Joseph Dreams of His Brothers
Illustration by Owen Jones from “The History of Joseph and His Brethren” (Day & Son, 1869). Scanned and archived at http://www.OldBookArt.com Public Domain Wikipedia, CCL
Meditation
Saturday, Ordinary 19, Proper 14, revealed the Old Testament lesson of Joseph’s first dream of his future, where the sheaves of his brothers bow down to his sheaf. His brothers weren’t pleased with the implication. Then Joseph dreamed that the sun, moon and eleven stars bowed to him. His brothers and father were not impressed. The story had two aspects: one) the truth of the future for Joseph was accurate and two) the way Joseph presented it to his brothers and father. Perhaps part of it was simple youthfulness-lacking-tact, but the way the brothers and father reacted, the tension resembled a family dynamic where one was ‘lording’ it over the others. There might have been a little pridefulness and arrogance. Was it so much that it contributed to the seed of jealousy and bitterness that resulted in his being sold to slavery later? Not that Joseph was responsible for their actions, but there was the foundation on which the trouble of his life was built.
The person of Joseph was an archetype of Jesus. He is one of the few about which there is nothing sinful written.
The next years of Joseph’s life would be humiliating and undermining of his spirit and life. It would test him before the truth of the dreams would become a reality.
The New Testament lesson in Matthew dealt with the confrontation of Jesus by the Sadducees demanding a sign. They were not interested in learning about Jesus, but only in tripping him up. Their only goal was to humiliate Jesus and to make him look bad. They didn’t really see him as the Messiah and didn’t ‘get it’ that Jesus had access to knowledge and power way beyond what they could imagine.
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