Homily Sister Mary Christian Cross Sunday, August 3, 2014
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND: We have all from time to time known individuals for whom we can say: “he/she gets what they want when they want it”. They tend to be ruthless, they step over whoever is in their way towards their goal, they are single minded….. and not the sort of people you would choose to have living in your block, or in your condominium, or even sitting in your pew. This morning we have heard the first lesson which describes an event in the life of such a person, Jacob. Jacob was a twin who, as he was being born, clung to the heel of his older brother Esau in the birth canal. Indeed, the meaning of the name Jacob can be construed to be “Heel”, not a very flattering designation. It can also mean usurper and trickster. Jacob and Esau grew up together but it would seem that Jacob was always coveting Esau’s birthright as the eldest son. Jacob the trickster, cheated Esau of this birthright by trading it for a bowl of stew. The story goes that Esau had come home starving after a hunting expedition and it seems took what food he could get, not counting the cost and if that included his birthright, so be it. When he realized that Jacob was to inherit instead of him, this didn’t make for a happy family relationship. And the conflict and tension between the two brothers came to a head when the father Isaac was tricked by Jacob into giving him his blessing rather than Esau, and thus sealing Jacob’s preeminence in the hierarchy of the family. The narrative relates that later Jacob seeks a wife away from his homeland, whereupon the theme of trickery and cheating continues when the woman Jacob thinks he will have as his bride turns out to be her older sister Leah. Only by working for her father Laban for a second 7 years is he given in marriage his first choice, Rachel. And then as Jacob now with considerable wealth and a large family tries to leave the household of Laban, he resorts to some creative breeding practices to usurp his father-in-law of the best of his herd. Thus the theme of trickery and conflict prevails throughout the saga of Jacob’s life. Jacob has been given a directive by God that he is to leave Laban, and return to his homeland, and that “God will be with him”. But the prospect of renewing contact with his brother Esau does not fill Jacob with feelings of unmitigated pleasure. How would Esau receive him after all? He prays to God to protect him upon the inevitable encounter. In the night Jacob experiences a frightening event. He finds himself with a “stranger” with whom he wrestles for the hours of the night. He insists that he be blessed by this “man” before Jacob will let him go. Eventually he receives the blessing but at the same time he is wounded in the hip. We are then told that the place of the encounter is named Peniel, the place where Jacob has seen not a stranger, but God, and that he has seen God face to face. Jacob is no longer to be known as “heel”, “usurper”, “supplanter”, but he is given a new name “Israel”. With this assurance Israel continues on his way and is eventually reconciled with his brother Esau. The days of conflict and trickery are at an end.
IS THERE TEACHING IN THESE EVENTS THAT CAN INFORM OUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY AS IT INFORMED THAT OF JACOB/ISRAEL? 1. “I will be with you”: There are several places in the saga of Jacob where he is given the assurance that God will be with him as he obeys God’s directives. 2. Conflict replaced by reconciliation: The life of Jacob until the event of wrestling with God is one of conflict. After this Israel and Esau are reconciled. 3. The less powerful, the weakest, prevails over the stronger: Jacob prevails over the “stranger” as they wrestle. 4. Chronic wounding: Jacob/Israel prevails over the stranger, but only after he has been wounded. OUR SPIRITUAL LIVES, OUR SPIRITUAL PILGRIMAGES: 1.
Frequently in our prayer we are asked to do things which seem overwhelming. But “God is with us” throughout our journey. Cf. Joshua when he enters the promised land upon the death of Moses; the disciples who are promised the presence of the Holy Spirit after the death and resurrection of Jesus. 2. God wills that all those engaged in conflict be reconciled one with another. We are called with him to be in this work of reconciliation. 3. God in history has frequently used the less powerful, the “impossible people” to accomplish his will for humankind. As today’s Gospel reminds us, Jesus is able to feed 5000 people with five loaves and 2 fish, a seemingly impossible task. 4. In our spiritual journey we must expect to “wrestle” both with ourselves and with God’s will and in doing so not only will we “receive a new name”, but in the process we will be wounded. So it was with Jesus who died upon the Cross to bring us the new life of the Resurrection. The spiritual life is not without pain and suffering, but it is suffering in the context of new life in the Resurrected Christ. CONCLUSION: There is so much in the Jacob/Israel saga to ponder as we remind ourselves of these four points. We thank God that through the pain and suffering, through rejection and misunderstanding, we come to conversion and hope. We remind ourselves that “God is master of the impossible” and in his mystery of redemption he uses us, even us. We live in dark times, but let us remind ourselves that God is with us, and God continues to feed the 5000 with five loaves and two small fish.