February 2016 Letter
Dear brethren,
One of the attractive personalities in the Bible is that of Joseph the righteous, in whom we see the image of Christ in different aspects and situations in his life. Let’s see few of them:
|
Joseph the Righteous |
Christ |
| + Was the beloved son of his father, and then became a slave in Egypt. | + The Only Begotten Son of God the Father, who came to the world as a slave. |
| + Worked as a shepherd with his brothers. | + He is the Good Shepherd. |
| + Was envied by his brothers. | + Was envied by the priests and Pontius Pilate |
| + Jacob sent him to look after his brothers. | + God the Fathers sent Him to visit mankind. |
| + His brothers conferred to kill him. | + The Jews conferred to kill Him. |
| + He loved his brothers, but they hated, envied and persecuted him. | + The Jews hated, envied and crucified Him. |
| + His brothers took off his robe. | + The Jews did the same with Christ at the cross. |
| + Was sold for 20 silver coins. | + Was sold for 30 silver coins. |
| + His brothers sat to eat after throwing him in the well. | + The Jews went to eat the Passover after crucifying Christ. |
| + He went down the well, but came out alive. | + Christ was buried, but came out alive. |
| + Joseph although innocent was imprisoned with the guilty. | + Christ the righteous was “numbered with the transgressors”. |
| + He had Pharaoh’s butler and baker with him in prison. The butler was saved while the baker killed. | + Was crucified between 2 thieves. The right one was saved and the left perished. |
| + Stood before Pharaoh at the age of 30. | + Started His service at the age of 30. |
| + Pharaoh called him Zaphnath-Paaneah, which means the savior of the world. | + He is called The Savior of the World. |
| + Was named “lord of the land” (Gen 42: 30). | + He is the King of Kings and master of the whole world. |
May the blessing of St. Mary & St. Mercurius and all the martyrs & saints be with us all.
Fr. Youssef Halim & Fr. Luke Istafanous
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