30.07.2009 :: Genesis 33

Anglican Cycle of Prayer:
Psalm: 45 1 Sam 16:14-23
Ripon and Leeds - (York, England) The Rt Rev'd John Richard Packer
Ripon and Leeds - Knaresborough - (York, England) The Rt Rev'd James Harold Bell

Reading:
Genesis 33

Thoughts:
There must have been subtext that doesn't come through in the Biblical text. Esau tells Jacob he doesn't want the gifts; Jacob insists; Esau accepts. Esau tells Jacob to come now; Jacob makes an excuse; Esau says he will stay with Jacob; Jacob tells him not to bother; Esau relents and goes on ahead. Then Jacob doesn't go where Esau is - he makes himself a home elsewhere.

It is not revealed why Jacob goes to Shechem instead of to Seir, which is apparently where Esau settled.

Tomorrow: a story of familial love. It's a bit violent, but it's a good story.

29.07.2009 :: Genesis 32

Anglican Cycle of Prayer:
Psalm: 44:1-8 Mk 12:35-40
Rio Grande - (Province VII, USA) Vacant

Reading:
Genesis 32

Thoughts:
Jacob contacts his estranged brother, sending him an incredibly generous gift. Then he sends his household on ahead and spends the night alone.

Well, not quite alone.

He wrestles with God this night, and not metaphorically. Jacob is so strong that he is only defeated when God displaces his hip.

I don't know how smart it is to argue with God. I've done it myself, but always with the knowledge and understanding that I am rather unlikely to win out. It's more of a venting when I do it - we all know I'm going to surrender eventually, I just want to put on a bit of a show first. Kind of like an overtired child, fighting sleep.

I have a feeling that, if I were to see God face to face, I probably would find myself flat on the ground in awe and wonder. I certainly wouldn't take him on in any kind of a fight!

I expect that Jacob's wounded hip served as a reminder that he wasn't actually all-powerful. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd become a little bit proud of his wit and cunning; he is, after all, the trickster. "Pride goes before a fall," as the saying goes, and perhaps it is this story that begins the roots of it.

28.07.2009 :: Genesis 31

Anglican Cycle of Prayer:
Psalm: 43 Mk 12:28-34
Rio de Janeiro - (Brazil) The Rt Rev'd Celso Franco de Oliveira
Coadjutor - (Brazil) The Rt Rev'd Filadelfo Oliviera Neto

Reading:
Genesis 31

Thoughts:
Well, obvoiusly Laban is none too pleased with his son-in-law. So God tells Jacob to get himself gone. He discusses it with his wives, and they approve of the idea, so they all get ready and leave.

Of course, Rachel steals some stuff from her father while she's packing. (This family is really dishonest!)

Laban goes after Jacob, but God warns him not to do anything nasty. Properly chastened, Laban merely asks about the missing things. Jacob allows Laban to search, and Rachel cleverly sits on the things she stole, telling her father that she cannot stand because she is having her period.

Jacob and Laban build an altar and make a covenant between them, and then Laban leaves Jacob and his family to their own devices.

27.07.2009 :: Genesis 30

Anglican Cycle of Prayer:
Psalm: 42 Mk 12:18-27
Rift Valley - (Tanzania) The Rt Rev'd John Daudi Lupaa

Reading:
Genesis 30

Thoughts:
Battling sisters/wives give their husband their servants. Each servant bears Jacob two sons. He has eight sons. Then (this family is great at making deals) Rachel sells her night with Jacob to Leah for some mandrakes, and Leah proceeds to have two more sons and follows that up with a daughter. Jacob now has ten sons and one daughter.

Finally, God blesses Rachel's womb and she gives birth to Joseph (of Technicolour Dreamcoat fame). Eleven sons, one daughter, two wives, two maids. Jacob is blessed. Or not, as the case may be.

Jacob tells Laban he wants to leave now; take his family and go. Laban wants to pay him, but Jacob comes up with a better way of making sure nobody owes anyone anything: he'll stay a bit longer, and take with him all the spotted and striped babies.

Of course, then Laban decides to try to trick Jacob again, and he removes all of the striped and spotted goats. Everyone knows that solid goats breed solid goats, right?

