Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] July 23, 2023 “Surely God is in This Place” Genesis 28: 10-19a – The Message Jacob left Beersheba and went to Haran. He came to a certain place and camped for the night since the sun had set. He took one of the stones there, set it under his head and lay down to sleep. And he dreamed: A stairway was set on the ground and it reached all the way to the sky; angels of God were going up and going down on it. 13-15 Then God was right before him, saying, “I am God, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. I’m giving the ground on which you are sleeping to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will be as the dust of the Earth; they’ll stretch from west to east and from north to south. All the families of the Earth will bless themselves in you and your descendants. Yes. I’ll stay with you, I’ll protect you wherever you go, and I’ll bring you back to this very ground. I’ll stick with you until I’ve done everything I promised you.” 16-17 Jacob woke up from his sleep. He said, “God is in this place—truly. And I didn’t even know it!” He was terrified. He whispered in awe, “Incredible. Wonderful. Holy. This is God’s House. This is the Gate of Heaven.” 18-19 Jacob was up first thing in the morning. He took the stone he had used for his pillow and stood it up as a memorial pillar and poured oil over it. He christened the place Bethel (God’s House). Last week I shared the story of Jacob and Esau – twins born to Isaac and Rebekah, a blessed event after 20 years of trying to get pregnant. But, in an ominous sign, these twins began fighting with each other even while they were still in the womb. It was so bad, Rebekah complained, “Why should I still live?” Jacob was born trying to get ahead of his brother, grasping onto Esau’s heel to hold him back as they came down the birth canal. And he never stopped trying to get ahead of his older brother. Having failed in the womb, as adults, Jacob tricked Esau into giving him his birthright for the price of some stew. Some years later, Jacob once again tricked Esau out of his rightful place as the head of the tribe. Jacob did this by conspiring with his mother Rebekah to deceive his father Isaac. It’s a wild story as good as any soap opera and if you want to catch up, watch or read last week’s sermon. So, today’s reading begins right after Jacob tricked his twin again. Esau was so angry, he promised to kill Jacob, but he would wait to do so until after their father was dead. But before that happened, Rebekah sent her favorite twin off to live with her brother Laban. Jumping ahead in the story, that’s where he met Laban’s daughters and was tricked into marrying both of them, which then, in retaliation, Jacob schemed to steal his uncle’s sheep. My colleague Jeffrey Spencer describes Jacob as someone who puts the fun in dysfunctional. So, today’s story happens at the end of the first day of running from Esau’s murderous rage. Jacob was so dog-tired he simply used a rock for his pillow and fell into a deep sleep, the kind with dreams so convoluted you wake up tired. Do you ever have those kinds of dreams? My worst dreams are of being late to something. More than once I’ve had a dream where I realize I forgot my sermon at home and think I’ve got enough time to run home and get it but something keeps happening and finally by the time I make it back to the church, you’ve all gone home very angry that I skipped out. Running, running, running… Jacob was running for his life when he laid his head on a rock and fell into a deep sleep. And what a fascinating dream. This is the source of the famous spiritual We Are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder, except in that case, the dream was of the enslaved escaping to heaven. That’s not Jacob’s dream. In his dream he saw God’s messengers busily going up and down like office workers on what we might envision as a Mayan Temple. The original audience would have imagined ziggurats in Babylon. But wait, Jacob wouldn’t have known what a Babylonian ziggurat was. Babylon was hundreds and hundreds of years later. What was that doing in his dream? The Book of Genesis was compiled during the Babylonian exile, full of stories the people had carried with them for generations. All of them true stories, except that they didn’t actually happen. Or maybe pieces of them happened that were all sewn together like a patchwork quilt. Do you remember in school having to diagram sentences?
