TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL PASSAGE

Please read Genesis 40:1-8

Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others.

Philippians 2:4

DEVOTIONAL

by Sandra Chua

When my father was hospitalized years ago, I was tasked to stay with him for the night. As the youngest in a brood of seven, I was not a natural caregiver. I was not attentive to other people’s needs. This was highlighted when I woke up in the middle of the night to hear my dad instruct the nurse, “Kumutan mo siya.” I look back to this incident with a smile on my face and warmth in my heart. My father, like Joseph, in his illness and uncomfortable condition, was sensitive to my needs.  

Today’s reading shows us a day in the life of  Joseph in prison. God gave Joseph favor in the sight of the chief jailer. He was put in charge of the daily affairs of the prison. One day, when the king’s cupbearer and baker, who were both thrown into prison, had dreams. They were so disturbed by their dreams that it showed on their faces, and Joseph noticed it. He extended loving-kindness and care by asking them what was troubling them. He asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in confinement in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so sad today?” Genesis 40:7 says that when he found out that they had troubling dreams, he offered to help interpret the dreams through the Lord. He knew his God was able to make sense of those dreams and thus help them. 

Joseph reminds me of Jesus, who, in his extreme suffering, still thought of his mother. At the cross, in the height of pain and humiliation, Jesus entrusted his mother to John.

REFLECTION