Genesis 37-42

Selected Lectio Reading:
Gen 39:6-20


Meditatio/Reflection:

"Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking" (v. 6).  What a way to introduce this section.  How often are we led astray because of something or someone we find attractive.  What are we willing to compromise?  Yet in Joseph we see an amazing example of loyalty, to his master and to his God.  Time after time Potiphar's wife tries to seduce Joseph, and yet he resists saying, "How then could I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (v. 9).  He recognizes that he has been given authority over Potiphar's entire household, everything but his wife.  She is his, and no one else's.

Over the course of the last several weeks as I've prayed for my wife and sought to serve her better, I've been constantly reminded of a fundamental truth of our relationship.  She is God's first.  God's first, not mine.  While she is my wife, she is God's first.  Therefore, the motivation for any way in which I serve her should be to help her see her relationship with God more clearly so she can experience and know his love, care, and provision.

In our marriage, we image this reality to each other, or at least we try.  What could we learn by this example of Joseph, his loyalty to Potiphar and to God?  What should we be willing to risk for the authentic good of the other, this truth that we actually belong to God?  Here Joseph is thrown in prison after being falsely accused.  How much more should I give for my bride and for my God?

Oratio/Thanksgiving:

Lord, thank you for my bride.  Thank you for showing me your love for me through her.

Oratio/Prayer Intentions:

Lord, help me to be the husband my wife deserves, to show your love to her.

Mr. Crane's Song of the Day:

Jars of Clay: Worlds Apart

Saint Quote of the Day:

"My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love you, I want my heart to repeat it as often as I draw breath."
      - St. John Vianney

Genesis 31-36

Selected Lectio Reading:
Gen 32:22-32


Meditatio/Reflection:

There are two things that stick out to me in this passage.  First, the words, "The same night..." (v. 22) drew me to see what led up to this passage.  Jacob's attitude has shifted considerably during his "exile" in Haran.  Where once he bargained with God's favor and protection in exchange for his devotion (28:20-22), he now approaches God with humility: "O Lord...I am not worthy of the least of all the steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant..." (32:9-10).  I think this humility lends itself to what Jacob sees in his wrestling match with God.  Jacob says two things after his hip is dislocated: "bless me" (v. 26) and "tell me your name" (v. 29).  In Jacob's humility, he recognizes that he is not greater than the one with whom he is wrestling, and thus he seeks a blessing.  Second, he wants to know the name of his opponent.  In considering these points, I wonder if Jacob truly saw in the other an opponent.  Sometimes in wrestling with a major decision, or trying to think of the best way to approach a class, topic, issue, whatever, I have a somewhat unconscious sensation of battling against God.  Often though, this morphs from having God as an opponent to seeking a greater understanding of who God is, what his will is for me, and how I should proceed.  I think that's the nature of Israel, of being "one who wrestles with God."  In our sin, we have an imperfection vision, and so we must sometimes struggle against God to gain clarity.  In our struggle, we realize that we're not struggling so much against God as to better understand him.  Perhaps our "wrestling match" is more with ourselves?

The second item, which serves only to highlight the importance of this passage, is that surrounding it are Jacob referring to seeing someone's face (32:20 and 33:10).  And in the middle of this passage, Jacob recognizes that he has "seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved" (v. 30).  He feared his coming encounter with Esau, but what truly spares him and transforms him into Israel, as one who can be reconciled to his brother, is this meeting with God.

Oratio/Thanksgiving:

Lord, thank you for allowing us to struggle with you, to wrestle with what you've given us.  Thank you for the times when I've been able to come to a greater understanding of you and your will for my life through a hardship, trial, or otherwise painful experience.

Oratio/Prayer Intentions:

Lord, please never allow me to be too comfortable in my understanding of you that I stop seeking more.  Draw my heart, soul, and strength ever more to your Sacred Heart.

Mr. Crane's Song of the Day:

Carbon Leaf: Let Your Troubles Roll By

Saint Quote of the Day:

"Few souls understand what God would accomplish in them if they were to abandon themselves unreservedly to Him and if they were to allow His grace to mold them accordingly."
      - St. Ignatius of Loyola

Genesis 27-30

Selected Lectio Reading:
Gen 28:1-5


Meditatio/Reflection:

The first thing that stood out to me when reading this passage was the command of Jacob to "Go...and take as a wife...one of the daughters of Laban" (v. 2).  It's almost bizarre to think of this command being necessary.  Only take one wife, son.  I suppose in a culture that was so inundated with polygamy, and that Jacob was going to be heading away from his place of security, this command surely must have been needed.  And of course, Jacob won't obey it, and look what happens: his family life is what we might call a disaster.  Drama, deceit, contests, favoritism, envy.  What could possibly held this together?  Isaac's blessing: "May God Almighty bless you...May he give to you the blessing of Abraham" (v. 3-4).

I love that image of Isaac giving Jacob this blessing.  It reminds me of my own kids.  Each night we have a pretty set routine.  About 7:00 in the evening, I will get the boys together to get ready for bed.  PJs on, brush teeth, etc.  Then I send the older boys downstairs for some quiet reading time while I read a story to John Paul, pray with him, sing him some songs, and then put him to bed.  Then I get the older boys, read them a story (currently The Hobbit), say Night Prayer with them, sing some songs, and then put them to bed.  As I put all three boys to bed, I bless them with a prayer I came up with while I was dating Ashley: "God bless you and may your guardian angels and all the angels watch over you this night and grant you restful sleep."  This routine has become one of my favorite things about being a dad.  To be able to close a day with giving a fatherly blessing.  It's in these moments when I know that I'm fulfilling at least part of what God wants me to be as a dad.

Oratio/Thanksgiving:

Thank you, Lord, for your gift of marriage to the world and how you designed that we would be husband and wife, one flesh, indissoluble.  Thank you for the blessing of fatherhood and my kids.

Oratio/Prayer Intentions:

Dear Lord, bless my wife and kids.  May they come to know you, love you, and serve you better with each day.  Bless me as a husband and father, that I may be a blessing to them.

Mr. Crane's Song of the Day:

Billy Joel: Goodnight My Angel

Wisdom from the Holy Father:

"To be a good father, the first requirement is to be present in the family.  To be close to his wife, to share in everything, joy and pain, burdens and hopes."
      -Pope Francis, General audience, Feb. 4, 2015