"IS THERE ANYONE YOU NEED TO FORGIVE?"

Genesis 37:3-4, 13, 17-28; Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

This is what we are told about the brothers of Joseph. “They hated him so much that they would not even greet him.” Maybe our not even saying “Hi” to someone we know can be a clue to us about the condition of our souls. Jesus once said, “What you do to others you do to me.” Do we ever snub Jesus? Do we ever look the other way when we see him? Do we hate him? Perish the thought.

The hate of Joseph’s brothers went deep. They were jealous of him because their father seemed to show him so much favoritism. Their hate led them all the way to selling him off to a passing caravan and letting their father think for many years that he had been killed by a wild animal. His brothers were that animal.

Jesus also once said that “If you are about to offer your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, go and make up with your brother and then come back and offer your gift.” I wonder how many sacrificial gifts the brothers of Joseph offered to God after their hateful act. Joseph later forgave them. Not easy to do, is it? Can you think of anyone you need to forgive - or to ask forgiveness of? Both are hard to do.

There is so much for us to do during Lent. Few people have far to look to make Lent profitable. It is a time when we are to try to come back together with others, especially those we’ve become disjointed from. Our return to God is often through our return to people. Shall we see what we can do about that?