Sorry to the English teachers in the room, but yuck. I hated doing that. As much as I hated diagraming Bible passages in seminary. We had to dissemble the biblical patchwork quilt. We used letters like J and D and P to delineate which paragraph or story belonged to which tradition and what era it had been written.[1] But once you could see what came from where, you could understand the why – the agendas and purposes of each group that contributed to the patchwork quilt. At first, that kind of deconstruction was disturbing. I remember how after 17 years of blissful ignorance in Sunday School, I got really angry with my first college Old Testament professor. I wasn’t prepared to hear Dr. Wilterdink say that the Bible is mythological. It took me a while to calm down. He wasn’t saying the Bible is a bunch of fairy tales, but it’s not history. The Bible is true, or rather, contains truth. I can even say it’s the Word of God. But it’s not factual. It wasn’t meant to be. They are stories passed down generation to generation to explain why we are who we are and why things happened. Like in today’s reading, one question might be why is this place, this rock, special? And so, we’re told a story about our ancestor Jacob and the time he escaped from his brother and used this rock as his pillow and turned it into a sacred pillar. This story also functions as a transition to explain how he came to marry his four wives and how he came to be the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. Except, it’s not the only story of how he came to meet his cousin-wives. In the chapter right before today, Genesis 27, a different story is told that the reason Jacob went off to Uncle Laban’s is because Isaac and Rebekah couldn’t stand the wives of Esau. Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m sick to death of these Hittite women. If Jacob also marries a native Hittite woman, why should I continue to live?” The same question she asked of her feuding twins in the womb. So, in this version, Jacob is sent off to find a wife, not to escape Esau. Which is the true story? Truth is found in the meaning, not the history. After all the diagramming and dissembling, it makes total sense that it was written down during the Babylonian exile because during the exile, the Israelites were forced from their homeland, dragged away from the Temple where they worshiped God. Surely God was in that place! They mourned, how can we sing the songs of Zion in Babylon? In response, they told each other stories, including about the Patriarch Isaac and how at a time when he was utterly alone and afraid, running for his life, with only a rock for his pillow, he saw the connection of earth and heaven and woke up and exclaimed, “Surely God is in this place!” Hence, it’s a “true story” that God is not limited to a particular place. I love a good story about scandals and villains with soap opera twists. But ultimately, the question is, where is the truth in this story for you because the real commission of the spiritual life is to explore these texts until they aren’t just mythological stories about someone else but words by which we can live our lives. Words for those times, for example, when we feel utterly alone. Misunderstood or afraid. Times that we are trying to escape danger, even from family. Times when it has felt like all we’ve had was a rock for our pillow. And in those moments, asking, are we going to be OK? Richard Rohr said, “these are the places where human beings hate to go, but it’s the place where God is always leading us. It’s [the in-between place] when you have left the tried and true but have not yet been able to replace it with anything else.” We have lots of those times in our lives. Leaving a job without a new one, leaving a relationship without a new one, leaving a home and even leaving a church before you’ve found a new one. That place where we surely knew God but it’s not who we are anymore. We can visit all kinds of churches that might make a great new home but it’s not the same, even though “the same” is what we need to leave. As Rohr said, “It’s when you are between your old comfort and any new answer. [Those are anxious times and if] you are not trained in how to hold anxiety, how to live with ambiguity, how to entrust and wait, you will keep running.” The spiritual life is learning how to hold anxiety, live with ambiguity, trust and wait. Jacob wasn’t on a vision quest. He wasn’t seeking deeper answers to spiritual truths. No, he had pushed his luck too far and was now running, running, running; he was in a limbo of his own making.[2] But pay attention: That’s exactly when God told Jacob, “Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go.” It’s easy to say surely God is in this beautiful sanctuary. But that dirty-tricks scoundrel Jacob, as well as the Babylonian exiles, learned that God is not limited to one place or time. It’s a true story that God is just as surely with us in the desolate, isolated, forlorn, anxious, and ambiguous places of our lives. And if you can trust that, you don’t have to run anymore. Searching for truth in this story and meaning, I also find encouragement to listen to our dreams. Dreams are often just weird. But sometimes they are the way the sacred and divine break through to share a message. Maybe it’s a message to carry on. Maybe it’s a message that you are not alone. Maybe it’s a message for when you find yourself between a rock and a hard place, knowing you had to leave something behind but unsure about what you will find. That’s exactly where you will find God – or God will find you – and you can turn your granite pillow into a pillar of gratitude. [1] Learn a little more here: https://www.britannica.com/topic/biblical-literature/The-patriarchal-narratives [2] Barbara Brown Taylor, Dreaming the Truth, Gospel Medicine Babylonian Ziggurat
