Scripture for Your Inner Outcasts

Transcript

"Now Joseph's brothers noticed him from a distance, and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him. They said to one another, 'Here comes that master dreamer. Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here. We could say that a wild beast devoured him. We shall see then what comes of his dreams.' When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from their hands, saying, 'We must not take his life. Instead of shedding his blood,' he continued, 'just throw him into that cistern there in the desert, but do not kill him outright.' His purpose was to rescue him from their hands and to return him to his father."

Welcome to Scripture for Your Inner Outcasts. It's March 6th, 2026, Friday of the Second Week of Lent. Today we are joined by Peta Evans, a wife and mother and the founder of Esencia Life Center, a pregnancy resource center in Albury, Australia.

The first reading Genesis 37 verses 18 to 22. "Now Joseph's brothers noticed him from a distance, and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him. They said to one another, 'Here comes that master dreamer. Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here. We could say that a wild beast devoured him. We shall see then what comes of his dreams. When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from their hands, saying, 'We must not take his life. Instead of shedding his blood,' he continued, 'just throw him into that system there in the desert. But do not kill him outright. His purpose was to rescue him from their hands and to return him to his father." Have you experienced violence or abuse from the hands of those who were meant to love and protect you? Or perhaps you are driven by jealousy, or a deep sense that your belovedness was in jeopardy and that someone else needed to be hurt in order to save yourself. Or maybe you are a bystander who tried to minimize the damage. Are you a perpetrator, accomplice, bystander, or innocent victim? Perhaps you see within you all these exiles. Today's reading invites us to reflect on the experience of Joseph, the beloved son of Israel. A rich story of jealousy, envy, heartache, and ultimately, forgiveness and restoration.

When you think of the majority of his brothers, you might feel their righteous passion, their anger, lust for vengeance against the favored one. You keenly feel their site, being overlooked, unnoticed, unfavored. When you think of Reuben, you may sense yourself burdened with people pleasing, managing, minimizing, taking the easy way out, fearing confrontation or lacking moral courage. When you think of Joseph, you might notice your innocence, vulnerability and naivete and those moments when they were stripped from you like the cloak taken from Joseph before being thrown into the well. One moment you are favored, covered in the sun of the father's love, and the next stripped, cast away into dryness and darkness. As well as an innocent exile, Joseph represents Christ and your innermost self. In the end, God through suffering brings the brothers to Joseph, where the tables are turned and he doesn't repay evil with vengeance, but rather with generosity and forgiveness. How does God's permitting will, which allows suffering, fit into your internal family history? Who needs forgiveness? Who has been harmed and needs restoration and redemption? You are called to integration. You are an internal family within the greater family of the Kingdom of God. Come as a little child before God. Bring all yourself before him. He is the father that calls you his favorite and dreams of great plans for you.

If today's episode resonates with you, you'll likely benefit from reading two articles linked in the description below, all about navigating conflict and relating to our enemies.

Let us end with our invocations. Our Lady, our Mother, Untier of Knots, pray for us. Saint Joseph, pray for us. Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.