¹ Dearest brothers, when we carefully consider the life of blessed Jacob and his holy son Joseph, we come to recognize an exceedingly marvelous work that the Lord performed.

² First, I do not believe it was without reason that God—who so often deigned to reveal Himself to blessed Jacob—chose not to indicate for so many years that Joseph, his son, was alive. Instead, He allowed Jacob to be consumed by prolonged sorrow. If anyone believes this happened without a definite purpose and clear intention, let them reflect on this: Joseph himself, although so near, was not permitted to send word to his father. He could not announce that he was not only alive but also in a position of great honour.

³ From the place where blessed Jacob was to Egypt was barely three hundred miles—a distance frequently traveled by many who hastened from Egypt to the region where Jacob dwelled. From that area, countless multitudes constantly flocked to Egypt. But perhaps someone might say that Joseph left his father when he was still a small child and therefore could not have remembered him. This is not the case, dearest brothers. For although Joseph was young, he was sixteen years old, and there was no way he could have forgotten his parents. Indeed, he had not forgotten them to such an extent that he immediately recognized his brothers when he first saw them.

⁴ But someone might say that Joseph lacked the freedom or the power to send a message back to his homeland. Even if this seems somewhat plausible, consider this: After Joseph was released from prison and made lord over all the land of Egypt, during the seven years of abundance and the two years of famine that had passed before his brothers came down to him, he could have easily sent word to his father during those nine years, over a distance of only three hundred miles, without any difficulty. Yet, by a hidden judgment, the Lord did not permit this. Indeed, not even when his brothers came to buy grain did Joseph reveal himself to them. Rather, he spoke harshly to them and held their brother in custody, forcing them to return to their father in great sorrow.

⁵ Pay close attention, for here lies an even greater miracle. See how the blessed Joseph, who knew that his father was enduring unbearable grief on his account, as though it were not enough that he had already suffered so much, still caused Benjamin to be taken away. By doing this, he surely knew that his father would experience even greater sorrow. Yet I do not believe that all of this happened without the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

⁶ For God, whose judgments are often hidden, yet never unjust, did not allow the blessed Jacob to know that his son was alive. Indeed, God even prevented the holy Joseph from revealing his own glory to his father. On the contrary, by keeping Simeon in chains and taking Benjamin away, Joseph added to his father’s anguish. But, dearest brothers, if we consider this with true faith, we will recognize that the Lord did all these things with great mercy. From the beginning of the world, God has refined His saints in this way, and He fulfilled this with great compassion in the blessed Jacob.

⁷ But why was this done? Pay close attention. Although the servants and friends of God avoided grave sins and performed many good works, we do not believe they were entirely without minor faults. For the one who said, “There is no one without sin, not even an infant whose life is but a single day on earth” does not lie. Even the blessed John the Evangelist, who was certainly no less righteous than holy Job, cried out and said, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us”. And elsewhere it is written, “The righteous man falls seven times a day and rises again”.

⁸ Therefore, as we have already said, Jacob could not have been without these minor sins. Wishing to purify this holy man from even his small faults through the fire of tribulation, God fulfilled in him what the Spirit says: “The kiln tests the potter’s vessels, and tribulation tests righteous men”, and again, “The Lord disciplines every son whom he loves”, and yet again, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God”. Thus, so that our God might present the holy Jacob as refined gold in the judgment to come, He first cleansed him of every stain of sin. In this way, the fire of divine judgment would find nothing in him to consume.

⁹ If we carefully consider, dearest brothers, what we believe God did with the blessed Jacob, we will recognize that Joseph acted in the same way toward his brothers. Joseph, who was indeed so holy that he could not have hated them, nevertheless subjected them to tribulation. Thus, we should believe that he afflicted them not out of malice but in order to lead them to confess their guilt and embrace the healing remedy of repentance.

¹⁰ Indeed, they eventually declared with great sorrow that they were justly suffering these trials because of their sin against their brother, recalling how they had seen his anguish. The blessed Joseph knew that their crime of fratricide could not be pardoned without genuine and profound repentance. Therefore, he refined them through a threefold medicinal trial, as though with a spiritual fire—not to take vengeance on them but to correct them.

¹¹ Thus, before they confessed their sin and chastised themselves for their crime, he neither revealed his identity to them nor granted them the kiss of peace. But when he saw that they were humbled and afflicted by their guilt, he kissed each one, wept over them, and with the gentle rain of his tears upon their trembling necks, he washed away the hatred of his brothers with the tears of love.

¹² What God did with the blessed Jacob and what Joseph did with his brothers, we too must do toward those who sin against us. We must strive not to hate the offenders themselves but rather their sins. Let us aim to rebuke them with severity proportionate to their guilt, not out of vengeance but out of a sincere desire to love them in truth. If we do this, dearest brothers, we will fulfil what is written: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfil the law of Christ”.

¹³ To conclude everything I have said with a brief word: let us forgive those who sin against us in the same way that we wish God to forgive us whenever we sin against Him. If we do this, we can confidently say: “Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors”.

¹⁴ I would have gladly continued speaking with you, beloved brothers, about the blessed Joseph, but for the sake of the poor, who are hurrying to their labours, it is better for us to reserve this discussion for tomorrow. Therefore, let us now turn to the Lord and humbly implore His mercy, so that He, who in His kindness has given us the desire to hear His word, may deign to always increase and preserve this desire in us. He who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.