Um, not if they mate in front of poplar, almond, and plane rods that have been cut so that they are striped. Apparently. Though Jacob put them in the watering troughs, so maybe this is one instance where there truly was "something in the water."

He does this several times, apparently, making sure that the rods are in the troughs when the stronger animals are breeding but not when the weaker animals are breeding. In the end, Jacob has a large, strong, well-bred flock all his own, and Laban... doesn't.

24.06.2009 :: Birth of St John the Baptist :: Genesis 29

Anglican Cycle of Prayer:
Psalm: 18:1-16 Jdg 13
Oxford - (Canterbury, England) The Rt Rev'd John L Pritchard
Oxford - Buckingham - (Canterbury, England) The Rt Rev'd Dr. Alan Thomas Lawrence Wilson
Oxford - Dorchester - (Canterbury, England) The Rt Rev'd Colin William Fletcher
Oxford - Reading - (Canterbury, England) The Rt Rev'd Stephen Geoffrey Cottrell

Reading:
Genesis 29

Thoughts:
So Jacob falls for Rachel, because she is beautiful. He works seven years to be able to marry her. And then Laban married him off to Leah, who is older than Rachel, instead. The trickster has been tricked.

But wait!

Jacob makes a deal with his father-in-law. He'll spend the next week as Leah's husband, then he'll marry Rachel, too, and then he'll work for Laban for another seven years.

All of which he does. So the trickster now has two wives, and they are sisters. And, of course, he favours the younger one because she is prettier than the older one.

Well, he can't have been too turned off by Leah's looks, because God opens her womb and she has lots of kids for Jacob. Rachel's progeny total two by the end, and the man has twelve sons (and at least one daughter) by his two wives and their maids.

But, well, as always, the story gets more interesting as we go, and by the time this chapter ends we only have four sons, all borne of Leah. Let's see what happens next!

22.06.2009 :: Genesis 28

Anglican Cycle of Prayer:
Psalm: 16 Mk 8:27-33
Owerri - (Province of Owerri, Nigeria) The Rt Rev'd Dr Cyril Chukwunonyerem Okorocha

Reading:
Genesis 28

Thoughts:
Jacob gets sent to his wife's relatives to find a wife and to get away from Esau. Esau, hearing his father tell Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman (which is what both of his wives are), goes off and finds himself an Ishmaelite wife. Which... how is that a good idea? Really? Your parents don't like your spouse, so you add one you hope they'll like better? Esau really wasn't all that bright, was he?

Anyway, Jacob heads off to seek his fortune, basically. And before he gets to his destination, he has a dream of angels ascending and descending a never-ending staircase. He is also given a promise in the dream. He's a lucky, lucky man, is Jacob. God is going to bless him, even though he's tricky, a bit mean, and only on the lookout for himself.

Someday maybe we'll understand this one?

20.06.2009 :: Genesis 27

Anglican Cycle of Prayer:
Psalm: 15 Mk 8:1-10
Ottawa - (Ontario, Canada) The Rt Rev'd John Holland Chapman

Reading:
Genesis 27

Thoughts:
Jacob is a trickster, that's for sure. But his trickery comes and bites him back this time: his brother decides to kill him.

It's good that Rebekah is looking out for her favourite child, since she's the one who told him to steal Esau's blessing in the first place.

This story always makes me wonder if the Hittite women Esau married were really all that bad. I wonder if maybe Rebekah was no picnic for them, either. Was she a shrew, a nag, a woman you didn't want to cross? It's an interesting question. We aren't really given much to go on here, but I wouldn't be surprised.

19.06.2009 :: Genesis 26

Anglican Cycle of Prayer:
Psalm: 13 Jdg 11:1-6,29-40
Osun - (Province of Ibadan, Nigeria) The Rt Rev'd James Afolabi Popoola

Reading:
Genesis 26

Thoughts:
Wow, like father like son, eh? Isaac lies to people about Rebekah just as Abraham lied about Sarah. You'd think he would have learned... or maybe Abraham never told him about that part.

God blesses Isaac with prosperity. Wells, herds, and crops. What more could a man ask for?

...Maybe agreeable daughters-in-law?