Jacob and Esau – Part 2

³ Jacob’s brother Esau was living in the area called Seir in the hill country of Edom. Jacob sent messengers to Esau. ⁴ He told them, “Tell this to my master Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have lived with Laban all these years. ⁵ I have many cattle, donkeys, flocks, and servants. Sir, I am sending you this message to ask you to accept us.’”

⁶ The messengers came back to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you. He has 400 men with him.”

⁷ Jacob was very frightened and worried…

¹³ Jacob stayed in that place for the night. He prepared some things to give to Esau as a gift. ¹⁴ He took 200 female goats and 20 male goats, 200 female sheep and 20 male sheep. ¹⁵ He took 30 camels and their colts, 40 cows and 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys….

He [told his servants], ²⁰ You will say, ‘This is a gift to you, and your servant Jacob is behind us.’”

Jacob thought, “If I send these men ahead with gifts, maybe Esau will forgive me and accept me.” 

Genesis 32:3-7, 13-14, 20 (ERV)

After stealing Esau’s blessing, Jacob fled to his Uncle Laban and lived there for 20 (very complicated) years. Returning to his childhood home, he had to pass through Edom the home of Esau. He has no choice but to deal with his past. How is Jacob feeling about this “family reunion?” Do you think Jacob was really sorry for what he had done to Esau? Why or why not? What does Jacob do to try to make peace with Esau?

Have you ever had to seek forgiveness for wrongs you’ve committed in the past? What did you do? Did your actions lead to peace and restoration of the relationship? Do you think giving gifts can make a difference? Is anything else needed? If so, what?

Each day (except Sundays) during Lent, we will post a Scripture for reflection on our theme, “Military Withdrawal.” Together, we will learn to walk in God’s ways of peacemaking and reconciliation. These posts are meant to stimulate conversation and interaction. Please post your thoughts and comments.

Jacob and Esau – Part 1

³⁴ When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me—me too, my father!”

³⁵ But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”

³⁶ Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!” Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”

³⁷ Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. So what can I possibly do for you, my son?”

³⁸ Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud….

⁴¹ Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

Genesis 27:34-38, 41

Talk about a “sibling rivalry!” As the eldest son (by minutes) Esau has all the privileges and birth-rights of the firstborn and is favored by his father. The younger Jacob (whose name means “heel-grabber” and often is used to describe a manipulative opportunist) is favored by his mother. First, Jacob manipulates his brother out of the birthright, and later, he and his mother successfully conspire to ensure that he gets the “family blessing” from his father–essentially flipping the order of birth. Jacob’s conniving may have gotten him the birthright and the blessing, but it came at the loss of a relationship with his brother.

With whom do you relate in this story? Is Esau’s grudge justified? Would murdering Jacob solve the problem? Why or why not? When have you been “wronged?” What did you do about it? What (if anything) would help you to “get past it?”

Each day (except Sundays) during Lent, we will post a Scripture for reflection on our theme, “Military Withdrawal.” Together, we will learn to walk in God’s ways of peacemaking and reconciliation. These posts are meant to stimulate conversation and interaction. Please post your thoughts and comments.

¹¹ The message you heard from the very beginning is this: we must love one another. ¹² We must not be like Cain; he belonged to the Evil One and murdered his own brother Abel. Why did Cain murder him? Because the things he himself did were wrong, and the things his brother did were right.

¹⁵ Those who hate others are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life in them. ¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Christ gave his life for us. We too, then, ought to give our lives for others! ¹⁷ If we are rich and see others in need, yet close our hearts against them, how can we claim that we love God? ¹⁸ My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.

1 John 3:11-12, 15-18 (GNT)

In the New Testament, Cain is turned into the symbol of hatred and evil because he murdered his brother. John says that we are just like Cain if we hate others (close our hearts against them). Love, on the other hand – exemplified in the life of Christ – gives and makes sacrifices for others. John wants us to be like Christ. Picture a Love/Hate scale from 1 to 10 with 1 being Cain and 10 being Christ. Where would you put yourself on the scale? How could you move toward becoming a 10?

Each day (except Sundays) during Lent, we will post a Scripture for reflection on our theme, “Military Withdrawal.” Together, we will learn to walk in God’s ways of peacemaking and reconciliation. These posts are meant to stimulate conversation and interaction. Please post your thoughts and comments.

Cain and Abel – Part 2

10-11 Then the Lord said, “What have you done? You killed your brother and the ground opened up to take his blood from your hands. Now his blood is shouting to me from the ground. So you will be cursed from this ground. 12 Now when you work the soil, the ground will not help your plants grow. You will not have a home in this land. You will wander from place to place.”

¹³ Then Cain said to the Lord, “This punishment is more than I can bear! ¹⁴ You are forcing me to leave the land, and I will not be able to be near you or have a home! Now I must wander from place to place, and anyone I meet could kill me.”

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Cain, “No, if anyone kills you, I will punish that person much, much more.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain to show that no one should kill him.

Genesis 4:10-15

What (if anything) in God’s response to Cain’s premeditated murder surprises you? Do you think the punishment for Cain’s crime was fair and just? Why or why not? How would you describe God in this story? What (if anything) can we learn from this story about justice and punishment?

Each day (except Sundays) during Lent, we will post a Scripture for reflection on our theme, “Military Withdrawal.” Together, we will learn to walk in God’s ways of peacemaking and reconciliation. These posts are meant to stimulate conversation and interaction. Please post your thoughts and comments.

