Peace Through Wounds

Joseph makes himself known to the very brothers who sold him, and his first charge is not revenge but peace on the road: “And be not angry in the way.” The righteous man, wounded by others, refuses to keep the wound alive. So also the prophet sings of the city whose gates are opened to those who keep faith, whose minds are stayed on God, who wait for Him through the night and under His judgments. Peace is not given to the double-minded or the careless, but to those who endure in truth.

This comes to its fullness in the passion of Christ. He is betrayed, bound, mocked, and crucified; yet by His suffering He opens a stronger city than Jerusalem’s walls could guard. The veil is torn, the earth shakes, and even the graves begin to yield. As Irenaeus says, “The dead shall rise again, and they who are in the tombs shall arise, and they who are in the earth shall rejoice.” The cross is therefore not only the exposure of human envy, cowardice, and bloodguilt; it is the judgment of sin and the beginning of resurrection.

So let no one imitate Judas, who confessed sin without returning to obedience. Let us rather imitate Joseph’s mercy and Christ’s endurance. If we would enter the city of God, we must cease from wrath on the way, keep the truth, and wait for the Lord with steadfast hearts. Tertullian reminds us: “For even Joseph, when dismissing his brethren for the purpose of fetching their father, said, And be not angry in the way.” The road to the Father still requires that command.