Genesis 28.10-22 (Fourth in a series of sermons at St. Patrick's based on the Genesis readings from the lectionary)
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| Jacob's Dream - Raphael, 1518 |
I know that I dream (there are dreams in every healthy sleep cycle), but I can’t seem to remember what I dream for very long. Knowing that I was going to preach on a famous dream today, when I woke from a dream a few mornings ago, I said to myself that I would remember all the details. I even looked up at the ceiling and replayed the dream in my head. A few minutes later, I rolled out of bed and the memory was gone. I don’t know where it went, but I couldn’t remember any detail. Where did it take place? Who was in it? What was I doing? Why did it wake me up? It was gone.
Jacob remembered the dream, recounted in the 28th chapter of Genesis, for the rest of his life. He would often return on pilgrimage to that place he called the ‘Home of God’ to recall what the Lord God told him in this dream (Genesis 35.1-9). He would tell the story to his son, Joseph, as being the moment that he knew God (Genesis 48.3).
From this story of Jacob’s dream at Bethel to the story of Jacob’s son, Joseph, whose ability to interpret dreams infuriated his siblings and endeared him to the Pharaoh. To a much later Joseph who heard in a dream a warning from angels to care for Mary and her son Jesus. Dreams often play important roles in the story of God’s interaction with humans.
When we speak of dreams, today, we speak of it in two different ways. One are the dreams made famous in some of the legendary stories of the Bible, the dreams that invade our mind while we are at our most susceptible, when we are asleep. The other way we use the word dream is to speak about our life goals. These dreams are constructed based on day-to-day experiences, familial, peer and cultural pressure, and gifts and talents. We construct this second kind of dream when we are awake and more connected with reality (that is debatable for some dreamers).
Today’s lesson from Genesis is about a dream Jacob had while sleeping in Bethel but he wouldn’t have experienced it if he hadn’t accomplished a lifelong dream, a desire of his since he was in the womb. We heard last week about Jacob’s dream. He was the second born of twins. His brother Esau possessed, by no fault of his own, the birthright in the lineage of his father Isaac and grandfather Abraham. Because Esau had it, he didn’t consider it as valuable as did his brother. He was even willing to promise it to Jacob for a measly bowl of soup. Jacob’s life consuming dream was to hold the birthright, outright. He could rely on Esau’s promise (made in duress) but his position would be much more secure if he gained Isaac’s blessing. Jacob dreamed and dreamed, but it seemed unlikely that Isaac would overlook Esau, his favorite son.
Birthrights seem so yesterday. We work very hard to ensure that our children are loved equally. Birth order, as it relates to inheritance, rarely plays a major role (I speak to you as an only child). We aren’t passing down the crown and contracts can convey estates equally among our offspring and even designate a portion to important ministries, like churches, like St. Patrick’s. But, I digress, birthrights at the time of Jacob and even within the past 100 years, were an important legacy. If you were the heir, your position would be set for life. You would have the land, herds, and servants and the requisite privileges. Instead of gambling on talent and ability, you could rest assured, as the first born, that you would be respected and remembered.
That was Jacob’s dream and it resulted in a sustained conflict with his brother. Rebekah noticed their wrestling when they were in the womb. Jacob clung to Esau’s ankle as they were born. They were as different as night is from day. Esau was hairy, enjoyed the hunt, and the outdoors. Jacob was smooth skinned, appreciated the tent and the kitchen. Jacob dreamed of one thing: the birthright. It would guarantee him the success he deserved yet, his father’s love for Esau stood in the way.
Last week’s passage from Genesis left us wondering about how the conflict would play out. Jacob’s dream, although promised to him by his brother, was not yet fulfilled. The conflict climaxed when Jacob and Rebekah, in an effort to fulfill Jacob’s dream of attaining the birthright, threw out ethics and conscience to trick the aging and blind Isaac. Isaac called his favorite son to his death bed and asked Esau to go hunt for a deer, bring back the meat so that he could enjoy a final meal, and then promised to give Esau his blessing. Rebekah overheard Isaac’s conversation with Esau, so she went to Jacob with a plan of her own. She got Esau’s clothing for Jacob, tied some pelts to Jacob’s hands and arms, and got some venison from the store tent. Jacob went to Isaac’s tent pretending to be his twin brother. He smelled like him (from the scent of the clothing), felt like him (because of the pelts tied to his arms), and brought food (like Isaac requested). Jacob convinced Isaac that he was Esau and, therefore, Isaac gave Jacob the blessing he promised to give to his first born and favorite child.
