By Susan Oxley of Seattle, Washington, USA

“I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.
You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.

When I was a young woman, I was deeply hurt by the words and actions of a trusted, well-respected church member. For years, I carried that wound. I avoided the person. I ignored their attempt to reach out and heal the rift. And I carried a desire to hurt them as they had hurt me.

Years passed. I eventually was ordained, became a paid minister for the church, and then was called to serve as an apostle. I found myself in a position of authority with the power and the opportunity to enact vengeance on the individual who had hurt me so many years earlier. It would have been so easy, maybe even justified…

Fortunately, I had matured and grown in my faith. Life lessons and deepening discipleship had taught me that vengeance is a poor substitute for working through problems in relationships. Instead of seeking vengeance, I sought out the person for a private conversation.

I shared the hurt they had caused me, and the consequences of their actions. In return, the person acknowledged their fault and admitted they had been haunted for years by the knowledge that they had wounded me and others. They made no excuses but simply asked forgiveness. And I willingly gave it. Then we talked about how we could best support one another in our ministry going into the future. It was a time of healing, of release, and new beginnings.

One of the most ancient definitions of love is “wanting good for another, no strings attached.” I reached a point where I could substitute wanting good for that person in place of wanting vengeance. Vengeance would have accomplished nothing. It would simply have created more hurt. Wanting good for one another healed our relationship and showed us a new path of mutual support and caring.

Love wins. Love heals. Love starts over. Joseph knew that. Jesus knew that. We know it. We just have to find the courage to let go of vengeance and act out love.

Prayer Phrase

“Bear one another’s burdens…” (Galatians 6:2).

Spiritual Hunger

Jesus discerned hungers of body and spirit, and he fed them through a physical, verbal, spiritual ministry of presence. In a time of listening prayer, ask God to help you discern physical or spiritual hungers of people in your congregation, community, and global family. Invite the Spirit to move you to one hospitable act that “feeds” someone’s hunger today.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.