Daily Devotion for the Sixth Sunday in Lent (Passion/Palm Sunday) 2018

Scripture Reading: Genesis 43 (NRSV)

Joseph's dream about his brothers bowing down to him comes true in this chapter.  It seems to be pretty deceptive on Joseph's part to carry the ruse out this long.  He even has to leave the room to compose himself!

I wondered about his brother Simeon who remained in prison while the brothers returned home from Egypt, ate up all the grain they bought and then made the journey back to Egypt.  His anxiety would likely have been pretty high but we remember that Joseph also remained in prison for several years before his release.

Sometimes eating together can put us at ease.

In a show of irony, we see the report that the Egyptians of that time did not eat with Hebrews because that was considered an abomination for them.  Later, as we see the dietary laws introduced, Hebrews would refuse to eat with Egyptians or any other Gentiles for the same reason!

The great feast they share together seems to be an unknown foreshadowing of future Passover feasts.  The Passover is the Jewish celebration of freedom from Egypt.  The men in this story are still free Israelites but their descendants will become slaves to the Egyptians.  As we acknowledge Passion Sunday today, we remember how Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples shortly before his arrest.

Just as their were 12 sons of Jacob in today's reading, Jesus shares this new covenant with his 12 disciples.

Feasting with one another should reconcile us.  It should allow us to drop any falseness we have between us.  We remember the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount:

So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.

This is a good thing to remember as we begin Holy Week.

God of all love, you gave us your Son Jesus Christ, the great reconciler of humankind.
Help us Lord through Him to look to live together as one people.
Help us, God, to come together in the bonds of peace and love
and to put aside the chains of prejudice and hatred.
Just as we are all one in death, Lord, help us to be one in life.
During this time of recognizing that we are sorry for all the sins of the past,
help us, Lord, to look to a future where the cultures of this ancient land
are seen to be enriching to the souls of all people.
Help us, God of grace, to say sorry, to hear sorry, and to live with forgiveness.
God of all our dreaming, hear our prayer.  Amen.


This prayer was written for Reconciliation Week 2014 by The Reverend Bruce Boase, Priest in Charge of The Anglican Community of Green Hills Diocese of Brisbane. The Anglican Church of Southern Queensland, Australia. 13^th May 2014.

Photo by Dion Hinchcliffe via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.