Genesis 50:1-5: a reflection

1Joseph fell on his father’s face, wept on him, and kissed him. 2Joseph commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father; and the physicians embalmed Israel. 3Forty days were used for him, for that is how many days it takes to embalm. The Egyptians wept for Israel for seventy days. 4When the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh’s staff, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 5‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am dying. Bury me in my grave which I have dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come again.’”

When his father Jacob dies, Joseph responds with deep grief and loving care. Joseph fell on his father's face, wept on him, and kissed him. He does not hide his grief or hurry past it; he weeps over his father, mourns him, and then takes care to honor him, arranging for his burial and seeking to fulfill his father's dying wish to be buried in the land of Canaan. Joseph grieves openly, and honors his father even in death, weeping over him and then carefully seeing to the honoring of his wishes. His grief and his honoring of his father went together.

Notice how Joseph both grieves and honors his father in death. He does not suppress his grief; he falls on his father's face and weeps, mourning him openly. And his grief does not keep him from honoring his father; he arranges for his burial with care and sets about fulfilling his father's dying wish. Joseph's love for his father was shown both in his open grief and in his careful honoring of him even after death. He wept, and he honored; the grief was real, and so was the honor. Both the mourning and the careful honoring of his father's wishes flowed from his love; he grieved well and honored well.

That is worth taking to heart, for we too are called to grieve well and to honor those we love even in death. When those we love die, we can suppress our grief, or we can neglect to honor them; but Joseph both wept openly for his father and honored him with care, fulfilling his wishes. There is a way of grieving that does not suppress the sorrow, and of honoring the dead by our care and by fulfilling what they asked. Do not suppress your grief when those you love die, nor neglect to honor them; grieve openly and honor them with care, as Joseph wept for his father and saw to his wishes. Grieve well and honor those you love even in death, weeping openly and caring faithfully for them and their wishes, as Joseph fell on his father's face and wept and then honored his dying request; for there is a way of grieving that honors our love, and honoring those we have lost, by our grief and our care, is fitting and good.

Lord, when his father Jacob dies, Joseph responds with deep grief and loving care. Joseph fell on his father's face, wept on him, and kissed him. He does not hide his grief or hurry past it; he weeps over his father, mourns him, and then takes care to honor him, arranging for his burial and seeking to fulfill his father's dying wish to be buried in the land of Canaan. Joseph grieves openly, and honors his father even in death. Show me how Joseph both grieves and honors his father in death. He does not suppress his grief; he falls on his father's face and weeps, mourning him openly. And his grief does not keep him from honoring his father; he arranges for his burial with care and sets about fulfilling his father's dying wish. Joseph's love for his father was shown both in his open grief and in his careful honoring of him even after death. He wept, and he honored. Both the mourning and the careful honoring flowed from his love. Take that to my heart, for I too am called to grieve well and to honor those I love even in death. When those I love die, I can suppress my grief, or I can neglect to honor them; but Joseph both wept openly for his father and honored him with care. There is a way of grieving that does not suppress the sorrow, and of honoring the dead by our care and by fulfilling what they asked. When those I love die, keep me from suppressing my grief, nor neglecting to honor them; help me grieve openly and honor them with care, Lord, as Joseph wept for his father and saw to his wishes.