Daily Devotional
The Wedding and the Pit
Joseph is cast into an empty pit by brothers who hate the one sent to them; the king in the psalm rejoices because the Lord preserves him and brings his enemies to account; the Son in the Gospel is honored by a marriage feast, yet those invited refuse, mistreat, and kill the messengers. These are not separate matters. The righteous one is opposed, God sees it, and His judgment does not sleep.
Justin names the root of such hatred: "because they have devised an evil device against themselves, saying, Let us bind the righteous, for he is distasteful to us." When a man envies, mocks, slanders, or pushes aside the one who speaks truth, he does not merely injure his brother; he prepares ruin for himself. Joseph’s brothers sold him, yet their sin returned upon their own house in grief and fear. The guests who scorned the summons lost the feast and the city besides. And the man without a wedding garment teaches that it is not enough to be near holy things; one must be clothed in obedience.
Therefore let no one boast of being called while living carelessly. The kingdom is a banquet for those who answer, come, and remain as befits the King’s house. Love of God and love of neighbor cannot be torn apart. As Cyprian says, "it is written, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. Leviticus 19:18 But if you bite and find fault with one another, take heed that you be not consumed one of another. Matthew 22:39" So then, put away the tongue that wounds, receive the word you have heard, and honor the Son by doing what He commands. The Lord gives life to the faithful, but He also searches out His enemies.
“because they have devised an evil device against themselves, saying, Let us bind the righteous, for he is distasteful to us.”
— Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho
“it is written, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. Leviticus 19:18 But if you bite and find fault with one another, take heed that you be not consumed one of another. Matthew 22:39”
— Cyprian, Epistles
For Reflection & Discussion
Whom have you treated as distasteful by envy, mocking, or slander, and what concrete act of confession or restitution will you make today?
What command of Christ have you heard but delayed, and how will you obey it in a plain deed before this day ends?
How will you honor the King’s feast this week by clothing yourself rightly—through fasting, almsgiving, reconciliation, or guarded speech?
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