Chapter XIII.
Joseph rejoices in his brothers' inventions, which show his kindness towards them. What do the gifts that Joseph gives to his brothers, especially Benjamin, and sends to his father mean? What does his exhortation to peace when they leave signify? The wonder of their return to the land of Canaan and the news that their father hears that Joseph is alive follows.
74. And Pharaoh was glad that Joseph recognized his brothers (Gen. XLV, 16 et seq.). Hence the word was spread in Pharaoh's house. And Joseph urged his holy brothers to come and invite their father, and he commanded that their sacks be filled with wheat and that wagons be given to them. Whence this kindness to the barbarians, if not to show that great mystery, which the Church no longer envies, when the Jews are redeemed, and the Christian people rejoice in this union, and to whom she is able to provide aid, and sends those who proclaim the kingdom of God, that they may be called forth more quickly? To whom two stoles are given (Genesis, XLV, 22).
75. And he cites Paul, when he sets forth his statements, to whom three hundred gold coins, and five multicolored robes (Ibid., 23) are given by Christ. He who proclaims the cross of Christ possesses three hundred gold coins. Therefore, he says: For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified (I Cor. II, 2). And he rightly receives the gold coins, because he preached not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit. However, he receives the five robes, either the diverse disciplines of wisdom, or because he was not captured by the allurements of bodily senses, where others may find danger, he held victory; he conquered all pleasures of the flesh by singular self-restraint and virtue, his intellect and study not dulled by any weakness of the body, to the point that even though he is in the body, he does not know that he has a body. Finally, caught up in paradise, whether in the body or outside the body, not knowing, he heard unspeakable words, which it is not allowed to speak to a human being: in the end, he smelled nothing earthly on earth, as he himself teaches, saying: For we are the good fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved (2 Corinthians 2:15).
76. Therefore, Paul excels, and his portion is abundant: but nevertheless, other preachers have their grace. They receive two tunics. Which ones? Surely, those about which you should not doubt, because you have read the saying from Wisdom: She has made for her husband two garments (Prov. XXXI, 22). One is mystical, the other moral. But not all apostles, not all prophets, not all pastors, not all virtues, not all have the grace of healings, not all speak in tongues. Where the merits are different, the rewards are different.
77. And they send gifts ahead to their father (Gen. XLV, 23) . The son honors the father. Christ invites his people with promises, invites them with gifts. These gifts were carried by that useless and burdensome donkey before, now they are useful: they carry in type the gifts of Christ, who will be carried in the Gospel as the giver of gifts.
But he released his brothers, and they went away. And Joseph said to them: Do not be angry on the way. How well he teaches that we must beware of anger, because it can even separate loving brothers: and especially on a journey, discord must be avoided, where he himself, the one who accompanies us, must have the unbreakable bond of grace. And what else does our Lord Jesus, about to depart from this body, say when he dismisses his disciples, except that they should not be angry on the way, saying: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you? For where there is peace, anger has no place, discord is removed, dissension is driven away. This is therefore what he says: My peace I give unto you; that is, Do not be angry on the way. And see that on this way he does not say, that is, in this course of the whole of life, indignation must be avoided, which anger often (XI., quaest. 3, Anger often) even leads the innocent into crime: because while we are more angry with the just, and wish to restrain the sin of others, we commit graver sins. Therefore, the Apostle says: Do not avenge yourselves, my dearest ones, but give place to wrath (Rom. XII, 19), that is, let us decline it, so that it does not seize us. Hence, when the Lord Jesus sent his disciples to preach, he sent them without gold, without silver, without money, without a bag, without a staff, that is, so that he would take away both the incentives of strife and the instruments of revenge.
And they went up, he says, from Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan to their father Jacob; and they told him, saying: Joseph, thy son, is alive, and he is ruler in all the land of Egypt. (Gen. XLV, 25). What is the land of Canaan? It was shaking. Therefore, what is more evident than the times of the apostles being designated? They entered into the shaking synagogues of the Jews, proclaiming the power of the Lord Jesus, as we have in the Acts of the Apostles, with Peter saying: This Jesus therefore God has raised up, of whom we are witnesses. Therefore, being exalted by the right hand of God and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he poured out this gift that you now see (Acts 2:32-33). Certainly, we observe how he both gives life and governs the entire earth, who, opening his treasuries, grants the abundance of spiritual grace to all. The apostles were saying these things (Acts 5:18), but the Jews did not believe. Instead, they laid hands on them and put the preachers of salvation in custody.
80. Therefore, it is also written about Jacob: 'His mind was numb with fear' (Gen. 45:26); for he did not believe them. He was struck with emotion by the unfaithful people, but after he learned about the acts of Christ, he, being overwhelmed by such great blessings and works, regained his spirit, saying: 'It is a great thing for me that my son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die' (Ibid., 45:28). To believe in the resurrection of Christ is the first and greatest foundation of faith. For whoever believes in the resurrection, he seeks eagerly, approaches with devotion, and worships God with the innermost mind. For he believes that he himself will not die, if he believes in the author of resurrection.