November 14, 2020

The prophet Isaiah gives us a very beautiful image of what it is like to enter the kingdom when he says that we shall be “clothed with the garments of salvation” (61:10).  The embrace of our loving Father is indeed like having our whole being covered with his Spirit as a robe is fitted to a body.  So what then do we make of the unusual detail that Joseph’s robe was “multi-colored” (Gen 37:3)?  This beloved son of Israel received this tunic with great honor, something special that set him apart from his brothers, but the dream-coat quickly became a source of jealousy and thus a burden that caused poor Joseph much suffering throughout the ordeal of being sold into slavery and eventually imprisonment.  Like the patriarch Joseph and eventually Christ, before we can rightly be clothed with that dazzling garment of salvation, we must first accept the uniquely textured and multi-faceted robe that is laid upon us.  At first we may see these beautiful threads, like Joseph, as a source of great pride, but then we discover just how heavy those colors can be!  Fear not, however, because it is precisely through our willingness to take ownership of the drama of this, our cross, that something resurrectional can be woven out of our souls, and that is our salvation.  Ave Crux, Spes Unica!