Sermon: "Shalom" (Genesis 27:1-16)

Back in March - just two months ago - I preached on a scripture that I had never before preached on, at least not in the eleven years I’ve been here at Bixby Knolls Christian Church: the story of how Jacob stole his father’s blessing from his brother Esau.

Then last month, I came up with the wonderful idea to take seven Sundays and preach on the seven scriptures that we’ll be studying during the seven days of church camp, as a way to prepare for camp and to strengthen the connection between camp and congregation.

I should have looked at it more closely. Because now we get that same scripture that I preached on just two months ago. 

It took me eleven years to figure out something to say about this scripture… Now I’ve gotta do it again…

Fortunately the more time I spend with this story, the more interesting it becomes...

The story of Jacob stealing the blessing from his brother Esau is the Bible story we’ll explore on the third day of camp at Loch Leven. You may recall that each day at camp, we will have a “word of the day” that goes with the Bible story, and the word of the day that goes with the story of Jacob and Esau is the Hebrew word shalom.

You are familiar with the word shalom. Like the word aloha, it means peace. Blessing. Goodwill. And it is offered as a greeting. Shalom aleikem. Peace be with you.

After Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to his disciples, and he offered them this greeting. 

Shalom aleikem. Peace be with you.

He said this to them three times. He must have meant it.

However, in this story of Jacob and Esau, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of shalom. There doesn’t seem to be much peace, goodwill, or blessing between the two brothers. Isaac, the father of Jacob and Esau, tried to offer shalom to his sons, but it ended up driving them further apart.

The camp curriculum suggests that we imagine how the story would have changed if, at any point, one of the characters had offered this greeting; if Jacob or Esau or Isaac their father, or Rebekah their mother, had interrupted the chain of events and the escalating rivalry between the two brothers with a word of shalom. 

If you were to rewrite this story, and give it a better ending, at what point would you insert shalom into the narrative? How would you insert shalom? At what point could this story have taken a turn and gone in a new, better direction?  ...

Thinking about these things might lead you to examine your own life, and the conflicts and disagreements in your own life. 

Thinking about these things might lead you to ask yourself: what can I say or do to move my relationships toward peace, toward reconciliation, and away from strife and animosity and rivalry? 

When I preached on this Bible story two months ago, I talked about Isaac’s blessing, and how that blessing was full of truth, and how Jacob stole that blessing. 

But I don’t think I told you what happened after Jacob stole the blessing... 

What happened after Jacob stole the blessing is that Esau, his brother, got so angry, that he vowed to kill Jacob. You don’t just steal Esau’s birthright and his blessing, and get away with it! 

So Jacob stone the blessing, but now Jacob's life was in danger. 

Fortunately, Jacob heard about his brother’s plans, and Jacob escaped. Jacob ran away. He went to live with a relative in a distant land - to escape the wrath of his brother Esau.

Jacob didn’t want to leave his home, but he didn’t have any choice. He couldn’t stay when his brother was determined to kill him. Such were the consequences of stealing his brother’s blessing.

And I wonder how long it was before Jacob started asking himself: was it worth it?

While he’s away from home, Jacob meets a beautiful woman named Rachel, and he falls in love. Every time he looks at Rachel, his eyes light up, his heart starts beating faster, and no matter what he does, he can’t wipe the smile off his face. Even when he’s working, toiling away, he has that smile, because he can’t stop thinking of her.

He goes to Rachel’s father to ask permission to marry her. Rachel’s father tells Jacob he can marry Rachel, but only if Jacob works for him for seven years. Jacob’s love for Rachel is so great, he immediately says yes. And the years pass by quickly, because all he can do is think of her.

However, after the seven years are up, Rachel’s father tricks Jacob into marrying Rachel’s older sister Leah, instead of Rachel. Jacob says: “But I wanted to marry Rachel!” 

And Rachel’s father says, “OK, but for that, you’ll have to work for me for another seven years.

        And because he loves Rachel so much, Jacob says yes.

Evidently the stolen blessing didn’t protect Jacob from these types of shenanigans. Perhaps Jacob realizes this, because after all this - after he marries both Leah and Rachel…

Jacob decides to return home.

