Boys will be boys

I am the second child in a family of five children: four boys and the last born is my sister. Believe me, after four older brothers, Kathy can defend herself quite well. I love them all and my older brother, who died this past year, we of course remember him in prayer. Just to add to the level of maleness in our family, as a result of their marriages, I have five nephews and one niece. Yes, and like my sister, my niece is the youngest. She likewise is no wall flower. Just ask her brother. Grace is a sweetheart and though she gets in there with all the boys, now young men, when we gather, she is dinstinctively feminine. Well, most of the time. In addition, my Mother is very much the matriarch and like all mother's she remains command central. If you want to know what's going on in the family, just ask Mom.

Families have changed today both in their dynamic, in how they spend their time in work and leisure, but in the end the basic principles of love and loyalty remain. If the chips are down, I know that my family and all the families I've been around over the years, would be there for one another. Weddings and funerals, however, are very revealing in regards to the family dynamic. How loyal are they really? How supportive and understanding? If one member is successful do the other members rejoice over a brother or sister's good fortune? As someone said, "There's nothing like a family to keep you humble."

Today's first reading about Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 37) is a very interesting revelation of family relationships. Israel, the father of Joseph, apparently favored him above all his other brothers. Or at least that's the way the boys of the family interpreted their Father's behavior when he "had made a long tunic" for Joseph. It seems that Joseph was the youngest - the child of Israel's old age. So, as the baby in the family, his Dad likely felt some need to protect him, offer some gratitude for his birth and survival and assumed that Joseph's older brothers, who were off doing their thing, would likely dismiss the little guy as unimportant to their lives. The little "squirt" is annoying or in the way.

At any rate, what transpires is very revealing. The brothers are jealous of Joseph because they see his special favor from their Father. They plot to kill him! I've had disagreements with my brother's over the years but we never went that far. Nonetheless, these guys are pretty intent on doing some significant harm to Joseph but then an older brother, Reuben, steps in: "We must not take his life . . . after all he is our brother, our own flesh." Well they eventually dump little Joe in a cistern and then sell him off to traveling Ishmaelites. At least he's out of the way. But, if you remember the eventual good fortune of Joseph in Egypt - read on in Genesis. It's a great story about the reality of family relationships, love, loyalty, and eventual reconciliation.

As we walk in the desert of Lent, eating our tuna sandwiches, clam chowder, and personal sacrifices, we are reminded today that Holy Week is approaching. The scriptures begin to show us parallels to the suffering Christ: Jeremiah the prophet, Joseph and his brothers, the analogy of the vineyard and the rejected servants in today's Gospel (Matthew 21: 33-46). All these are tragic figures. Put upon, rejected, persecuted, and killed not because of their guilt but because of their innocence. The prophets never deserved the treatment they got - killed, stoned, reviled. Nor did Jesus who was pure innocence itself. But all these early shadows of the Old Testament remind us not only of the ultimate sacrifice offered for our salvation by Jesus. It also reminds us to stand strong and to be faithful to the Gospel.

Remember the words of Ash Wednesday: "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel." Sometimes I think being faithful to the Gospel is far easier than turning away from sin. We find such duplicity in ourselves at times. I have the best intentions but I can't find the will to carry them out so I become frustrated with my own inconsistency. Yet, to paraphrase Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta: Faithfulness to the Gospel does not always mean success. At the end of our lives, as we face the risen Lord, I think the first question we may be asked is: "Did you try?" However, I don't think that will be the only question.

A good Lenten penance would be to examine your family relationships. Is there need for reconciliation with one or more members? Is there someone to whom you haven't said, "I love you" in a long time? Who is the Joseph in your family? Are you jealous of the good fortune in other family members?
When is the last time you were "accused" of being a Catholic and a Christian and how did you respond to that?

Today is a Friday - the day our Lord died on the cross. Remember the price he paid for you.