Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 383

Click to read this Collect
more clearly

And there was the LORD standing beside (Jacob) and saying:
“I, the LORD, am the God of your forefather Abraham
and the God of Isaac;
the land on which you are lying
I will give to you and your descendants.
These shall be as plentiful as the dust of the earth,
and through them you shall spread out east and west, north and south.
In you and your descendants
all the nations of the earth shall find blessing.


Of the three patriarchs most often named -- Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- the last is the most complex character. He is shrewd like Odysseus, who was roundly despised by scholars of the Middle Ages for what they regarded as dishonesty. We might call it his survival instincts. 

Jacob readily goes along with his mother Rebekah's scheme to defraud Esau of his birthright. Hadn't Esau sold it for a "mess of pottage." That bargain was a pretty lame excuse for Jacob's deception but it held water with at least some of the sacred authors. 

Jacob's dream of the ladder and God's promises might persuade a Saint Francis to live totally by Divine Providence, and always to play the lamb among wolves. But that was not in Jacob's nature. 

When Laban the father of his beloved fiance switched brides on him, dressing Leah in Rachel's wedding gown and covering her face in the traditional veil, Jacob bided his time. Eventually he would steal away with both women plus the "household gods" which represented the heart of Laban's family. His wives readily conspired with him against their father.  

But he seemed to have a conscience. His night spent wrestling with an angel might indicate anxiety, shame and guilt for how he'd swindled his brother. Fortunately, Esau was not such a complex character. He had recovered his losses,  become wealthy and held no grudge against his twin brother. 

As Christians we might find some reassurance in the story of this third Patriarch. Though he had been promised much, he still managed his own resources in a treacherous world with all the guile of his nature. If he was not a likable man -- his sons proved their loyalty only reluctantly -- he survived.

And, true to his promise, God blessed him. God could use Rebekah's and Jacob's deceit for his own purposes; he could turn Jacob's suspicious heart to good purpose. We hope and pray the Lord will be so patient with us.