I didn’t want to go.
But I was told I had to go.
I knew about Joseph’s dreams
And his conflicts with his brothers
Because Joseph seemed to be expressing delusions of grandeur.
That view was only the understanding
Of the rest of his family.
He was only telling them
Of the visions that had come to him as he slept.
He was a dreamer then
But not yet an interpreter of dreams.
That would come later.
God told me,
“Go meet Joseph when he is searching for his brothers
At the behest of his father. Show him the way.”
I didn’t want to go.
I told God, “Eternal One, you know what will happen if I tell Joseph
The location of his brothers.
They are conspiring, even now,
to exile him from the family one way or another.
And we know, God, what will happen.
They will sell him and he will end up in Egypt
Where he will meet his destiny.
His dreams will come true.
His father and his brothers will bow down to him.
He will be in control of the situation
Because he will learn to explain the dreams of others.
But why, God, must he spend so much time in prison?
Why must he suffer to make his dreams come to pass?
God reassured me, “I will make the time pass quickly.
People never know how one moment
Can be so important, so pivotal, to their future.
You have to be there to point him in the right direction.
His brothers will not appreciate his presence when he finds them.
But they will remember after he is gone
After they have lied to their father about the death of his favored son
That Joseph had come to them
In peace and in service to them and to the family.
You, of all angels, know about brothers who will eventually
Find their common bonds
Find their connection
And find, on some level, the love between them.
I sent you to be with Jacob before he met with Esau after so many years,
And they reconciled, but only because you did so well
In wrestling with Jacob, helping him to find his true self,
giving him his new name, Israel.
If you send Joseph to greet his brothers,
Even knowing what they will do to him in the moments to follow,
You will set in motion the survival of Joseph and his whole family.
So go, send him on his way.
He will find himself, and his place in the world.
And he will be reunited with his brothers and save them.”
I thought for a moment, and said,
“Eternal God, my teacher, my guide, I will go
Only if you promise to grant Joseph and every human being
An extra measure of compassion
So that when they feel they are conflict with each other
To the point of no return,
They will be able to deeply sense each other’s feelings
To understand one another
And they will remember that they are brothers and sisters,
Part of the same family.”
God told me, “If you go send Joseph on his way,
I will grant your request. People will be so inspired
By the story of the eventual reunion of Joseph and his brothers
That they will find a way to do the same with each other.
Even when people feel they are far apart,
They will still find a way to come together.”
So I went, and I prayed for the reconciliation of humanity
Throughout their generations
So that they would know
Harmony and peace.
So may there be among us.
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