Friday of the Second Week

Reflection

Recently I said good-bye to my son as he flew to Barcelona for his semester abroad.  Like any parent, I wanted to caution him about potential dangers before he left.  There were too many warnings that I wanted to give him, so I decided to leave him with one thing that I hoped he would remember in a time of crisis, “Life isn’t always fair.”  As a young man growing up in Vermont, my son, like Joseph, is a trusting lad. My son does not expect anything bad to happen to him as he thinks he knows the rules of fairness.  Joseph, too, had his idea of fairness and he certainly never expected his brothers to hurt him as they were his family.

For all of us, there are certainly times when life is not fair. All around us, we see injustices and sometimes those injustices are directed toward us. We cannot change the fact that our world is imperfect. What we can do is change our response to the injustices of life.  Joseph’s never wavering trust in God helped him to live through his brothers’ treachery and to later forgive his brothers for their imperfections.

We, too, can change our attitude when we see or personally experience the world’s wrongs. We can choose not to take on the role of the victim or live in anger. By praying, we can gain wisdom to understand injustice and the courage to either change or accept the situation.

Prayer

Dear God, help us to trust in You and not doubt Your love when things do not go as we expect.  Give us faith to know that You bless us and are always with us in any situation where we encounter the unfairness of this world.

Cynthia Kelley, M’06, Information Technology

Scripture
First Reading: Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28

Psalm 105:16-21

Gospel: Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website