{"id":2600,"date":"2025-01-31T10:14:08","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T16:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/?p=2600"},"modified":"2025-01-31T10:14:08","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T16:14:08","slug":"january-31-february-7-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/2025\/01\/31\/january-31-february-7-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"January 31 – February 7, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Friday, January 31<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psalm 78: Just as the early Christians saw the Passover and other events associated with the Exodus of the Old Testament as types and prophcies of the salvation brought by Jesus (cf. 1 Cor. 5:7; John 19: 36, etc.), so they interpreted the forty years of the Israelites\u2019 wandering in the desert as representing their own pilgrimage to the true Promised Land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, the passage through the Red Sea became a symbol of Baptism, the miraculous manna was a foreshadowing of the Eucharist, and so forth. In particular did they regard the various temptations experienced by the Israelites in the desert as typical of the sorts of temptations to be faced by Christians. This deep Christian persuasion of the true significance of the desert pilgrimage serves to make the Books of Exodus and Numbers necessary and very useful reading for serious Christians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the New Testament there are two fairly lengthy passages illustrating this approach to the Israelites\u2019 desert pilgrimage. One is found in 1 Corinthians 10:1\u201313. In this text the Apostle Paul begins by indicating the sacramental meanings of certain components in the Exodus story: \u201cAll our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink\u201d (vv. 1\u20134).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Apostle\u2019s chief interest, however, is moral; by way of warning to the Corinthians he points to the sins and failures of the Israelites in the desert: \u201cNow these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. . . Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, . . . nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, . . . nor complain, as some of them also complained\u201d (vv. 6\u201310). For Saint Paul the entire story of the Israelites in the desert is a great moral lesson for Christians: \u201cNow all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come\u201d (v. 11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second New Testament text illustrating this theme is even longer, filling chapters 3 and 4 of  Hebrews. The author of this book was much struck by the fact that almost none of those who had departed from Egypt actually arrived in the Promised Land. And why? Because of unbelief, disobedience, and rebellion in the desert: \u201cFor who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness?\u201d (3:16, 17). Here, as in 1 Corinthians, the story of the desert pilgrimage is remembered as a moral warning for those in Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psalm 78 (Greek and Latin 77) is largely devoted to the same theme, which provides its proper interpretation. This psalm, which is a kind of poetic summary of the Books of Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and even some of Joshua, Judges, and 1 Samuel, concentrates on the Chosen People\u2019s constant infidelity and rebellion, but especially during the desert pilgrimage: \u201cBut they sinned even more against Him by rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness. . . . How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert! Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power: The day when He redeemed them from the enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quite a number of hours are required to read the whole story of the people\u2019s infidelity in the desert as it is recorded through several books of the Bible. Psalm 78, however, has long served as a sort of meditative compendium of the whole account. Its accent falls on exactly those same moral warnings that we saw in 1 Corinthians and Hebrews\u2014the people\u2019s failure to take heed to what they had already beheld of God\u2019s deliverance and His sustained care for them. They had seen the plagues that He visited on the Egyptians, they had traversed the sea dry-shod, they had been led by the pillar of cloud and fire, they had slaked their thirst with the water from the rock, they had eaten their fill of the miraculous bread, they had trembled at the base of Mount Sinai, beholding the divine manifestation. In short, they had already been the beneficiaries of God\u2019s revelation, salvation, and countless blessings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, \u201ctheir heart was not steadfast with Him, nor were they faithful in His covenant.\u201d And just who is being described here? Following the lead of the New Testament, we know it is not only the Israelites of old, but also ourselves, \u201cupon whom the ends of the ages have come.