afterimages

The Lord did not forget the just man who was sold as a slave ; * he released him from the power of sinful men.

this antiphon captures the story of the experience of Joseph, sold into slavery and what unfolds after …

we get caught up in God’s mighty deeds
the messy, the disappointing, the complex,
the hurtful

we do not always see the whip-ass or the mercy
that others get to recall after us

in the second lesson today, St Cyprian recalls for us the Apostle’s teaching, in which charity is set before us joined together with endurance and patience, ‘Love,’ he says, ‘is large-souled, is patient and kind ; love is not jealous, is not boastful, is not given to anger, does not think evil, loves all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.’ He shows that love can tenaciously persevere, for the very reason that it has learned how to endure all things.

He shows that neither unity nor peace can be maintained unless the brethren cherish each other with mutual forbearance and preserve the bond of harmony by means of patience.

give us large souls, equipt for love
while we wait