First Thursday in Lent :: Morning

 This is why I am doing this: I did not do my post last night because I did not do the readings. I won't "catch up"; the beauty of the lectionary is that these readings will come up again next year. I will have another chance to look at them, and honestly the odds are good that I have read them before anyway.

After I posted yesterday morning, I started going through the old posts here and adding tags (labels). I've unpublished a few posts just because I didn't actually have permission from the people I quoted to copy what they said over to my blog. I haven't finished everything yet, but when I'm done it'll be easier to follow my personal process of the Becoming.

On to this morning's scripture!

1st Reading: Genesis 35. 1-20

2nd Reading: Matthew 24. 39-end

Psalms: 78, Pt 1

Collect (p 138)

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all them that are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

My Thoughts:

The Genesis passage is leading up to the story of Joseph and his coat. But first we must have the rest of Jacob's tale. Jacob is Joseph's father; he is the man who tricked his twin brother into giving away his birthright (Esau, the brother, was born first, so was the heir apparent) and tricked his father into giving him Esau's blessing. After all of this, dude ran away because Esau was bigger and stronger than he was. He met God during his flight and was given a vision of angels and a ladder to Heaven. He worked for a man as a shepherd and married both of the man's daughters because he was tricked into marrying the one he didn't want first. (Talk about sister wives!) Leah, the one he didn't want to marry, had seven kids (six sons and a daughter), but Rachel, the one he actually loved, only had like two: Joseph and Benjamin. Both sisters also had Jacob impregnate their maids twice each and claimed those children as their own also (this is where The Handmaid's Tale gets it; Bilhah is the name of Rachel's maid, and Rachel says "...she may bear upon my knees... I too may have children through her." [30. 3]) Genesis is full of great stories that illustrate truths about humanity and about God.

So in today's reading, we have Jacob bringing his entire household with him back to Bethel, which is where he saw the angels and the ladder. No clue how many people that actually was, since it will have included all of his children, his wives and their maids, any servants and slaves, and then probably other peripheral folks who decided to hang out with them. Plus all their sheep and goats. And at the end of it, Rachel dies in childbirth, leaving her son Benjamin motherless.

Matthew begins with a description of the Rapture. Basically what they're talking about in the Left Behind books. (Which I've never read, but I know what they're about.) The point is, we're meant to be on the alert so we're prepared when Jesus comes again. The second part of this passage gives a bit more practical advice in this regard: we're told to be faithful and wise, and to behave appropriately at all times, so we aren't caught out when He returns.

As for the Psalm, it's historical: it recounts the history of Israel. If you look at it, you'll see all the times God looked after His people when they did stupid crap, and all the times they turned towards Him in gratitude only to turn away again in sin as soon as they thought they'd found something better. The idea behind the Psalm is to teach the younger generations not to repeat the foolishness of their ancestors. (I think we all know how well that goes.)

What I see, pulling it towards the here and now, is a return to a place where you encountered God, a need to understand the past and try to keep from repeating its missteps, and the necessity of faithfulness, wisdom, and self-discipline. The lesson I'm putting together in my head is that it's important to remember the past--both personal and ancestral--and to take its lessons seriously, so they can guide your life well and prepare you for whatever comes.

I don't think it's necessarily about a physical location, though. It could be about a practice that helps you feel close to God.

Discussion questions: 

1. Where have you encountered God in the past? 
2. How might you meet Him again today? 
3. What are some behaviour changes you can make to ensure that you're prepared for Christ's return? 

Remember that we are saved by faith alone, but that faith without works is dead. It's all about the Becoming.