(Homily for Gayton Road Christian Church's Worship on July 16, 2017, Proper 10)
-----
What Is Jacob’s Blessing?
For the next four weeks, we’ll be following the lead of the lectionary—the church calendar of scripture readings—and reading the story of Jacob in Genesis.
Jacob leaves a lasting impression on the Bible. He is the second son, but he is blessed. He is chased out of his own home, but he is blessed. The whole world seems out to get him, but he is blessed. For the rest of the Bible, the memory of Jacob is the memory of blessing. Jacob becomes a byword for blessing. When the prophet Malachi and the apostle Paul want to encourage their audience, they say, “Remember Jacob! He is your ancestor, your heritage. His blessing is your blessing” (Mal 1:2-3; Rom 9:6-13).
For these next four weeks, then, I would like to explore what is Jacob’s blessing. Inheritance? Marriage? Children? What is his blessing? And how does he get it?
The story of Jacob is the story of a struggle. From the very beginning, even before Jacob comes kicking and screaming into the world, his story is struggle. Fists and heels, pushing and shoving—he and his twin brother Esau are wrestling with one another in their mother’s womb.
Their prenatal throwdown is so intense that their mother, Rebekah, has some questions for God. Is this how it’s supposed to work? What the heck is this rumbling within? What’s going on?
I don’t know how God answered her—in a dream, in the words of a friend, in the whisper of the wind, or in a voice clear and true—but somehow Rebekah gets from God a sense of things to come. These wrestling brothers will become two divided nations, and the greater one will serve the smaller one.[1] Many readers interpret this forecast as God’s blessing on Jacob, the younger son. But is prediction the same thing as endorsement? Just because God says that such and such will happen, does that mean that God wants this to happen? I would not be so hasty to say that this is the moment of Jacob’s blessing, that everything forward from here will favor Jacob because God favors Jacob. For me, this is simply God anticipating a complicated brotherly rivalry. It is a diagnosis, not a blessing.
It is often said that the way something begins is the way something will end. The start determines the finish.
When Rebekah gives birth, twins appear, the second one grabbing the heel of the first one. And so it will be for years to come. The younger son will always be at the heels of others, grabbing at their heels, snapping at their heels, chasing after their heels. That is what his name, Jacob, means. It comes from the word “heel.” In our own way of speaking, we might call him a “go-getter.” He will do whatever it takes to get ahead.
One day, his big brother Esau comes in from the field, famished. Jacob, quiet and calculating, is in the tent, tending to a stew. Esau is either too exhausted to speak in complete sentences, or too dull. In either case, he makes his request: “Some of this red stuff, please, for I’m exhausted!”
Jacob capitalizes on his brother’s desperation, or dull-wittedness, whichever it is. He makes a deal: he will give Esau stew in exchange for Esau giving him his birthright. Esau’s stomach is much bigger than his mind at this point, so he agrees. And Jacob, our go-getter, gets ahead.
A few weeks ago, we read the stories of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar and saw that the Bible is no fairy tale. It has laughter, yes, but it also has tears.
This week, we find that the Bible is no fable. As we read the story of Jacob, there is a strange absence of judgment. This isn’t an episode of The Waltons or Full House or Family Matters, where conflict is resolved in the space of half an hour, along with a tidy moral lesson for us to take away. Is Jacob’s behavior good? Bad? Is it held up as a model for our behavior? Or is it discouraged? We don’t know. Neither God nor the storyteller tells us.
On the one hand, I would like to say that this is clearly an immoral tale. Jacob may not break any laws, but he acts indifferently—irresponsibly—toward his own brother. I imagine if someone confronted Jacob over his behavior in this instance, he would simply shrug and say something like, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
If the story of Cain and Abel taught us anything, it’s that, “Yes, you are responsible for your brother.”
But on the other hand, as much as I would like simply to label this an immoral tale, I must also respect the truth that it tells. As immoral as this tale may be, it is also a very realistic, down-to-earth, practical, businesslike tale. This is the kind of tale that gets played out in our world, time and time again, and we would be fools to miss it.
