LIFE SCRIPTS

16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare a meal; they are to eat with me at noon.” 17 The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph’s house. 18 Now the men were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought, “We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us and overpower us and seize us as slaves and take our donkeys.” 19 So they went up to Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. 20 “We beg your pardon, our Lord,” they said, “we came down here the first time to buy food. 21 But at the place where we stopped for the night we opened our sacks and each of us found his silver—the exact weight—in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back with us. 22 We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our silver in our sacks.” 23 “It’s all right,” he said. “Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; I received your silver.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. 24 The steward took the men into Joseph’s house, gave them water to wash their feet and provided fodder for their donkeys. 25 They prepared their gifts for Joseph’s arrival at noon, because they had heard that they were to eat there. 26 When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground. 27 He asked them how they were, and then he said, “How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still living?” 28 They replied, “Your servant our father is still alive and well.” And they bowed down, prostrating themselves before him. 29 As he looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” 30 Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there. 31 After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, “Serve the food.” 32 They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detestable to Egyptians. 33 The men had been seated before him in the order of their ages, from the firstborn to the youngest; and they looked at each other in astonishment. 34 When portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as anyone else’s. So they feasted and drank freely with him.
Genesis 43:16‭-‬34 NIV

https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.43.16-34.NIV.

Family reunions are usually emotional. It’s no different from this reunion between Joseph and his brothers. Years had passed and now things had changed. Joseph was the one who identified his brothers but they were not aware of him. Different emotions were at play here: The brothers were apprehensive about meeting Joseph again. They thought that they would be reprimanded for returning back to Canaan with the silver they came with the first time. Their hearts were fearful. However, Joseph’s emotions were very different. Since he knew that these were his brothers, possibly a myriad of emotions were rushing through him. Probably he was embittered by how they had sold him into slavery but at the same time grateful to God for showing him favour. This must have been an emotionally confusing time for him. This rollercoaster of emotions is not out of the ordinary today. In life we pass through good times and misfortunes, sometimes even simultaneously. How should we react to such? What can we do to guarantee our sanity? Joseph understood his emotional seesaw and somewhat tried keep it balanced. We see him rushing to a private room to weep. But these events help us see the emotional weight family carries in our lives whether we like it or not. Times of reconciliation and reconnection with estranged family members is a hard yet a necessary moment because God is the Author of family and blesses it. I look back at my own life and try to track my own life script. After a period of separation from my dad, I had many questions in my mind when we reconnected. But I thank God that we reconciled and by the time he passed on, we were good friends. These events had a part to play in my own life later on. As a father of a son and a daughter, I have a responsibility not to lose that connection with my children. I have a responsibility and a great part to play especially now that my daughter was born our of wedlock from a past relationship. But even as I work towards having meaningful parental connection to all my children, I must remember that family breakups for whatever reasons are extremely painful especially if it involves children. Joseph had been separated from his family as a teenager. He had been estranged not only from his brothers but his ageing father. He lacked parental love. This was not an easy but a necessary moment. Reconciling among family members is God’s plan.