Finally, Jacob had accomplished his dream. He spent his entire life trying to get the birthright and now he had it. The birthright would guarantee him prime real estate, vast herds, and many servants. Jacob would be held in the highest regard and would have the rights and privileges earned by Abraham and Isaac. Instead of a grand celebration, Rebekah advised Jacob to leave town. Rebekah overheard Esau say how much he “hated” Jacob for what he had done and how he planned to kill his brother. So, Rebekah sent Jacob to her hometown of Haran and to the house of her brother Laban. Jacob achieved his dream, but then the result hadn’t worked out as he expected. He was not reveling in his new position, but running for his life with only the clothes on his back: no tent, no servants, no animals, and most definitely no land.
That is where today’s lesson from Genesis picks up. Jacob’s dream of the birthright had consumed him. He lied and cheated; was cruel and deceitful to get what he wanted. In today’s story, he arrives in Bethel, or Luz as it was called then, believing that all that should be his was lost. He didn’t have a tent to sleep in or even a pillow. As he slept among the rocks, Jacob experienced a different kind of dream. Jacob thought the birthright gave him land, herds, and servants, but as he slept that night he encountered God for the first time. The relationship with God passed down through the generations but was not something Jacob had expected. It wasn’t part of his ‘dream’ but now he was experiencing it for the first time in a dream. He saw a ramp, often translated as a ladder, with angels delivering messages to and from the Lord God. The Lord God said to him:
- ‘I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; 14and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. 15Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’ (Genesis 28.13b-15)
Jacob woke in excitement. Remember that Jacob always dreamed that he would have land and that he would be marked as special. God was promising to do just that. It wasn’t a new promise. It was the same promise that the Lord God promised Abraham two generation before, but Jacob didn’t know that. He had never known God until that day at the place he renamed Bethel which means ‘Home of God.’
Jacob convinced himself that if he got the birthright, everything would be perfect. We do the same thing. If only I was born in that family, or if only they hadn’t done that, or if I had that person’s talent. If I lived there, or worked there, or my children were like this. We look beyond the gifts that we already possess dreaming for something else. We are so consumed with our own dreams, that we forget to enjoy what we have, right now. Jacob discovered God for the first time but even though the experience was awesome, Jacob had some doubts. God promised to be with Jacob and his descendants every where and forever. To trust in God’s promise is at the heart of faith. Jacob didn’t quite have it, yet. He vowed that he would respect God and tithe to God if all that he promised came true. In other words, Jacob said, “I had a great experience, God, a vision that I will always remember, but I won’t have faith until you fulfill your promise.” Does that sound familiar? I will have faith if...
Jacob is a flawed hero. He ignored ethics to reach his goal, he wanted God’s promise to come true (I mean who wouldn’t) but the experience didn’t immediately change him. When he arrived in Haran, he would deceive, in response to his uncle’s tricks, to get the things he wanted for himself. Jacob definitely believed that the “ends justify the means” as long as the ends favor him. More of that next week.
We can glean from this story and from the experiences of Jacob what is often a part of human nature. Humans can be so consumed with achieving dreams: success, prestige, position, power, love, money, and the many other things that raise our stock in the world, that we overlook how those dreams affect the people around us. We convince ourselves that our methods of achieving our dreams are in the best interests of the world. We don’t realize that achieving our dream might hurt someone else. As we witness the present discussions taking place across town about how to solve the current financial crisis, we see success measured as avoiding any compromise. We hear our leaders tell us that if it was this way, their way, all the problems would be solved. We hear them say that compromise is when that other side accepts our position. The problem is that no matter which side prevails, whose dreams are realized, there will be consequences for someone.
That is what lies at the crux of all the choices we make. Learn from Jacob, a flawed hero, to step out, listen for God, and know that fulfilling God’s mission requires us to look past our personal dreams. It requires us to see God’s dream which exists in a world of many dreams. We can only do this is to be in community. To hear others, to care, to reach in empathy. That is what a dream is about. That is what God called Jacob to do and what God call of us to do. Reach out and know the community and love in the name of God.
The Rev. Dr. Kurt Gerhard - kurt@stpatrickschurchdc.org
July 17, 2011
Proper 11A
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