Genesis 41:55-57; 42:5-7, 17-24 / Matthew 10:1-7 (2019)
The hardships of life often has the effect of hardening our hearts.
And as we face the hardships of life, it is inevitable that what arises in our minds is the person or persons that caused our hardships.
So it may be our boss or supervisor, our colleague or peers, our subordinates or family members, but with resentment and bitterness we will blame them for our predicament.
"People can live through great hardships and yet perish from hard feelings." (Solzhenitsyn)
In the 1st reading, we hear about Joseph who had the authority in Egypt to sell grain to all comers during a time of great famine.
It was this Joseph that his brothers had sold into slavery much earlier and he went through many hardships before God raised him to fame and authority.
And now his brothers were bowing before him though they did not recognize him. So it could be pay back time and Joseph could give his brothers a greater hardship than the famine they were facing.
But Joseph did not give in to resentment and bitterness against his brothers. In fact, after hearing their conversation, he left and wept.
In the gospel when Jesus called the apostles and sent them off to proclaim the kingdom of heaven, it was going to entail great hardships from difficult people.
But for the sake of the kingdom and because the kingdom is close at hand, they cannot give in to resentment and bitterness.
Neither can we. Because the kingdom of heaven is close at hand, let us soften our hearts so as to let the kingdom of heaven take root in us.