It’s been a long time, but, Jacob is still afraid of his brother Esau. In fact, he prays earnestly to God that God  would save him from his brother. Jacob is convinced that Esau still wants to kill him.

And again, the question arises: Was it worth it? Was it worth living in exile from one’s family, living in fear of one’s own brother, being subject to the trickery of others, all as a result of the stolen birthright and stolen blessing?

Was it worth it?

Jacob wrestles with these thoughts in his mind. Then Jacob gets into a wrestling match with God. Literally. Jacob and God wrestle all night, and Jacob does really well, but he ends up with a limp. Jacob even gets a new name: from that day forward, he is known as Israel, a name that means “wrestles with God.”

The next day Jacob hears that Esau is on his way to meet him.

And it’s not just Esau. Both Jacob and Esau are now the heads of large households - households that were more like tribes, each with its own army of soldiers. Is a great, epic, Game of Thrones-type battle between the house of Jacob and the house of Esau about to take place? 

That is exactly what Jacob is afraid of. Jacob doesn’t want this battle. He’s terrified of a battle with his brother. He’s terrified that Esau is going to kill him. He's terrified of Esau's dragons.

Just kidding. There are no dragons in this story. But Jacob is still terrified. 

He tries to make peace. He sends gifts to Esau. He sends members of his household to make an appeal to Esau. And then he himself heads out to meet Esau, and he’s so afraid, he’s trembling.

Jacob and Esau approach one another... They look into each other’s eyes... 

And Esau takes his arms, and wraps them around Jacob in a great big hug.

And suddenly, these two brothers, who hadn’t seen each other in many years, are weeping and kissing. 

Then Esau says: “what’s with all the gifts?”

Jacob says, “It’s to ask for my brother’s kindness.”

Esau replies, “I have more than enough. Keep what’s yours.”

Then Jacob realized that Esau had long ago moved on with his life, and moved past the animosity between them, while Jacob was holding on to the pain and the fear of the stolen blessing. Shalom and reconciliation could have come a lot sooner; the only thing that prevented a restored relationship between the two brothers had been Jacob’s fear.

But now, shalom had finally found its way back into their relationship, and all was as it should have been between Jacob and Esau.

What is it that keeps us from restoring the relationships in our lives? Is it fear? Is it pride? 

Jesus says that God blesses the peacemakers. God blesses those who find their way to shalom, who live in shalom, who build relationships and communities of shalom. 

And to do that, we need to ask ourselves, over and over: how can we insert shalom into our lives? How can we insert shalom into our relationships? What actions can we take, what words can we say, that will turn the plot toward peace, toward reconciliation, toward love, toward wholeness?

To turn the plot toward shalom requires that we overcome our fear. To turn the plot toward shalom means we dare to engage in the difficult work of peacemaking. 

Being a peacemaker doesn’t mean you sit back and do nothing. Peacemaking is active, not passive. It means you take the risk that peace requires. 

It took Jacob a long time to overcome his fear and make peace with his brother. That’s because peacemaking is not easy. Some of the most difficult words we may ever have to say is: “I love you.” “I’m sorry.” “Will you forgive me?”

We can’t apologize for someone else. We can’t say, “I’m sorry YOU feel that way.” That’s not peacemaking.

We can only say “I’m sorry for what I did.” And we can only control our own actions. We can react in kindness and love, or we can react with spite and anger. The choice is ours. 

Ideally, it will take us a lot less time than it took Jacob. But even if it does, it is never too late to insert shalom into our story.

How will you insert shalom into your story? That's the question this story presents to us. How will you change your plot? How will you insert into the story of your life:  peace. reconciliation. forgiveness. friendship. love...

Sermon: "Truth" (Genesis 27:26-29)

What we just heard is Isaac giving his blessing to his son Jacob.

Some of you know this story.

And if you know this story, then you know that all is not as it seems.

There is a joke here. A prank.

Who can tell us what that is?

Isaac is giving his blessing to his son Jacob, BUT Isaac thinks he is giving his blessing to his other son Esau - Jacob’s twin, older by just a few minutes.

Isaac has been deceived. Jacob has played a joke by pretending to be Esau, but the consequences of Isaac’s joke are much more serious and much more long-lasting than the jokes we’ll be hearing shortly during our St. Patrick’s Day lunch.

