October 4 | Genesis 42:6-20
- Mary Kate Hipp
- Oct 4, 2022
- 3 min read
DAILY READING
REFLECTION
Fridge Forgiveness
by Mary Kate Hipp
Raise your hand if you have ever done anything wrong.
We all should be raising our hands.
Now raise your hand if you have ever done something wrong and thought nothing of it...maybe for years.
You know the pull tabs on milk or orange juice cartons? The freshness seals? Well, when I was around eight years old I, for whatever reason, started hiding these behind my fridge. In one fluid motion I would remove the pull tab, put it behind the fridge, pour my drink and move on with my life. Why? Who knows. Never once did I stop to think about what I was doing. I probably acknowledged that it was weird and should probably just throw the pull tabs away, but by the time I thought of it, I was 18. I had been at this "wrong thing" for over a decade. I never mentioned it to anyone. It was my (strange) little secret. Until Covid. One day in my family's restlessness we needed to move the fridge. And what would happen next? They found my 10-year stock pile of "wrong doing" behind the fridge, molding.
Perhaps all of us have some sort of "wrong doing," or sin, we are shoving behind the fridge. Maybe we have been hiding it for quite some time too.
In today's Scripture we find Joseph's brothers uncovering their pull-tab sin. They find Joseph (though they do not recognize him) twenty years after selling him into slavery. In their moment of despair, of judgment, they begin to contemplate and feel remorse for their wrongdoing. Can you imagine struggling with the guilt of a sin for twenty years? Sweeping your sin behind your metaphorical fridge for that long?
Friends, we are not called to sit in our sin and shame. There is no need to hide your sin (after all, Christ sees it no matter how hard you hide, trust me). Christ came and died to abolish our sin and shame. He conquered darkness. He is the light that shines in the darkness. Do not wait to confess and repent of your sin.
When my parents finally found my pull-tab stash, they were a little grossed out, a little confused, a little upset that there was mold behind their fridge, but at the end of the day, they forgave me wholeheartedly, they love me because I am their child. In the same way, go to the Father, He will forgive you and love you because no matter what you are His child.
We do not see it in our passage today, but the story of Joseph goes on and through the penance of the brothers, he wholeheartedly forgives them and loves them. How much more will your Father in heaven forgive you?
Do not delay another day. Go. Repent. Be washed in the grace of the gospel.
Raise your hand if you have ever been forgiven by the Father.
We should all be raising our hands.
PRAYER
Oh forgiving Father,
Thank you for loving me. Thank you for sending your Son to die on a cross for me to rid the world of sin and shame. Thank you for shining light on my darkness. Father I have been hiding ___________(insert sin here)________________ from you. Forgive me. Scripture says that if we confess our sins to He who is faithful and just He will forgive us sins and purify us. I rejoice in You for that truth. Far be it from me to build up my sin and sweep it behind the fridge any more.
Amen.
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