Ashes to Go

I have to say that I am very pleased with the front page coverage that Ashes to Go got in this morning's Buffalo News.

Here's the link if you haven't seen it.

Ashes to Go

One of the things that I love about Ashes to Go is that it is the Church responding with what we do best - pointing the way to the Holy in our daily lives - and at the same time adapting it to what our daily lives look like in 2013. 

The best part about this is that it is a perfect example of "both and" or parallel development.

We are continuing to offer the regular Ash Wedensday liturgy at noon and 7 p.m. for those of us who want the Eucharist and the full experiance of taking real time for prayer and contemplation.  And we are offering Ashes for those who want to respond to the Holy but who can't or won't come to a full service. 

This is what we are talking about when we talk about reaching out in new ways to new groups of people.  We have to keep doing what we do that feeds those of us who are here now and we also need to find new ways to point to God in the lives of people who need something different.

Jacob, Laban, Esau and God

We pick up the story with Jacob deciding that he is ready to leave his father-in-law and go back to his own land.  But Laban convinces him to stay and cuts a deal with him to divide the flocks based on whether they are speckled or not and the lambs based on whether they are black or white. 

Laban attempts to trick Jacob and Jacob attempts to trick Laban - these two seem to deserve each other.

After six years Jacob decides that he's leaving - so he sneaks out.  On their way out Rachel steals her father's household idols - in the parlance of the time stealing the blessing of his house.

Laban takes off after Jacob and catches him and gives him what for both for sneaking away and for taking his idols.  Jacob says - hey go ahead and search.  Laban searches but doesn't find the idols because Rachel is sitting on them and excuses herself from getting up by telling her father that it is that time of the month.

Laban and Jacob make peace and go their separate ways.  Jacob is now out of the Laban frying pan, but he has the fire of his brother Esau ahead of him.

He sends out a messanger who says that Esau is coming to meet him with 400 men.  Jacob figures he's in trouble.  So he divides his company in two so that at least one might have a chance to get away.  He sends out lots of livestock as a gift to his brother and waits.

We have a story added in there - that probably comes from an earlier source - where Jacob wrestles with a man who is either an angel or God - the man wins by putting Jacob's hip out of joint and gives him the name Israel - that literally means "contends with God"

In the morning Jacob finally meets his brother and they agree to live in peace.

Rachel and Leah

In this week's Bible study we get the story of Jacob finding his wives and starting his family.

Jacob has headed off to find his mother's brother and through him a wife.  Almost the first person he meets on his arrival is his cousin Rachel.  He negotiates with Laban to marry Rachel in exchange for seven years work.

However, on the wedding night Laban slips his older daughter, Leah, in to Jacob instead.  (side note - this story lives on in the tradition that a bride's veil is lifted before the exchange of vows - so that the groom can be sure he's got the right girl)  So Jacob works seven years more and ends up with both Rachel and Leah as his wives.

As might be expected, Jacob is much fonder of Rachel - God redresses the balance by ensuring that Leah has children - specifically 4 sons - Reuban, Simeon, Levi and Judah - you might find these names familiar.

Rachel takes a page from Sarah's book and sends her maid in to Jacob - Rachel's maid has 2 sons
Leah decides that two can play at that game, sends her own maid in to Jacob - Leah's maid also has 2 sons.

Then Leah has another two sons and a daughter.  If you are keeping track Jacob is now up to 10 sons.

Finally - as the text says - God remembered Rachel - and Rachel has a son who is named Joseph.  There is more of the domestic soap opera - but the story now takes a segue back to the relationship with Esau.  We will pick that up in two weeks - no Bible study next week because Monday is a holiday.

Welcome back to Bible Study

We pick up our study of Genesis after the holiday break.

Today we covered Chapters 27 and 28.

In these chapters we see the real beginnings of the Jacob narrative.

At the instigation of his mother, Rebecca, Jacob tricks his father, Isaac, into giving him his blessing.  His brother, Esau, is furious and decides to kill him - so Rebecca sends him off to her family to find a wife, and to get him out of range of his brother.

On his way to Rebecca's family Jacob has a dream and sees a ladder running from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it.  God reiterats to Jacob the promises he made to Abraham and Jacob names the place Bethel - that is House of God.  We will return to Bethel frequently in the story.

Hey - I'll give you my birthright for some of that stew

We have next the story of Jacob and Esau - Esau - who is what a man of his time was supposed to be - but also was very rash - comes in hungry and basically trades his rights as oldest son to his 90 pound weekling brother for an after school snack.  Not, perhaps, a sign of a thoughtful individual.

We move on from their to the story of a famine and Isaac repeating the mistakes of his father, Abraham, but also redigging some of his wells and having God reinterate the promises that He made to Abraham.

Bible study is taking a two-week break.  January 7 we will resume the story of Isaac and Jacob

Moving from Abraham to Jacob

We are reaching the end of the Abraham story and through to Jacob - to get there we go through Isaac.

In many ways Isaac is the hinge of the story - it is through him that we move from the story of a person (Abraham) to the story of a nation (Jacob)

But before we get to Jacob there are three things to point out:

1. Isaac takes Rebekkah into his mother's tent - he puts her in Sarah's place
2. When Abraham dies Isaac and Ishmael come together to bury their father
3. Ishmael, as God has promised, becomes the father of a nation (and has 12 sons - remember that when we get to Jacob) - but that his nation is established between Egypt and Assyria - in other words, far away from Isaac

Waiting for God

It seems appropriate that as we begin Advent we find Abraham still waiting for God to begin the process of keeping his promise.

We pick up Abraham's story with him heading to the land of the Philistines.  Abraham, apparently, wasn't paying much attention when he was in Egypt, because he tries the same thing here - having Sarah say that she is his sister and giving her to the king of the land.  God again intervenes and returns Sarah to Abraham.

Then, finally, Sarah and Abraham have a son, Isaac.  After the rejoicing subsides, Sarah gets very jealous of Hagar and Ishmael and Abraham sends them out into the wilderness.  God saves Hagar and Ishmael and promises that he, also will be a founder of a great nation. 

We turn back to Abraham and God has one final challenge for him.  God tells Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God.  To us this is a shocking thing for God to ask.  Abarahm would not have found it shocking - all of the gods of all of the people among whom Abraham lived required the sacrifice of a child.  What made it a test was that Abraham had waited so long for this son.  Abraham obeys God and God does not require the sacrifice of Isaac.

We then hear of Sarah's death and of Abraham securing a burial ground for her in the land of Caanan.  And then Abraham's thoughts turn to acquiring a wife for his son - this is the transition between the Abraham story and the next major portion of Genesis - the Jacob story.