Now, you might be wondering: how on earth did Jacob trick his father Isaac into giving him the blessing that his father meant to give to Esau...

Well. When this story takes place, Isaac is old and blind. Isaac thinks death might be coming soon for him. So he summons his oldest son - Esau - and says to Esau:

“My son, I’m old and don’t know when I will die. So take your hunting gear - your bow, your quiver of arrows - and go out and hunt some game for me. Make me the delicious food that I love and bring it to me so I can eat. Then I can bless you before I die.”

And Esau heads out to hunt.

While Esau is out hunting, their mother, Rebekah, goes to Jacob and says, “I just heard your father tell your brother Esau to go hunt some game and make some delicious food, so he can then give Esau his blessing. Here’s what you need to do: go to the flock and get two young goats, and I’ll prepare the food your father loves, and you can take it to him, and he will eat it, and he will bless you before he dies.”

Now, Jacob’s not dumb. He says, “won’t father know it’s me and not Esau? Esau is a hairy man, but I have smooth skin. What if he touches me - he’ll find out, and I’ll be cursed instead of blessed!”

But his mother Rebekah has it all figured out...

So Jacob goes and gets the goats. Then his mother Rebekah makes the food. She also takes Esau’s favorite clothes and puts them on Jacob… and then she takes the hide of the goats, and puts it over the smooth neck and arms of Jacob, so that if their father Isaac touches him, he will feel the goat hair and think it is Esau.

It’s a foolproof plan!

Jacob goes to his father Isaac. “Father,” he says, “I’m here… It’s me, uh, Esau. Here, eat this food I made you.”

Isaac says: “How did you find this so quickly, my son?”

Jacob says, “The Lord your God led me right to it!”

Isaac says: “Come here, let me touch you.”

Jacob approaches his father Isaac, and Isaac touches him, and feels the goat hair, and Isaac says: “the voice is Jacob’s voice, but the arms are Esau’s arms. Are you really my son Esau?”

Jacob says, “I am.”

And Isaac says, “OK!” Isaac eats the food, and gives Jacob his blessing - the blessing that was supposed to be for Esau.

Well, soon after this, Esau comes back from his hunt, prepares his food, and takes it to his father. His father says, “Who are you?”

And Esau says, “What do you mean? It’s me, your oldest son Esau.”

Isaac is shocked. He’s trembling. He says, “Then who was that who just came? He brought me food and I ate it, and I gave him my blessing!”

Oh! When Esau hears what his father said, he lets out a loud agonizing cry and weeps bitterly. He says to his father, “Bless me! Me, too, father!”

But Isaac says, “It’s too late. Your brother has already come deceitfully and has taken your blessing. I’ve already made him more powerful than you, and I’ve made all of his brothers his servants.”

Isaac can’t give Esau the blessing for the first-born, because it’s already been given to Isaac. All Isaac can do is give Esau a secondary blessing, but it’s not as good as the blessing Jacob got. Jacob got the blessing of the firstborn son, and that blessing can’t be undone.

It was an awfully mean trick Jacob played on his brother, wasn’t it? At lunch we’re going to hear some jokes that make us laugh, but Jacob’s joke is one that made his brother cry.

There is some deep truth here, in the story of Jacob stealing his brother’s blessing. To understand that deep truth, we need to take a short detour and spend a few minutes with the Creation story.

So, stick with me as I talk about Creation for a few minutes, and then I’ll come back to the story of Jacob.

In Genesis chapter one, we read of God creating the world. God says, “Let there be light,” and there is light. God says, “Let the waters be separated,” and the waters were separated. God says, “Let dry land appear,” and dry land appears. God says, “Let plants appear,” and plants appear. God says “Let stars and planets appear in the sky,” and stars and planets appear in the sky. God says, “Let the animals appear,” and the animals appear.

Every time God speaks a word, that word instantly becomes truth.

God speaks, and creation happens. God’s word is so powerful, so full of truth, that there is no distance, no gap, between what God says and what God does.

You hear people say, “If you’re going to talk the talk, you better walk the walk.” That’s because they are too familiar with people whose talk doesn’t match their walk.

