Ornament: Coat of many colors
Jacob made it to his father's homeland and did get married. However, he was tricked into marrying the sister of the woman he really loved - Rachel was Jacob's favorite. (Remember, back then they didn't' have any guidance from God yet about how to live, so having more than one wife was accepted by their culture). The Lord however felt badly for Leah, Rachel's sister, because she wasn't loved by Jacob. So Leah was blessed by God with many children - she had eleven sons, while Rachel only had one. In the end, Jacob favored Rachel's son who was named Joseph. He was the youngest, but Jacob gave him priority and special gifts. Also, Joseph had vivid dreams - dreams that seemed to tell him that he would be set above his brothers.
Leah's sons were jealous of Joseph for the way their father treated him (for example, giving him a special many colored coat!) and for the dreams that Joseph had. One day while they were out tending sheep in distant fields, they decided to dig a pit, put Joseph in it, and kill him. But at the last minute, Joseph's brother Judah told his brothers not to kill him, but to instead sell Joseph to the first passerby.
The brothers did this, and they sold Joseph as a slave to a group of merchants going into Egypt.
When Joseph was sold in Egypt, he was sold to the house of the king. The king had been suffering from many dreams that seemed very real. He couldn't understand them himself, and no one else could tell him what he wanted to know. The king found out that Joseph could interpret dreams and so he asked him what his dreams meant.
Joseph immediately knew what the king's dreams meant: that Egypt would have seven years of good luck, and then seven.years of famine (that means, not enough food in the whole country). So Joseph advised the king to store up good and supplies during the good times, so that the kingdom would be prepared for the bad and no one would starve.
The Pharaoh did as Joseph told him, and what Joseph had said came true. Luckily, during the famine Egypt was well prepared and was even able to help surrounding countries with food. Joseph was honored in the Pharaoh's house because of this.
During the famine, Joseph's family back home was starving. His brothers were struggling to support the family since their father Jacob was widely and slowly dying. Rachel had given birth to one more son, Benjamin who was Joseph's only full brother, whom he had never met.
At first Joseph asked them questions about their father and his wives, and he learned that Jacob was dying and that he, Joseph, had a brother. Joseph was angry with his brothers and instead of giving them foods he imprisoned them.
But he began to feel guilty and told Leah s aims that he would let them go and give them food if they brought him his brother Benjamin - and Joseph saw that his brothers regretted what they had done to him when they protected Benjamin from being accused of theft. So Joseph revealed himself to his brothers and gave them his forgiveness, seeing his journey to Egypt as an act of service to the Lord because now he could feed and protect his family. He invited his father and his whole household to come and live in Egypt where they would be protected and flourish.
Reflection & Connection: Have your parents ever given you nice things or treats just because they want to make you happy? Joseph's coat, which would have cost a lot of money at the time, can remind us of how the Lord loves us - like a Father who wants to spoil his child! This story also shows us how much God the Father loves his only Son, Jesus. Joseph follows a similar story to Jesus in that they both were "thrown down" from a place of honor (in Jesus' case, from Heaven itself!) in order to be of service to many others, and specifically their families.
Especially in this story we learn the freedom that comes with forgiveness! Joseph was able to be reunited with his parents and his brothers because he chose to forgive them for what they had done to him.
Prayer: Lord please help us to be united to those who have hurt us, especially our families, so that we can continue to love them and receive love. Help us, Jesus, to be servants to those we love and to our neighbors as well, so that we can unite our lives with your love.
Conlclude with your favorite family prayer or an Our Father, Hail Mary & Glory Be.
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