Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, "Send everyone away from me." So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me." And they came closer.

He said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. I will provide for you there - since there are five more years of famine to come - so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty.' And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here."

Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.

An overwhelming show of emotion - it's something many of us can relate to. The birth of a child, the loss of a loved one, a wedding, a school graduation…life is full of these moments when we feel this kind of intense connection to the situation and people around us, and you can't help but let it out in some way. And it's this same kind of response that Joseph and his brothers experience in our reading for today.

Joseph had been separated from his family for many years, and while he knew for some time that his brothers were there in front of him, it is in the moment of this passage that he reveals his identity to them and they are united as a family once again. While the circumstances that separated them for so long could have marred this opportunity for reconciliation, Joseph instead showed great forgiveness to his brothers. This was only possible because of Joseph's confidence in God's presence throughout his time in Egypt, as well as the turn of events that brought them back together.