\u201d The story in this psalm is our own story. So we carefully ponder it and take warning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday, February 1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genesis 32: After taking leave of Laban, Jacob must think about how to approach Esau, for Esau represents the tricky aspect of Jacob\u2019s homecoming (verse 4-7). Esau, meanwhile, has moved south to the land of Edom, a dry and inhospitable land that lucidly explains the words of God, \u201cEsau have I hated, and laid waste his mountains and his heritage, for the jackals of the wilderness\u201d (Malachi 1:3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Jacob is feeling threatened by Laban, he now feels even worse from the information that his older twin is coming to meet him with four hundred armed men. That last part is hardly the sort of detail calculated to allay anxiety. Indeed, a certain sense of anxiety may be exactly what Esau wants to inspire in Jacob. If so, the maneuver is successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacob does two things (verses 8-13). First, he prepares for the worst, taking certain practical steps with a view to at least a partial survival of his family. Second, he takes to prayer, certainly the most humble prayer he has made so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, after all, this is a story of Jacob\u2019s relationship to God. Up to this point, God is still Isaac\u2019s God, the \u201cGod of my fathers\u201d (verse 9). Jacob has not yet done what he promised at Bethel \u2014 take God as his own (28:21).  God had also made certain promises to Jacob at Bethel, and Jacob now invokes those promises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He continues his preparations for meeting the brother he has not seen in twenty years (verse 14-23). He sends delegations with gifts, which are intended to impress Esau. Jacob, after all, knows that Esau has four hundred men, but Esau does not know how many Jacob may have. Jacob\u2019s gifts, including five hundred and eighty animals, verge on the flamboyant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacob approaches the fords of the Jabbock, at a place called Peniel, or \u201cface of God\u201d (verse 30). To prepare the reader for this place, verses 22-23 used the word \u201cface\u201d no fewer than five times. Jacob knows that Esau will soon be \u201cin his face.\u201d He must \u201cface\u201d Esau, which is why he is going directly toward him. Up to this point, Jacob has been a man of flight, flight from Canaan, flight from Haran, flight from Esau, flight from Laban. This all must change. Jacob cannot face his future until he has faced his past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even before he can face Esau, however, Jacob must face Someone Else (verses 23-33). This encounter with God, which apparently Jacob has not anticipated, is far more significant than his encounter with Esau. A millennium later the prophet Hosea would meditate on this scene. This wrestling match is Jacob\u2019s decisive encounter with God. Everything changes. First, his name is changed to Israel (verse 29), as Abram\u2019s was changed to Abraham in a parallel encounter with God (17:3-5,15). Second, God is no longer simply \u201cthe God of my fathers.\u201d He is now \u201cthe God of Israel\u201d (verse 20). Third, Jacob will limp from this experience for the rest of his life (verses 26,32-33). No one wrestles with the living God and looks normal and well adjusted. There is a further irony here. Jacob began life by tripping his brother as the latter exited the womb. Now Jacob himself will be permanently tripped up by a limp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacob has remained on the near side of the river all night long, not fording the Jabbock with the rest of his family. When he rises in the morning, he must limp across alone. Esau and his four hundred men are just coming into view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunday, February 2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Presentation in the Temple: It is characteristic of fluids that they have no shape of their own but are given contour by the solid bodies that contain them. This is true, for example, of rivers: The configuration of a river is determined entirely by the outline of the land that borders it on both sides. A river necessarily partakes of a double profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us consider that mile-wide line separating Indiana from Kentucky, a boundary known as the Ohio River. This great river, as it passes between Indiana and Kentucky, assumes the adjacent outlines of both sides. It partly resembles Indiana, and partly Kentucky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such is the nature of a border between any two things: it receives its shape from both of them. It is\u2014literally\u2014defin<\/em>ed by both of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I submit that this feast of the Lord\u2019s Presentation is a border of this sort. It is a boundary between two seasons: at once the fortieth day of Christmastide, and a festival preparatory for the coming season of Lent. As a boundary between these two seasons, it receives its shape or defin<\/em>ition from both of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prophetic words of Simeon indicate this second aspect of the Lord\u2019s Presentation. The old man said to the Mother of Jesus: \u201cBehold, this One is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a controversial sign\u2014yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul as well\u2014that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The darker aspect of the Presentation was also conveyed in the appearance of the prophetess Anna. St. Luke says of her that \u201cspoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our Lord\u2019s first appearance in the Temple, then, this prophetic couple discerns the presentation of the ultimate sacrificial victim. The Child came for dedication. If this was not evident to other bystanders that day, it certainly was to Simeon and Anna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And through their prophetic words, the message of the Cross was also made plain to Mary, the Lord\u2019s Mother. A sword, said Simeon, would pierce her heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In what spirit does Jesus first come to the Temple? According to the Epistle to the Hebrews, \u201cwhen He came into the world, He said: \u2018Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.