17 Sabbath after Pentecost

Sept 21/23, 2007

Victor H. Nixon

RECONCILIATION WITH OTHERS

Genesis 33:1-11

This is the third in the series of sermons on reconciliation. Previous sermons have dealt with reconciliation with God and reconciliation with oneself. Next week we’ll look at the ministry of reconciliation. Today we explore reconciliation with others through the story of two brothers.

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"Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming, and four hundred men with him." Not good news. Jacob’s worst nightmare had become reality. In short, his past had caught up with him, as it almost always does, and he was faced with the decision of his life.

Some history might help understand Jacob’s plight. Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebekah. He had a twin brother, Esau, who was born first by seconds, an accident of birth that determined their destiny because according to the rules of primogeniture the eldest child became the inheritor of property and position in the family. So, the stage is set for a tale of sibling rivalry.

Sly Jacob, on the other hand, was an indoor man, smooth and slick, spent most of his time in the tent. He was his mother's pet. Sly was a wheeler-dealer, especially when it came to real estate and property. With his mother's help, he swindled Bubba out of his inheritance with a bowl of beans. I know it sounds strange, but I'm not making this up. It's all in the 26th chapter of Genesis.

Bubba had returned from a hunt one day, hungry as a bear out of hibernation, and smelled the aroma of his favorite dish wafting from the tent. He flung open the tent door and said, "Sly, gimme some of that cornbread and beans!" "Sure, Bubba," Sly replied, "if you'll give me your birthright." Bubba grabbed a spoon and plate. "What use is a birthright when I'm a starvin' to death!" He headed for the bean pot. "Wait!" Sly yelled. "You've got to swear." So, Bubba put his plate over his heart and raised his spoon and swore to sell his birthright for a plate of beans, crossed his heart and hoped to die if he didn't. And that's how Sly Jacob gained control of Bubba Esau's inheritance.

When they were 40 years old, another incident happened that split the family for good. Some people, you know, carry their sibling rivalries right into middle age. Father Isaac was old and almost blind, thought he was going to die. He called Bubba into his tent and told him that there were two things he wanted before he died. "If I could just have one more dish of that fresh venison stew you make, I'd go happy," he said. "And the other thing is that I want to give you my blessing." Blessings were not just solemn words but the conveyance of family leadership and power.

Bubba was thrilled. He grabbed his beer and bow and headed for the woods. (Hey, I know what goes on in the deer woods!) His mother, Rebekah, had overheard the conversation between Bubba and his daddy. She wanted Sly to head up the family. So the two of them put together another deal. She convinced Sly to dress up in a camouflage outfit so he'd look like Bubba while she prepared a lamb stew to die for. It worked. Sly fooled the old man into giving him the coveted blessing that made him the leader of his people. Bubba was furious and vowed to kill him, so Sly had to leave town. Thanks to his greed and her favoritism, he never saw his mother again.

He headed up north to Uncle Laban's place where the next part of this story takes place and where, at the local watering hole, Sly and Rachel met and fell in love. They were headed for matrimony head over heels, but Uncle Laban out-swindled the swindler by requiring that Sly work for seven years as payment for Rachel's hand. Then, on the wedding day, he sneaked her older sister, Leah, down the aisle instead. (Remember: this was back in the days when you couldn't see through the bridal veil.) When Sly complained, ole Laban said, "Well, Sly, Leah is older and should be married first. If you'll agree to work another seven, you can have Rachel." Amazingly, Sly agreed.

He also had a plan of his own. Uncle Laban had put him in charge of the sheep and, just to sweeten the deal, told Sly that he could keep the spotted, less valuable lambs. Well, Sly, who knew opportunity when he saw it, started a little experiment in animal husbandry. Would you believe it, before long there were more spotted than solid-colored animals? By the time Laban figured out what happened, Sly had both daughters and most of the sheep! He was rich. Now it was Uncle Laban who was unhappy. So, Jacob again had to leave town. He gathered his family, his livestock and belongings and headed back toward home. Alienation is Jacob’s history.

So here we find our Hebrew hero, twenty years later, camped on the Jabbok River across from the Promised Land, when the bad news came that Bubba Esau was on his way to meet him with an army. Sly's past has caught up with him. He can't go back because he’s alienated from his father-in-law. He's afraid to go forward because of his brother. Jacob’s life is in jeopardy.

Sly prayed to God for deliverance ((32:9), sent livestock on ahead as gifts to Bubba, then moved his family and herds on across the Jabbok River. Sly remained behind alone. That night something amazing happened. The text says, "a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day" (33:24). But it is obvious that the mysterious person was God in human form. Although he came away from the encounter limping, a physical reminder of who is really in charge, Sly Jacob was given a new identity, Israel, which means "one who strives with God."

If struggling with God can change a scoundrel like Jacob, then there's hope for you and me. This is the good news. No matter what your past, God sees promise in you. God will bless you, give you a new identity and a new hope for the future. It may involve struggle, but who ever said that faith was easy?

Limping across the Jabbok, Sly saw Bubba and his henchman ride up, sending a shiver up his spine as he remembered that his brother had vowed to kill him. He went out to meet Bubba, bowing seen times to the ground, wondering, no doubt, if this day would be his very last. When he looked up, he saw Bubba Esau jump off his horse and begin running toward him. Momentarily, he thought, "This is it. I’m done for." But he was wrong. With a shout of joy, Bubba grabbed his brother, hugged and kissed him, lifting him up off the ground and swinging him around and around.

Finally, Bubba put Sly down and looked around at Jacob’s entourage. "Who are these people?"

Jacob replied, "This is my family that God has graciously given me."

"And what do you mean with all the livestock that I met?" Bubba asked.

"To find favor with you, my lord, Esau," Jacob said.

But Esau said, "I have enough, my brother. Keep them for yourself."

"I insist," Jacob said, "because to see your face is like seeing the face of God, since you have received me with such favor."

This is a story of alienation and reconciliation in a Hebrew family that came about because one side, at least, had wrestled with God, had struggled with God’s promises. I believe that Esau must have seen the promises of God also, else how do we explain his transformation from revenge seeker to reconciler? Reconciliation is God’s dream for all of us. Yet, this story takes on larger significance than a single family of brothers and sisters. It’s about Israel, God’s family, a nation of brothers and sisters in need of reconciliation. Beyond that, this story is about the whole human family of God in need of reconciliation.

We’ve come a long way in this nation, in the church, in this community since the Fall school term in 1957 when Little Rock became a symbol of bigotry, hatred and injustice for the entire world and nine brave black school children were escorted into Central High School by federal troops, enforcing court-ordered de-segregation. Earlier, on September 8, 1957, the Official Board of Pulaski Heights Methodist Church was asked by the Executive Committee to rescind its policy of admitting black persons to worship "during this period of tension." The church was conflicted over race. Methodist women, black and white, met at Camp Aldersgate to heal wounds midst community-wide criticism. Members remember that Dr. Kenneth Shamblin preached a powerful, prophetic sermon from this pulpit in support of integration in which he stated, "I cannot remain silent." In subsequent years, others spoke out and worked together as brothers and sisters for dignity, equality and justice in the schools and in the community. We celebrate their legacy and their accomplishments.

However, the hard work of reconciliation is not done. Racism, inequality and injustice are still very much alive in our city, our churches, and our hearts. God’s dream is still peace and reconciliation. God is still inviting us to live in the land of promise together in peace. Like Jacob and Jesus, people of faith are called to wrestle with God’s will for the whole human family, though we too risk being wounded. Yet, we believe that to experience reconciliation is to see the face of God through the favor and joy of our brothers and sisters. Thanks be to God. Amen.

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