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Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] July 16, 2023 “Interesting Characters in Our Family Tree” Genesis 25: 19-34 – Common English Bible These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham became the father of Isaac. 20 Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean and the sister of Laban the Aramean, from Paddan-aram. 21 Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, since she was unable to have children. The Lord was moved by his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 But the boys pushed against each other inside of her, and she said, “If this is what it’s like, why did it happen to me?”[a] So she went to ask the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb; two different peoples will emerge from your body. One people will be stronger than the other; the older will serve the younger.” 24 When she reached the end of her pregnancy, she discovered that she had twins. 25 The first came out red all over, clothed with hair, and she named him Esau. 26 Immediately afterward, his brother came out gripping Esau’s heel, and she named him Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when they were born. 27 When the young men grew up, Esau became an outdoorsman who knew how to hunt, and Jacob became a quiet man who stayed at home. 28 Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 Once when Jacob was boiling stew, Esau came in from the field hungry 30 and said to Jacob, “I’m starving! Let me devour some of this red stuff.” That’s why his name is Edom.[b] 31 Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright[c] today.” 32 Esau said, “Since I’m going to die anyway, what good is my birthright to me?” 33 Jacob said, “Give me your word today.” And he did. He sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 So Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew. He ate, drank, got up, and left, showing just how little he thought of his birthright. In your family tree, do you have any “interesting characters”? And who knows… In a few generations, you might be the “interesting character” in your family tree. Well, here’s a doozy. A liar and a cheat – even cheating members of his own family. A deceiving dirty-tricks scoundrel willing to stoop lower than anyone could imagine. And a patriarch of three religions. Our religion. Jacob. So, to recap the last few weeks: there’s Abraham who had a child with his wife’s slave Hagar, a boy named Ishmael. And then a boy with Sarah when he was 100 years old and Sarah was 90, who you may remember laughed at the absurdity of such an idea. When he was born, they named him Isaac; later, as a 12 year old, Abraham almost sacrificed him. At age 40, Isaac married Rebekah. They too had difficulty getting pregnant and waited twenty years until Rebekah finally gave birth to twins – Esau and Jacob. But in a sign of their feuding to come, they put up a terrible battle with one another in Rebekah’s womb, all the way through the birth canal as Jacob grabbed onto the heel of Esau in an attempt to hold him back so Jacob could be born first. Jacob never gave up trying to get ahead of his twin, and he used deception, dirty tricks, lying and cheating to do it. Today’s text is just the beginning of one of the most “interesting characters” in our family tree. As you heard, Esau and Jacob may have been twins but they were nothing alike. Esau was a big brute and not the brightest bulb in the box. He was covered in red hair, even at birth, and loved hunting. Esau was his father’s favorite because he hunted for his favorite wild game – venison. On the other hand, Jacob was smaller, quieter, and “the brains” who preferred hanging around the tents. And he was his mother’s favorite. I always liked this part of the story. When I was younger, whenever we had potlucks at church, I hung out in the kitchen drying dishes so I could listen to the gossip. Did you hear what Laverne said? Girl!... Or the equivalent of whatever plump German women said. I enjoyed staying in the kitchen while all the other boys played football in the cemetery behind the church. One other detail: My brother was covered in red hair and he loves farming, hunting, and fishing. I hate touching the worms. But that’s where the brotherly comparisons stop. I hate the idea that one brother, a twin at that, would deceive the other. Jacob just couldn’t get over how a brute like Esau would inherit the family fortune. So, he came up with a scheme to trick Esau out of his birthright. Esau went out on a long hunt and Jacob knew he would come back hungry. Jacob found just the right place so the smell of his cooking would waft onto the path on which Esau would be walking home, ensuring the smell would entice Esau. Famished, Esau demanded some of Jacob’s stew but Jacob said the price would be Esau’s birthright – the rights to the entire family fortune for a bowl of stew. Even though Esau was born only seconds earlier, Esau was the eldest and entitled to it all. But the hungry Esau reasoned that he wouldn’t need his birthright if he starved to death, so he agreed – not the brightest bulb… He was enraged when he realized he had been tricked, but an oath was an oath. That’s just part one of their story. Jacob wanted more. He had the birthright and the fortune, but now he wanted the power that came with being named the leader of the tribe. That