and my disordered affections.

- Fr. Dennis Gallagher, A.A.

Genesis 41:55-57; 42:5-7a, 17-24a • Psalm 33:2-3, 10-11, 18-19 Matthew 10:1-7