May I start this week with a poem?
Striding
Three boys, brothers
by their gaze and gait;
the taller two steps
ahead. The smaller
messing with stuffed
pockets half runs
to keep up.
Did we walk that way?
Me strutting ahead
embarrassed by your
childishness, playing
it cool, almost a man.
We walk together now,
measured pace.
Three men, brothers.
Craig Muir, 2019
This poem came to mind because this Sunday we look at the brothers Esau and Jacob. Our sibling relationships can often be difficult. We know the buttons to press and have been doing it for a lifetime. The three of us have certainly had our moments, but at this time we use our differing abilities to manage the care of our parents, supporting each other and the wider family.
We sometimes think of church as a family. We know how to discomfort one another, yet can also be incredibly supportive and encouraging. We are living in times where we need to learn new things from one another. People we have relied upon are having to rethink their availability and the rhythm of life. We are looking for new generations to emerge and help, and this is a time when different gifts and skills are required, so may we learn how to walk together, measured pace. And talking of learning, I’m told that the numbers below are too small for some, so …..
Our midweek fellowship at 7pm on Thursday will be a time of prayer using the same link as we use each Sunday.
Prayer
Your word is a lamp giving light where we walk.
Your laws are fair-minded, we give you our word.
Accept these offerings, teach us your ways
Hear our pain, lighten our load
Hymn
Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father
there is no shadow of turning with thee
thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not
as thou hast been thou for ever wilt be.
Great is thy faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness
morning by morning, new mercies I see:
all I have needed thy hand hath provided
great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.
Bible Genesis 25:19-34
Reflection
Abraham has exited and we turn to a new generation. But, the focus quickly moves past Isaac, and onto his sons Esau and Jacob. Like other biblical births, they arrive when God is ready as an answer to prayer and as a story of struggle. It is the struggle of siblings for attention, prominence, inheritance. It is the striving of nations to be stronger than the other, to shape their own destiny. Sets fast food against slow cooking, instant gratification against the long game. It challenges notions of entitled inheritance and asks questions about the birthright anyone is able to claim.
Competition seems to be ingrained. It can be expressed through sport, comparing houses, salaries or status. Do we naturally support the winners or the underdog? Do we admire Esau’s brute strength, the rugged outdoors type or Jacob’s quickness of mind? Are our competitive instincts wetted by SkySports or Bake Off? Sometimes such rivalry has produced great achievements, yet in others we can see centuries of enmity. We know the benefits of worldwide co-operation, yet still the mantra is to be world-beating.
Jacob inherits the promise made to his grandparents. But he will not acquire that promise by birthright, or by his own skill or because he is stronger, wiser, greater than anyone else. He will be a child of promise because he is chosen by God. He is not chosen for his obvious good qualities, indeed some might look at Jacob and wonder if he has any good qualities. Yet, there is a faithfulness, a precariousness about him, that will trust in God. He has some freedom to live life as he chooses, and yet freedom is bounded by choices God has made on Jacob’s behalf. Just as the choices we can make are restricted by so many factors, including the call God makes upon us. Here, at the beginning of this story we see Jacob and Esau in conflict with their birthrights.
Prayer
Garland us with hope,
Hold us with love
Catch us with joy
Turn us to your course
Hymn
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside.
Great is thy faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness
morning by morning, new mercies I see:
all I have needed thy hand hath provided
great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.
T G Chisolm (1866-1960)
