Grandpa's favorite Old Testament story
In a recent homily, I talked about the error some of us make by not learning more about our grandparents while we have the chance.
I used myself as the example, explaining how I had avoided getting personal with either of my grandfathers and later learned that I had missed out on interesting aspects of their personalities.
When I was preparing that homily, I forgot about one revealing series of episodes involving my father’s dad.
That grandfather was born in a village in the Campania region of Italy, and he read constantly in both Italian and English.
Among the Italian-language books he owned was a collection of stories from the Old Testament, and he read that book over and over.
He didn’t have to tell us which of the stories was his favorite; everyone who lived in that house knew.
It was the story of Joseph and his brothers.
About once a year, Grandpa would reach that story, and when he did, he would approach one or more of us in the family and ask if we were familiar with it.
We’d say we were, but he would tell the story anyway.
And no matter how many times he told it, he would choke up and weep when he described the scene in which Joseph reveals himself to his brothers in Egypt.
I hope I don’t sound as if I’m making fun of my grandfather.
On the contrary, I admire both the constancy with which he read and re-read the Scriptures and the way he remained open to the richness of their meaning.
Many of us hear the Scriptures only when they are read at Mass, and at Mass we hear only a small part of what is contained in the Jewish and Christian traditions.
Most of the narratives we hear are in the Gospel readings, and the risk is that we hear those so often that we become immune to their drama.
One example is the passage in which the evangelist Mark reports that Jesus healed a leper and told the man to keep the matter to himself. The newly healthy man was so excited about what had been done for him that he disregarded Jesus’ instruction and told everyone who would listen.
We all intellectually understand the incident the author described in the Gospel, including the reaction of the man who had been healed. And intellectually understanding it is important, because the story tells us so much — including that Jesus had command over nature, that he was compassionate, and that he can and will heal us in an even more profound way.
But it’s good at times to let the story sink in until we, who have been touched by the same hand, feel theexcitement and gratitude that propelled the healed man through Galilee like a town crier, much as my grandfather let himself be overwhelmed by Joseph’s love for his brothers and capacity for forgiveness — which are, after all, reflections of God’s love and mercy for us.
Deacon Charles Paolino ministers at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Whitehouse Station.