Read: Genesis 45: 16-28

Reflect:
Joseph sends his brothers on their way with provisions and carts full of grain and bread. They are returning to Jacob to bring him and their families back to Egypt. As they were leaving Joseph doesn’t say “Have a safe trip!” or “See you soon!” but “Don’t quarrel on the way!” I find this humorous. Although Joseph hadn’t seen his brothers for many years he must have known their characters and the potential there was for disagreement. I wondered what they might argue about. The amplified version of this verse gives a possibility: “See that you do not quarrel on the journey [about how to explain this to our father].” In explaining that Joseph was alive would they have to admit what they had done years earlier and even who was to blame for it? Perhaps this is a message for us as well, since it is possible for us to quarrel along the way too. We see this in Scriptures: The people quarreled with Moses and said “Give us water that we may drink”, the disciples argued about who was considered to be the greatest, and in the book of Acts it mentions an angry quarrel that broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, dividing the assembly. 2 Timothy 2:24 says “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.” Quarreling among the family of believers distracts non-believers from our message. Worse, it hurts our credibility. Our message is a message of love. It is difficult to send a message of love to those outside the Church when we can’t love each other in the Church.

Pray:
God, protect us from quarrelling in the church. Help us to be in harmony with our fellow Christians. May we turn our back on worldly attitudes that lead to disagreements.