July 8, 2005

Here I Am Gn 46:1-7, 28-30

Israel set out with all that was his. When he arrived at Beer-sheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. There God, speaking to Israel in a vision by night, called, "Jacob! Jacob!" He answered, "Here I am." Then he said: "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you a great nation. Not only will I go down to Egypt with you; I will also bring you back here, after Joseph has closed your eyes."

So Jacob departed from Beer-sheba, and the sons of Israel put their father and their wives and children on the wagons that Pharaoh had sent for his transport. They took with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Thus Jacob and all his descendants migrated to Egypt. His sons and his grandsons, his daughters and his granddaughters— all his descendants—he took with him to Egypt.

Israel had sent Judah ahead to Joseph, so that he might meet him in Goshen. On his arrival in the region of Goshen, Joseph hitched the horses to his chariot and rode to meet his father Israel in Goshen. As soon as Joseph saw him, he flung himself on his neck and wept a long time in his arms. And Israel said to Joseph, "At last I can die, now that I have seen for myself that Joseph is still alive."

Here I Am...Israel is called by God and told not to be afraid. Israel took all of his family and possessisions to Egypt as God told him. When he saw that Joseph was alive, he wept in his arms.

To me the reading is saying to trust in what God is calling me to. It may be a strange new place and mean leaving behind what is familiar but I will find my heart's desire by following the will of God. There is nothing to fear. The one sacrifice that God wants is my heart and will to follow, to say freely and readily, "Here I am."