\u2019 Then I said, \u2018Behold, I have come\u2014in the volume of the book it is written of Me\u2014to do Your will, O God.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we move toward the Great Fast, this is the consecratory scene presented to the eyes of the Church. The spotless Lamb is borne to the place of sacrifice. He comes to the very place where Abraham brought his beloved son as an immolation to the Lord. To take away the sins of the world, Jesus arrives at the location where the sons of Aaron offered their sacrifices when Solomon dedicated the Temple amid the chanting of the children of Asaph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This scene is also an invitation to us who celebrate this feast day. We too arrive with the baby Jesus, here at the threshold of Lent, to renew the dedication of ourselves, to join with the Lord\u2019s Mother and hear the prophecy of Simeon about penetrated hearts. With Christ our Lord, we dedicate our own hearts to the true God worshipped in the Temple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By God\u2019s grace, let us do this with the simplicity and humility of Simeon and Anna, the final prophetic figures of the Old Testament. Let us brace our spirits for the coming penitential season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monday, February 3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genesis 34: The other inhabitants of Shechem are called Hivites in the Hebrew text, Hurrians or Horites in the Greek text.  Non-Semites, they did not practice circumcision, and their introduction to the practice will be something less than felicitous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacob\u2019s daughter went a gadding about (verses 1-4) and came to the attention of a local young man who was evidently accustomed to getting what he wanted. His name was Shechem too. In spite of the New American Bible\u2019s indication of violence (\u201che lay with her by force\u201d), the Hebrew wai\u2018anneha<\/em> is perhaps better translated as \u201che humbled her\u201d or \u201che seduced her.\u201d Subsequent events suggest that this was not an act of violence. As it turns out, in fact, Dinah is already living at the young man\u2019s home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We noted that this young Shechem was accustomed to getting what he wanted. Now he is about to be introduced to Dinah\u2019s big brothers, who have some ideas of their own and also knew what they wanted. This will be Israel\u2019s first recorded armed conflict. As in the case of the Greeks assembled before the walls of Troy, they will be fighting over a woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Down through the centuries this biblical story has been told chiefly for its moral message. For instance, in the twelfth century St. Bernard of Clairvaux used Dinah as an example of a gad-about, exemplifying the vice of curiosity, which Bernard called \u201cthe first step\u201d on the inversed ladder of pride.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacob and Hamor, the fathers of the two young people, are remarkably patient, but not Dinah\u2019s brothers (verses 5-7). As we shall see in the cases of Reuben and Judah in the next few chapters, Jacob\u2019s sons are not all models of chastity, but they were genuinely concerned for their sister\u2019s wellbeing and their family\u2019s honor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To describe what has happened Dinah, they employ the word nebelah<\/em> or \u201cfolly,\u201d which term rather often indicates a sexual offense. For instance, this word appears four times in Judges 19-20, where it refers to a woman\u2019s being raped to death. It also refers to Amnon\u2019s rape of Tamar in 2 Samuel 13:12, to adultery in Jeremiah 29:23, and to the infidelity of an engaged girl in Deuteronomy 22:21. The word is perhaps better translated as \u201coutrage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A meeting takes place, as though by accident (verses 8-12). Hamor and Shechem offer a deal. After all, Dinah is living at Shechem\u2019s house. Why not simply legitimize the situation? Any solution but marriage would make things worse. Besides, the Shechemites reason, if they were all going to be neighbors anyway, why not a general miscegenation of the two peoples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here we touch upon an important point of theology, because the very concept of intermarriage might mean that the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would cease to be distinct; the very notion of a chosen people might be lost. Intermarriage with these Shechemites would have led to quite another result than that envisioned in the Bible (cf. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacob\u2019s sons make a reasonable proposal, but not sincerely (verses 13-17). They speak \u201cwith guile,\u201d bemirmah<\/em>. This is the identical expression we saw in 27:35 to describe what Jacob had done: \u201cYour brother came bemirmah<\/em> and stole away your blessing.