But with God, talk and action are not two separate things. If God says it, it happens. The truth of the spoken word is so true, so complete…

Now, look again at the blessing Isaac gives to Jacob. The words of the blessing are so complete, so true, that once they are spoken, the blessing goes into effect. Isaac’s words are true, and there is great power in truth.

Why can’t Isaac take back his blessing and give it to Esau?

The words Isaac spoke in pronouncing the blessing do not work that way. They are words of truth. Truth is bound to action - the two cannot be separated. Just like the words God spoke at creation.

In Harry Potter, this same idea is present, when Harry’s name comes out of the Goblet of Fire.

The names that come out of the Goblet of Fire are the names of those who must compete in the Triwizard Tournament, and Harry’s name came out… but Harry’s name wasn’t supposed to come out.  

Why can’t they just nullify the act, which was obviously not meant to happen? Why can’t they just say, “Harry, your name came out, but obviously there’s a glitch, you don’t have to compete.”

They can’t. Because when it comes to magic in the world of Harry Potter, truth works the same way as it does in Genesis 1. Once spoken, word becomes truth. It can’t be undone.

Imagine if everyone lived that way: anytime somebody says something, says they’ll do something, you can know without a doubt that they will do it. You don’t have to wonder if they will follow through. They’ll do it because they said so… and their word is true, 100% of the time.

Isaac’s blessing upon Jacob can’t be undone, because Isaac’s word is true. To undo the blessing would mean making the word of Isaac into a lie. And a blessing that invokes the name of God just can’t be made into a lie.

It’s a terrible outcome for Esau, and we can’t help but feel sorry for him. Even though the Bible has us rooting for Jacob, we still feel sorry for Esau.

But at the same time, I am in awe of the sacred value this story places on the truth of one’s word.

More and more today we encounter people whose word doesn’t mean a thing. A person can say one thing today, and something else tomorrow.

People will make up their own truth to fit their agenda - and the truth they make up is nothing but lies. “Alternative facts.” “Fake news.”

And much of the conversation in our society today is being shaped by lies.

Lies like:

Vaccinations cause autism.

Climate change is a hoax.

Immigrants are mostly criminals and terrorists.

People want to believe these things, and they want others to believe them, even though they are not true. They repeat them over and over until people think they are true, but that doesn’t make them true.

At the Academy Awards a few weeks ago, Barbra Streisand helped introduce the movie BlacKKKlansman, which was nominated for best picture. In praising BlacKKKlansman, Streisand said that the movie “is based on truth, and truth is very rare these days.”

Truth is very rare these days.

What is true is that vaccinations save lives. Vaccinations were developed by science, and science is not made up. As Neil DeGrasse Tyson says, science is true whether you believe it or not.

What is true is that climate change is real. It is occurring at a rate that far outpaces anything that’s ever happened before, and human activity is the reason...and it is incredibly destructive. This week's unprecedented flooding in the midwest is a result of climate change. We have the research and data to support this, and the data are true, whether you believe them or not.

What is true is that, since 1990, 2 million white people have moved out of california and 12 million immigrants have moved into California. In that time, when we’ve had this huge influx of immigrants, the economy has grown/improved at a better rate than the nation at large, and violent crimes are at record low levels. In other words, immigrants are not the criminals and terrorists that we’re told they are. In fact, more acts of terrorism have been committed by right-wing white supremacists. The terrorist attack this week in New Zealand is another example of this. The statistics don’t lie. They are true, whether you like it or not.

And many don’t like it. So they twist the truth into a lie. They come deceitfully, like Jacob approaching his father Isaac, and they steal the truth.

They present lies as truth. Repeated often enough, people believe the lies. They see them repeated again and again on TV, on social media; and the ideas get embedded in their minds, and they believe the lies.

Derek Penwell, a clergy colleague of mine, writes in his new book that he was once asked to explain to a class of 2nd graders what he did.

At first he wasn’t sure how to do that - how to explain to those 7 and 8 year-olds what he did as a pastor, in a way they would understand.

When he figured it out, this is what he said:

“My job is to tell people the truth.  My job is to tell people the truth about how much God loves them and how God expects them to act toward one another… Telling the truth is the main part of my job.”

Truth is powerful. Especially in a world of lies. Especially in a world that tries to fool us, trick us, deceive us. Truth is revolutionary. Truth is liberating. Truth is holy. Truth is what we are called to.