7 December.  Joseph. Driving along through the vast mealie fields around the farm Joseph was thinking about his namesake, Joseph, the spoilt son, abused by his jealous brothers who planned to get rid of him, but who was rescued and taken to Egypt.  Through his ability to interpret dreams he was fortunate to become Pharaoh’s right-hand man managing his estates and crops.  A very special quality he had was his ability to forgive his brothers who had done him such a serious wrong. A lesser known fact about him is that he was falsely accused of sexual abuse by Pharaoh’s wife and ended up spending time in jail. “I wonder who could be the wise and peace-loving Joseph personality in our day,” Joseph thought, “I think every era needs such a person.”  

Scripture:   Yes, O people in Zion, you shall weep no more.  He will surely be gracious to you. At the sound of your cry, when he hears he will answer you.  And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see him. And your ears shall hear a word, “This is the way, walk in it.”  He will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground. Is 30:19-26. Pope Francis:  The information that we can gather from the past eight years allows us to clarify, that despite all attempts to deny conceal, gloss over or relativize the issue, the signs of climate change are here and are increasingly evident in extreme weather phenomena. LD2. There are no lasting changes without cultural changes, without a maturing of lifestyles and convictions within societies and there are no cultural changes without personal changes. LD 70.  Reflect, share, and pray:  The issues of concern in our day are as relevant as they were 3000 years ago.  COP 29 focused on creation and the 16 Days of Activism on sexual abuse although its main focus is on women.  Pray for commitment to make any necessary decisions to deepen, reinforce or change.