\u201d Guile seems to run in this family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shechem\u2019s family, anyway, agree to submit to circumcision (verses 18-24). Do they realize that they would thereby be accepting the covenant in Genesis 17? Probably not, but the question is moot anyway. Circumcision is simply part of a deceitful plan in this instance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sin of Simeon and Levi (verses 25-29), in addition to its cruelty, has about it a touch of deep irreverence. God gave Abraham\u2019s sons the rite of circumcision as the sign of a special covenant. That is to say, circumcision was God\u2019s chosen sign for blessing. By their actions in this chapter, Simeon and Levi distort that sign, turning it into an occasion of violence against their enemies. They take something sacred and transform it into the instrument of their own vengeance. Their action in this case points to the danger of using the blessings of God against<\/em> our fellow man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday, February 4<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew 12:38-45: Both examples given here, the Ninevites and the queen from southern Arabia, are Gentiles, those of whom Matthew has just been speaking in 12:18-21. The figures of Jonah and Solomon should also be understood here as representing the prophetic and sapiential traditions of Holy Scripture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus is the \u201cgreater than Jonah,\u201d whose earlier ministry foreshadowed the Lord\u2019s death and Resurrection and also the conversion of the Gentiles. The Lord\u2019s appeal to Jonah in this text speaks also of Jonah as a type or symbol of the Resurrection. The men of Nineveh, who repented and believed, are contrasted with the unrepentant Jewish leaders who refuse to believe in the Resurrection (cf. 28:13-15).  Matthew will return to the sign of Jonah in 16:2. Jesus is also the \u201cgreater than Solomon,\u201d who was founder of Israel\u2019s wisdom literature and the builder of the Temple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Queen of the South, that Gentile woman who came seeking Solomon\u2019s wisdom, likewise foreshadowed the calling of the Gentiles. She was related to Solomon as the Ninevites were related to Jonah\u2014as Gentiles who met the God of Israel through His manifestation in the personal lives of particular Israelites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a point of consolation to observe that in neither case\u2014whether Solomon or Jonah\u2014were these Israelites free from personal faults!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psalms 87 (Greek & Latin 86): This is another psalm of the Lord\u2019s suffering and death. As such it contains His prayer to the Father for deliverance, especially from that \u201clast enemy\u201d which is death (cf. 1 Cor. 15:26). Thus Jesus pleads: \u201cIncline Your ear, O Lord, and hear me, for I am poor and needy. Guard my soul, for I am holy. O God, save Your servant, who sets His hope on You. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to You all the day long. Gladden the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul. . . . O God, transgressors are risen against me, and the assembly of the strong has sought out my soul, nor have they set You before them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the important themes in these lines, one will observe our Lord\u2019s deliberate identification with the poor and needy. As a poor man, without wealth and the power that wealth can afford, Jesus is unjustly condemned by those who, for their own reasons, have decided that He must die. Sold and purchased for a price, found guilty by a fixed jury on the testimony of perjured witnesses, condemned by an intimidated judge, our Lord makes Himself one with all those myriad human beings who suffer persecution, even death, by those willing and powerful enough to inflict it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, even when He says of Himself that \u201cthe Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head\u201d (Matt. 8:20), it is important to remember that the poverty of Christ is more than a mere social and economic condition. Rather, it is integral to His being God\u2019s servant<\/em>: \u201cO God, save Your servant<\/em>, who sets His hope on You. . . . Gladden the soul of Your servant<\/em>.\u201d In various places in the Gospels Jesus refers to Himself as the servant, most especially in the setting of His sufferings: \u201cFor even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many\u201d (Mark 10:45). It is well known, of course, that in such statements our Lord was showing Himself to be \u201cthe servant of the Lord\u201d spoken of repeatedly in the second part of Isaiah<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday, February 5<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hebrews 12.12-28: The author of Hebrews outlines a contrast between two mountains: Sinai and Zion—the mountain of the Law and the mountain of the Temple, or the covenant with Moses and the covenant with David.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A similar contrast between these two mountains—Sinai and Zion—was made by St. Paul, much to the same effect: \u201cFor these are two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar\u2014for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children\u2014but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all\u201d (Galatians 4:24-26).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In both texts—Galatians and Hebrews—there is a contrast between the bondage of the Law and the boldness of the Christian. With respect to this contrast, St. Paul writes, \u201cyou are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God\u201d (Galatians 4:7). In both cases, we observe, Mount Zion is called the heavenly Jerusalem: According to Galatians, \u201cthe Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.