We have been hearing readings from the book of Genesis in our first readings at our daily Masses these past couple of weeks. These readings started out telling us the story of Abraham and his covenant with God. This week, we have been hearing the story of Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, and for the past two days, about Jacob’s sons and the story of how they moved to Egypt. After Jacob’s son Joseph had been abused and sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph is reunited with his family in the midst of a famine. Joseph is in a position of power in Egypt, but rather than seeking revenge and vengeance against his brothers for the injustice they did to him, he reconciles with his family and brings them to Egypt. There is an emotional meeting between Joseph and his father. They both weep at seeing each other, having been separated for such a long time. Later in Genesis, we hear how Jacob and some of his sons are introduced to Pharaoh, who invites them to settle in Goshen at the northeast portion of the Nile Delta, where Jacob and his sons will be able to settle with their sheep and continue their lives as shepherds. These stories are part of the story of the Jewish people, of their covenant with God, of the promises God made to Abraham and his descendants. This is the culture and the people in which Jesus is born, in which God gives us a new covenant with his son. We hear in the Bible stories of the many ways God has interacted with his people throughout history. This is important to us because this is a part of our story and our history as well.
As we hear this story about the formation of the nation of Israel in our reading from Genesis today, we celebrate our nation’s independence day. We pray for our nation and for our freedoms which allow us to practice our Catholic faith.
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