Our world is full of go-getters—full of Jacobs. Jacobs who take what’s for the taking. Jacobs who know the right words to say and the right people to say them to. Jacobs who would never break the law but wouldn’t blink to break a heart or two if there was something in it for them. “There’s no law against taking advantage of someone else’s stupidity,” is there?[2] Jacobs, remember, are not criminals. They are simply go-getters. They are winners. They are the products of a world that preaches power, success, and happiness.
Chances are, a little bit of Jacob lives in us. We may have never cheated an older sibling out of his or her privilege. But we all play the game of power, success, and happiness from time to time. The Jacob in us seeks our own good at the expense of others. The Jacob in us is not diabolical; he only wants a better life for us, maybe for our family. The Jacob in us does not reflect long or truthfully on how his actions will affect others. He’s willing to compromise on relationships, or capitalize on the ignorance or incompetence of others, in order to get us “the invitation or the promotion,” “the pat on the back and the admiring wink.”[3]
Is today’s story really an immoral tale? Maybe not. At least not according to our world.
Today’s tale is a very common tale. The tale of Jacob is the tale of our world—which is this: that blessing means getting ahead, that blessing is the same thing as winning. For those who come on top, this tale is a fairy tale.
But there is a dark side to this tale that we would do well not to forget. It’s what we see at the very beginning of Jacob’s life. It’s what is captured in his name. The dark side to Jacob’s success is struggle. Struggle that robs him of peace and robs others of their dignity and worth.
What is blessing? How do we get it?
According to Jacob—and our world—blessing is whatever we can get our hands on. Blessing is what we must struggle for.
Is that the blessing of God? Let’s stay tuned….
God of mystery,
Who sometimes seems
Strangely absent
From the struggles of our lives:
Keep us mindful
Of the difference
Between our achievement
And your gift.
When your love and grace come to us,
May our hands be open and empty
To receive them. Amen.
[1] Most English translations say that the older one will serve the younger one, but that’s an interpretation of the literal adjectives rav, “great,” and tza‘ir, “little.”
[2] Frederick Buechner, Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2006), 6.
[3] Buechner, 6.
For these next four weeks, then, I would like to explore what is Jacob’s blessing. Inheritance? Marriage? Children? What is his blessing? And how does he get it?
The Story of a Struggle
The story of Jacob is the story of a struggle. From the very beginning, even before Jacob comes kicking and screaming into the world, his story is struggle. Fists and heels, pushing and shoving—he and his twin brother Esau are wrestling with one another in their mother’s womb.
Their prenatal throwdown is so intense that their mother, Rebekah, has some questions for God. Is this how it’s supposed to work? What the heck is this rumbling within? What’s going on?
I don’t know how God answered her—in a dream, in the words of a friend, in the whisper of the wind, or in a voice clear and true—but somehow Rebekah gets from God a sense of things to come. These wrestling brothers will become two divided nations, and the greater one will serve the smaller one.[1] Many readers interpret this forecast as God’s blessing on Jacob, the younger son. But is prediction the same thing as endorsement? Just because God says that such and such will happen, does that mean that God wants this to happen? I would not be so hasty to say that this is the moment of Jacob’s blessing, that everything forward from here will favor Jacob because God favors Jacob. For me, this is simply God anticipating a complicated brotherly rivalry. It is a diagnosis, not a blessing.
Jacob the Go-Getter
It is often said that the way something begins is the way something will end. The start determines the finish.
When Rebekah gives birth, twins appear, the second one grabbing the heel of the first one. And so it will be for years to come. The younger son will always be at the heels of others, grabbing at their heels, snapping at their heels, chasing after their heels. That is what his name, Jacob, means. It comes from the word “heel.” In our own way of speaking, we might call him a “go-getter.” He will do whatever it takes to get ahead.