\u201d According to Hebrews,  \u201cyou have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One suspects that this contrast between Mount Sinai and Mount Zion may have been a rhetorical trope in early Christian preaching. This suggestion would explain why we find it in both Galatians and Hebrews, in spite of the great differences between these two works. This contrast is used in both places and adapted to the theme of each work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here in Hebrews, the two mountains are contrasted with respect to what we may call \u201ccomfort\u201d: Mount Sinai provokes fear and trembling, whereas Mount Zion inspires boldness, or <i>parresia<\/i>. In Hebrews, this word describes the spirit in which believers have access to God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, we read earlier of Christ as \u201cas a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the <i>parresia<\/i> and the rejoicing of a firm hope\u201d (3:6). Or again, \u201cLet us therefore come with <i>parresia<\/i> to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need\u201d (4:16). There is an irony in this verse: We might imagine that the way to obtain mercy is not to demonstrate too much boldness. On the contrary, says Hebrews, boldness is the path to mercy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mount Sinai inspired a sense of awe and fear, even to the point of cringing. The author of Hebrews will have no cringing Christians. They are to approach God\u2019s presence in a bold and confident spirit. He wrote earlier, \u201cTherefore, brethren, having <i>parresia<\/i> to enter the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus . . . let us draw near with a true heart in the full certainty of faith\u201d (10:19,22). In this text we observe that Christian boldness comes from Christian \u201ccertainty\u201d—<i>plerophoria<\/i>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, for the author of Hebrew, this Christian boldness is a thing to be protected. We must labor not to lose it: \u201cTherefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward\u201d (10:35).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thursday, February 6<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genesis 37: Any reader of Genesis with even a little feel for structure and style will recognize that he has arrived at something new when he starts through the long Joseph narrative. Although all of the stories in Genesis are tied together by unifying historico-theological themes and a panoramic epic construction, there are two very clear points of style in which this long story of Joseph stands out unique with respect to the narratives that precede it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first stylistic point has to do with structure.  The various accounts of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have what we may call a more episodic quality.  Even though they are integrally tied together by theological motifs and theme-threads indispensable to their full meaning, often they can also be read as individual stories, each with a satisfying dramatic anatomy of its own.  For example, while the more ample significance of Abraham\u2019s trial in Genesis 22 doubtless requires its integration into the larger motif of the Promised Son and Heir, that chapter is so constructed that it may also be read as a single story with its own inherent drama.  That is to say, it is an episode.  Part of its literary quality consists in its being intelligible and interesting within itself and on its own merits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similar assessments are likewise true for numerous other patriarchal stories, including the rivalry between Sarah and Hagar, the courting of Rebekah, Jacob\u2019s theft of Esau\u2019s blessing, and so forth.  While parts of a larger whole, each of these narratives nonetheless forms a good, satisfactory dramatic tale by itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is nothing similar in the Joseph narrative. Hardly any scene of the Joseph narrative could stand alone and still make sense.  It is one and only one story. No one of the parts is of interest without the rest.  The Joseph epic forms one long dramatic unity, characterized by the careful planning of particulars, sustained irony, a very tight integration of component scenes within a tension mounting to a dramatic denouement, followed by a more quiet sequence that calmly closes Genesis and systematically prepares for the Book of Exodus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second stylistic point that distinguishes the Joseph story from the earlier Genesis stories is the quality of its interest in the dominant character.  The sensitive reader of Genesis will note right away that Joseph appears to have no failings nor faults, in sharp contrast to the earlier patriarchal figures. Both Abraham and Isaac, for example, acting from fear of possible rivals, go to some lengths to suggest that they are not<\/em> married to their wives (12:11-19;  20:2-13; 26:7-11), a precaution that seems, at the very least, to fall somewhat short of the ideals of chivalry.  Similarly, Jacob\u2019s intentional deception of his father in Genesis 27 is scarcely edifying, while the cunning brutality of Simeon and Levi in Genesis 34 is lamented by Jacob himself. The Bible is obviously making no attempt to glorify those men; it simply portrays them as mixtures of good and evil, very much as we should expect from any accurate biography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a perceptible change of attitude, however, when we come to Joseph.  Genesis offers, I think, no parallel example of such a sustained interest in describing the moral shape of a specific character.  Joseph is pictured as a flawless or nearly flawless man. He seems almost a type of perfection, a veritable saint right from the start.  The Fathers of the Church could thus hold Joseph up as an example of humility, chastity, and inner discipline of thought. He was \u201cthat very man of God, full of the spirit of discretion,\u201d wrote Gregory Dialogos (In Ezechielem <\/em>2.9.19). