One day, two disgraced notables who were languishing in prison both looked unhappy and worried; a young foreigner, a slave held in the same prison, noticed their sad expressions, stopped, and asked why they were in such distress. They told their stories, and the young man was able to provide a solution. Shortly after, the lives of these two men took different turns, along the lines of what the young man had told them. Some time later, a problem arose in the nation, and one of the notables, who had since regained his place of honor, remembered this young man, convinced that he could provide the solution. He was taken out of prison to do it, and he did it, and the reward was great: freedom, honor, and glory. But the triggering factor was neither his charisma nor his gifts. It was his love and the interest he showed in these two men.
He would have, like some of us, decided to ignore them by saying to himself 'they have lived well up until now, a little misfortune will not hurt them', he would have missed the opening that God gave him. How many times have I read the story of Joseph and the baker and the cupbearer of Pharaoh without stopping to consider the fact that it was not a gift of power that freed him but an act of love. Our present misfortune does not justify indifference. It is a narrow and selfish life that waits for everything to go perfectly before taking care of others. After having prayed much, it is appropriate to love much. Joseph asked a question that changed his own destiny. He would not have cared about their well-being, he would not have heard their dreams, he would not have interpreted them, he would not have had access to the king, he would have remained in prison, he … Your gifts open doors for you but love builds them.
Shalom!
Amen