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Genesis 43:30, “Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. He went into his private room and wept there. After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, ‘Serve the food.’”

When reading Genesis 42 and 43, it was the reunion of Joseph with his brothers that particularly stood out to me. We read here about two very different reunions caused by famine in Canaan but fulfilling dreams spoken about in Genesis 37 as Joseph’s brothers “bowed down to him with their faces to the ground” (42:6 and 43:26). In the first reunion, we encounter a fairly suspicious Joseph who treated his brothers “harshly” (42:7). He falsely accused his brothers of being spies and imprisoned them for three days before releasing all except Simeon. The second reunion was quite different however. On arrival to Egypt, harsh words were replaced with generous hospitality and a feast in the governor’s residence. As I have considered this tale of two reunions, I have come to reflect on the liminal space that we have encountered during this pandemic and especially the latest winter lockdown. Many of us have been deprived of precious reunions at Christmas and have the hope of these reunions as restrictions are lifted in the coming weeks and months. As this liminal space draws to a close, perhaps this tale causes us to consider what these moments of reunion could be like – heavy in suspicion and harsh words or moments of rich hospitality and even joyous weeping? And perhaps we need to consider our certain reunion with Christ. Do we really know and love him or do we need to be reunited with Him before it is too late.