power was conferred on a father’s deathbed. Without such a blessing, Jacob would have been rich but not powerful. So, years later, Isaac lay on his death bed. The time had come for the blessing that conferred power over the tribe. Esau may have been tricked out his birthright, but he wasn’t going to be tricked out of this one. To please his father and seal the deal, Esau promised Isaac that he would go hunting and bring back his favorite game – venison. However, Rebekah overheard their conversation and told Jacob and the two of them conspired to trick Isaac and steal from Esau. Here’s how: Isaac was blind. While Esau was out on his hunt, Rebekah told Jacob to slaughter a goat and she would cook it to taste like venison. They dressed Jacob in Esau’s clothes so he would smell like his brother and put goatskin on his hands and neck so that when Isaac went to embrace Jacob, he would feel hairy like his brother. Isaac ate the fake venison, felt the hairy goat skin on his arms and neck when they embraced, but he was curious that his voice sounded like Jacob’s. He asked if that was really Esau. Jacob lied and, lowering his voice, said yes. And so, Isaac conferred upon Jacob the irrevocable blessing intended for Esau. Esau returned home with the venison and realized he had been tricked again. This time he was so angry he vowed to kill Jacob. But the story continues. Rebekah sent Jacob away to live with her brother, Laban. While living with Uncle Laban, Jacob fell in love with his daughter Rachel – yes, his first cousin, but at the time not forbidden. Uncle Laban agreed that Jacob could marry Rachel as long as he worked for him for seven years. Seven years went by, Jacob and his new wife consummated the marriage, but when the bridal veil was lifted for the first time, Jacob discovered he had just slept with Rachel’s older sister, Leah. Soap opera, anyone? Jacob was enraged that he had been tricked. Doesn’t feel very good, does it? Uncle Laban reasoned it would have been wrong for the younger sister to be married before the older, but he did offer that if Jacob worked for him another seven years, he could then marry the true love of his life, Rachel. By the way, married to two first cousins, sisters, at the same time. Jacob wasn’t simply going to let the deception go without revenge, so during those seven years, he ran a scheme against his uncle to steal his best sheep. Laban had agreed that he would keep all the white sheep and Jacob could have all the darker colored ones. Got it? Jacob painted the sheep so he could take them. Can anyone say dysfunctional family? Jacob and Laban lived together in an uneasy peace for six more years. One day, Jacob decided it was time to leave and try to reunite with his estranged brother Esau. But for whatever reason, he didn’t want to tell Uncle Laban he was leaving. So, while Laban was away, Jacob packed everything and everyone up, including Laban’s daughters. When Laban came home, he was angry that Jacob had simply left, but he was even more upset when he realized Jacob had stole all of his household gods – worth a lot of money. Laban raced after the traveling band and demanded his idols back, but Jacob’s beloved wife Rachel sat on them and proclaimed it was her time of the month so no one could touch her. You know the old saying, the family that steals together stays together. It was at that spot, a place known as Mizpah, that Jacob and Laban made a sort of peace with each other. They told each other “May the Lord keep watch between you and me while we are away one from the other.” We say that to each other at the end of every Church Council meeting. We hold our hands up to the Zoom screen and say this line to each other. I snicker to myself every time because it’s more than a blessing. It’s a warning. Laban and Jacob are really saying to each other, “I can’t keep my eye on you, but God will know what you’re up to.” And with that Mizpah Blessing, Uncle Laban went back home without his idols or his best sheep. The tricksters playing off each other back and forth. There is more to this story but I will get to that next week. What a family tree! When we tell family stories, we often clean them up a little, smooth out some of the rough edges. If this is the sanitized version, wow. But of course, there are plenty more stories in the Bible that are even more scandalous that this. King David alone will cause fainting and fury. I like these stories of real people because if God can use dirty tricks scoundrels like them, then surely God can use me. And you. And everyone we imagine to be outside the grace of God. And in that way, this story, and many others, isn’t primarily about us. It’s about the kind of God to whom we all belong. A God who loves me and who loves you. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Even Jacob. So, was all that trickery and deception OK? Is the Bible saying it’s alright to do all those things as long as it’s for a good reason? I don’t think so. Jesus asked, “what good is it to gain the whole world and lose your soul.” I think this falls more in line with Paul’s statement to the Romans: There is nothing in all of creation that can separate you from the love of God. “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Neither will lying, cheating, and trickery separate us, though I don’t recommend it as a philosophy of life. But I am grateful that no matter who we are on our family tree, God always has room for us. As well as all the dirty trick scoundrels to whom we are related. |
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March 2024
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