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, Joseph\u2019s ability to discern the future makes him the Bible\u2019s earliest clear example of a prophet. In his patient suffering, moreover, his endurance of betrayal, his confidence in God\u2019s guidance and his forgiveness of those who wronged him, Joseph seemed to the Church Fathers to embody the highest ideals of the Gospel itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This \u201chagiographical\u201d approach is rare in scriptural narrative, the other few examples that come readily to mind being only Jonathan, Nehemiah, Daniel, Tobit, and perhaps Stephen. Most of the biblical personalities, after all, are composites of good and bad, mixtures of strength and weakness, with which most of us more easily identify our own experience: Abraham, Jacob, David, Jeremiah, Jonah, Peter and the other apostles, and so forth.  It is understandable we find ourselves more in sympathy with these latter figures, and their use throughout the history of Christian ascetical literature amply justifies our doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, it seems important to observe that the more idealized picture of the \u201csaint\u201d also has biblical roots.  For example, the \u201ccloud of witnesses\u201d in Hebrews 11 is sufficiently cloudy to leave out all mention of the weaknesses and failings of it numerous characters, instead concentrating entirely on their faith. Such a hagiographical disposition is already at work in the Genesis narrative of Joseph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday, February 7<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew 14:13-21: The great significance of the multiplication of the loaves among the early Christians may be discerned from the fact that: (1) outside of the events of Holy Week, it is one of the very few scenes recorded in all four gospels; (2) aspects of it are depicted numerous times in the earliest Christian iconography; (3) normally recorded in language identical to, or at least reminiscent of, that of the Last Supper, it is clearly one of the events of Jesus\u2019 life perceived to be weighted with the greatest theological significance. This is clearest in John, where it is accompanied by the lengthy and elaborate Bread of Life discourse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This miraculous event brought to the minds of those present the expectation that the coming Messiah would renew the events of the Exodus, including the feeding of the people with miraculous bread in the wilderness. This sense of expectation and fulfillment accounts for the considerable emphasis on Messianic themes in early Eucharistic texts of the Christian Church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even as Matthew begins this story, we observe a significant way in which he alters the narrative in Mark. Whereas Mark (6:34), describes Jesus as \u201cteaching\u201d the people in the wilderness, Matthew says that Jesus \u201chealed\u201d them (verse 14). This change of perspective is consonant with Matthew\u2019s other indications that Jesus had begun to withdraw from teaching the Jews in public and to concentrate, instead, on the immediate band of His disciples. Nonetheless, Jesus still expresses His messianic compassion through healing and feeding them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psalms 93 (Greek & Latin 92): Three psalms (93, 97, 99) begin with the line, \u201cThe Lord is King.\u201d In each case the expression is actually a verb in both the Greek (ebasilevsen<\/em>) and Hebrew (malak<\/em>), but it is translated here as a noun in order to give clearer attention to the image of \u201cking\u201d (basilevs<\/em>, melek<\/em>) suggested in the underlying verbs. Proper English usage has no verb \u201cto king,\u201d and the usual substitution, \u201cto reign,\u201d fails to convey that image adequately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The present psalm is a brief but rich composition, resonating large biblical themes in its every line: \u201cThe Lord is King; He is clothed with splendor. In might has the Lord adorned and girded Himself. The world He made firm, that it be not shaken. Your throne is prepared from everlasting; You are from all eternity. The rivers rise in flood, O Lord, the rivers lift their voices, with the voices of many waters. Marvelous these swellings of the sea; marvelous the Lord on high. Your testimonies have proved exceedingly faithful. Holiness befits Your house, O Lord, unto length of days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The waters that lift up their doxological voices are the baptismal waters of our rebirth. It is in these waters that God\u2019s people are washed and made holy. The Holy Trinity, revealed in the Baptism of Jesus, is the mystery of our incorporation into the Church, for we are baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. In these waters we become God\u2019s very house, and holiness befits His house unto length of days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Friday, January 31 Psalm 78: Just as the early Christians saw the Passover and other events associated with the Exodus of the Old Testament as types and prophcies of the salvation brought by Jesus (cf. 1 Cor. 5:7; John 19: 36, etc.), so they interpreted the forty years of the Israelites\u2019 wandering in the desert … Continue reading January 31 – February 7, 2025<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2600"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2601,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600\/revisions\/2601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.touchstonemag.com\/daily_reflections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}