Have you ever run into someone who hurt you in the past? Maybe it was someone who spread rumours about you, lied to you, or betrayed your trust. How did you react when you saw them?
This week we’ll hear part of the story of Joseph. He had experienced such bitter betrayal, his own brothers were prepared to kill him, just because of a dream he had, and while God protected him from being killed, his brothers settled on selling him as a slave, hoping to never see him again.  Many year later, according to God’s will, Joseph’s brothers came and stood before him in desperate need of help. And how did Joseph react? He held all the power of Pharaoh. He could have got his revenge on his brothers and made them all slaves as they had done to him—that would be just and fair. But instead, Joseph showed incredible mercy. His heart went out to
his brothers and he was overwhelmed by his love for his brothers. Instead of plotting revenge, he promised to provide for his brothers, to bring them to a safe land, and to make them prosper even in the face of a great famine.  When Joseph showed mercy, and when we show mercy to others,
Jesus’s own mercy is revealed—who in the face of all our sin, forgives us, renews us, and continues to give us all we need from day to day.