One day, his big brother Esau comes in from the field, famished. Jacob, quiet and calculating, is in the tent, tending to a stew. Esau is either too exhausted to speak in complete sentences, or too dull. In either case, he makes his request: “Some of this red stuff, please, for I’m exhausted!”
Jacob capitalizes on his brother’s desperation, or dull-wittedness, whichever it is. He makes a deal: he will give Esau stew in exchange for Esau giving him his birthright. Esau’s stomach is much bigger than his mind at this point, so he agrees. And Jacob, our go-getter, gets ahead.
No Fairy Tale, No Fable
A few weeks ago, we read the stories of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar and saw that the Bible is no fairy tale. It has laughter, yes, but it also has tears.
This week, we find that the Bible is no fable. As we read the story of Jacob, there is a strange absence of judgment. This isn’t an episode of The Waltons or Full House or Family Matters, where conflict is resolved in the space of half an hour, along with a tidy moral lesson for us to take away. Is Jacob’s behavior good? Bad? Is it held up as a model for our behavior? Or is it discouraged? We don’t know. Neither God nor the storyteller tells us.
The Jacob in Us
On the one hand, I would like to say that this is clearly an immoral tale. Jacob may not break any laws, but he acts indifferently—irresponsibly—toward his own brother. I imagine if someone confronted Jacob over his behavior in this instance, he would simply shrug and say something like, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
If the story of Cain and Abel taught us anything, it’s that, “Yes, you are responsible for your brother.”
But on the other hand, as much as I would like simply to label this an immoral tale, I must also respect the truth that it tells. As immoral as this tale may be, it is also a very realistic, down-to-earth, practical, businesslike tale. This is the kind of tale that gets played out in our world, time and time again, and we would be fools to miss it.
Our world is full of go-getters—full of Jacobs. Jacobs who take what’s for the taking. Jacobs who know the right words to say and the right people to say them to. Jacobs who would never break the law but wouldn’t blink to break a heart or two if there was something in it for them. “There’s no law against taking advantage of someone else’s stupidity,” is there?[2] Jacobs, remember, are not criminals. They are simply go-getters. They are winners. They are the products of a world that preaches power, success, and happiness.
Chances are, a little bit of Jacob lives in us. We may have never cheated an older sibling out of his or her privilege. But we all play the game of power, success, and happiness from time to time. The Jacob in us seeks our own good at the expense of others. The Jacob in us is not diabolical; he only wants a better life for us, maybe for our family. The Jacob in us does not reflect long or truthfully on how his actions will affect others. He’s willing to compromise on relationships, or capitalize on the ignorance or incompetence of others, in order to get us “the invitation or the promotion,” “the pat on the back and the admiring wink.”[3]
A Very Common Tale
Is today’s story really an immoral tale? Maybe not. At least not according to our world.
Today’s tale is a very common tale. The tale of Jacob is the tale of our world—which is this: that blessing means getting ahead, that blessing is the same thing as winning. For those who come on top, this tale is a fairy tale.
But there is a dark side to this tale that we would do well not to forget. It’s what we see at the very beginning of Jacob’s life. It’s what is captured in his name. The dark side to Jacob’s success is struggle. Struggle that robs him of peace and robs others of their dignity and worth.
Struggling for Whatever We Can Get Our Hands on
What is blessing? How do we get it?
According to Jacob—and our world—blessing is whatever we can get our hands on. Blessing is what we must struggle for.
Is that the blessing of God? Let’s stay tuned….
Prayer
God of mystery,
Who sometimes seems
Strangely absent
From the struggles of our lives:
Keep us mindful
Of the difference
Between our achievement
And your gift.
When your love and grace come to us,
May our hands be open and empty
To receive them. Amen.
-----
[1] Most English translations say that the older one will serve the younger one, but that’s an interpretation of the literal adjectives rav, “great,” and tza‘ir, “little.”
[2] Frederick Buechner, Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2006), 6.
[3] Buechner, 6.
No comments:
Post a Comment