nice

Nice outside early, comfortable with 90% humidity, to watch the morning develop, sun shift on a tall cloud out over the Gulf of Mexico. In the Bay, its reflection comes right up to 7H porch. Enjoy for a while, then inside for coffee and phone, and back out to snap a few and sip hot & black.

Floods in Vermont.

War in Ukraine.

Why do I blog? It's entirely for myself, to see if I have anything to say. Some mornings I don't and skip a day. Today is one of those.

Here's our OT Sunday school story for the upcoming Sunday, which our Revised Common Lectionary designates Proper 10, Year A:

Genesis 25:19-34

These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. The children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,

and two peoples born of you shall be divided;

the one shall be stronger than the other,

the elder shall serve the younger.”

When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore he was called Edom.) Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

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Esau didn't "despise" his birthright in the sense of "hatred" - - a better word would be "dishonored" - - Esau dishonored his birthright. Between him and his brother, Esau took it lightly, not as a divisive thing. While Jacob seethed resentfully as the Extra.

What was Esau's birthright anyway? Esau and Jacob were fraternal twins, but Esau emerged from the womb first, so was first and oldest son. His birth position would entitle him to be his father's heir, growing up as the most favored one, and at his father's death receiving ownership of Isaac's property, things, land, slaves; and culturally of supreme importance, entitled to receive his father's empowering and irrevocable deathbed blessing.

We know the story, though I'm not sure we understand it.

What scholars have called "The Abraham Saga" and "The Jacob Saga" in the nature of a long campfire story to be told by the tribal storyteller over the course of many evenings under the stars in the Wilderness, the story is not only serious, an etiology that explains how nations were formed, it also tells about national character, and it includes humor. It will have been told again and again those campfire evenings, and the listening tribes would have looked forward to chuckling over parts that make their enemies look like stupid, hairy, caveman simpletons as the witty, conniving Jacob, the Israelites' hero, puts one over on those ugly, dumb Edomites, Esau's descendants.

Jacob gets his comeuppance too, and the laughter is even louder, in a later story where his father-in-law palms off the older, ugly daughter on Jacob. The stories are culturally uniting, part of Israel's national heritage, and if you are an Israelite, a Jew, the stories are very satisfying.

Anyone who grew up, as I did, in an age when there was a Fourth of July parade (ours always concluded with an open touring car filled with old soldiers in Confederate uniforms), with family picnics on the town square, a band playing patriotic music with lots of bass drum and tuba sounds, and local leaders at the bandstand podium giving speeches about America's great heritage and national heroes, will get the picture.

The stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are Israel's national treasures, some of them told with tongue in cheek as the audience chortled, nudged each other knowingly and nodded their heads about how we got the best of our stupid enemies, and through brains not brawn!

The stories are Israel's national heritage, not meant to be co-opted as Protestant Sunday school stories told as literal history believed on pain of eternal fire as the inerrant word of God and you can cite chapter and verse. People do strange things with religion and in the name of religion. Sometimes, terrible things to each other and others, our neighbors. However, religion can be the foundation for gracious and generous treatment of defeated enemies.

These Genesis stories are fun and good. I'm glad we're reading them this summer.

RSF&PTL