Cain and Abel – Part 1

^3-4 At harvest time, Cain brought a gift to the Lord. He brought some of the food that he grew from the ground, but Abel brought some animals from his flock. He chose some of his best sheep and brought the best parts from them.

The Lord accepted Abel and his gift. ⁵ But he did not accept Cain and his offering. Cain was sad because of this, and he became very angry. ⁶ The Lord asked Cain, “Why are you angry? Why does your face look sad? ⁷ You know that if you do what is right, I will accept you. But if you don’t, sin is ready to attack you. That sin will want to control you, but you must control it.”

⁸ Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” So they went to the field. Then Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

⁹ Later, the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

Cain answered, “I don’t know. Is it my job to watch over my brother?” (other translations: “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Genesis 4:3-9

We all know this story as the first murder in the Bible. What would you say is the root cause of Cain’s action against his brother Abel? What is a way that Cain could have “controlled” the sin that was seeking to control him? When has anger led you to do harm to someone? Are you to be your brother’s (or sister’s keeper?” Does this apply to just blood brothers (and sisters)? Do you think we should apply it to the wider “human family”? Why or why not?

Each day (except Sundays) during Lent, we will post a Scripture for reflection on our theme, “Military Withdrawal.” Together, we will learn to walk in God’s ways of peacemaking and reconciliation. These posts are meant to stimulate conversation and interaction. Please post your thoughts and comments.

In many churches in the US, you will find an American Flag standing watch somewhere on the platform. In many churches, you will hear patriotic songs being sung on national holidays. In many churches, you will hear memorials for those who gave their lives in the service of our country; sermons that support the nation’s “just” wars; and prayers for victory. But what about those prayers?

Mark Twain wrote a short “poem” called War Prayer, which imagines an answer to one congregation’s prayer.

²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Philippians 3:21-21 (NIV)

What does it mean to be a citizen of heaven? How does being a citizen of heaven impact our national citizenship? Does it mean that we shouldn’t participate in national life or care about national interests? If not, at what level of participation should we engage? What should we do when our national citizenship is in conflict with our heavenly citizenship?

Each day (except Sundays) during Lent, we will post a Scripture for reflection on our theme, “Military Withdrawal.” Together, we will learn to walk in God’s ways of peacemaking and reconciliation. These posts are meant to stimulate conversation and interaction. Please post your thoughts and comments.

³⁶ Jesus said, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If it did, my servants would fight so that I would not be handed over to the Jewish leaders. No, my kingdom is not an earthly one.”

John 18:36

Jesus makes this statement at his trial before Pilate, confirming that though he is a king, his kingdom is not bound by the typical definitions and identity markers. When you think of earthly kingdoms, what comes to mind? How is Jesus’s kingdom different? Jesus says that his followers wouldn’t take up arms to defend it, yet the church has a long history of taking up arms in Jesus’s name. What do you think changed? Can a militarized church accomplish Jesus’s mission? Why or why not?

Each day (except Sundays) during Lent, we will post a Scripture for reflection on our theme, “Military Withdrawal.” Together, we will learn to walk in God’s ways of peacemaking and reconciliation. These posts are meant to stimulate conversation and interaction. Please post your thoughts and comments.

For over 70 years, there has been ongoing conflict over what has often been referred to as “the Holy Land.” Following World War II and the Holocaust when millions of Jews were killed as part of Hitter’s Final Solution, the United Nations proposed creation of a Jewish state on the land of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judea. However, there was a problem. The land was already occupied by a people group known as Palestinians. The original UN proposal included the creation of a second Palestinian state, but it was rejected by both sides. Over time, the Israeli government has expanded into traditional Palestinian land. In the 6-Day War in 1967, Israel took control of the West Bank–an occupation that continues to this day. The Palestinians have been systematically removed from their homes and sent to separate areas and have been replaced with Jewish settlers. Many Palestinians have been sent to Gaza, a small strip of land along the Mediterranean coast. Observers call this the Israeli apartheid.

Palestinians have resisted the resettlement and have fought back. Israeli forces, supplied with weapons from the US, have bombarded Gaza in response–most recently in May, 2021, destroying homes, killing hundreds of Palestinians, and creating a humanitarian nightmare. To understand more about the history of this “unholy war” for the “holy land” and the continuing impact, watch the following video that was produced by Jewish Voice for Peace, an organization committed to protecting Palestinian human rights.

To learn more about Gaza and efforts to promote peace, go to American Friends Service Committee, an international Quaker organization that is working for justice in Gaza.

⁸ But God has shown us how much he loves us—it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! ⁹ By his blood we are now put right with God; how much more, then, will we be saved by him from God’s anger! ¹⁰ We were God’s enemies, but he made us his friends through the death of his Son. Now that we are God’s friends, how much more will we be saved by Christ’s life! ¹¹ But that is not all; we rejoice because of what God has done through our Lord Jesus Christ, who has now made us God’s friends.

Romans 5:8-11 (GNT)

Have you ever thought about yourself as “the enemy”? This Scripture says you and I were the enemies of God? What made us God’s enemies? How did God act toward us? How might God’s actions guide our actions toward those we would consider our enemies?

Each day (except Sundays) during Lent, we will post a Scripture for reflection on our theme, “Military Withdrawal.” Together, we will learn to walk in God’s ways of peacemaking and reconciliation. These posts are meant to stimulate conversation and interaction. Please post your thoughts and comments.