Welcome
Welcome, glad you are here. I’m Alan Lobaugh, one of the pastors at Azle Christian Church. Pastor Ashley is on vacation this week and she will return next Sunday. We have a guest musician today named Kat Reimer.
Blood drive on August 3, 4 to 7 at FUMC make a reservation, everyone who gives gets tested for Covid Antibodies.
Call to Worship
Our worship theme these weeks has been, “Back to the Beginning” Where we’ve considered stories of our ancestors. Generations of faithful people, trying to survive in the world. Today our focus is on Jacob, his love for Rachel, and how his future father in law tricked him. I’ve thought I would title our time together after the Friends theme: “The one where Rachel almost gets married.”
So take a deep breath, focus on some candle light or light from the window, or a photo near you as we begin our worship:
Oh God, what we know about you, we have learned from our parents and family members, ancient stories of our ancestors. What we know of you, we have experienced for ourselves. A calming breath in the midst of a storm; a quiet whisper in the cacophony of chaos. A gentle presence when we’ve felt so alone. We pray for those experiences to come to us now, in this sacred time and space. That you would teach us, that you would guide us, but most of all that you would fill us with renewed confidence and purpose to face whatever comes our way. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer
Children’s Moment
How many of you get your water from a well? Maybe you don’t have to draw it up with a bucket, but it still comes from the ground. In Bible times, that’s what they used. And our story is about Jacob, coming to the well at the town of Haran. They had a stone covering the well. For safety, for purity, for security, It took two or three strong men to move it each time they wanted to use it. When Jacob arrived, he saw a beautiful young woman, Rachel, and as most young men would do, he showed off. He rolled the stone covering the well by himself. Maybe you’ve tried to show off or stand out to impress someone sometime. It seems like a nice romantic story, the kind you see on tv or read about in books. It’s part of the origin story of our people, because from Jacob, with Rachel, and Leah, and Bilhal and Zilpah, there are 13 children, 12 boys and one girl. … let that sink in for a minute. If you are a girl, can you imagine having 12 brothers?!? What a nightmare.
Mainly what we learn from the story is how we get along as family and as a family of faith. I grew up with one sister and one brother, but now it feels like I have several, because of the time we spend doing things together. Name some of the people who are in your “family” but might not be related to you by blood.
When we are at the table we say we are sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus, all children of God, all related to each other because of the love given in Jesus the Christ. In fact, about 100 years ago, people even called each other that, Sister Katie, sister Gini, brother Chris, Brother James, Sister Kat, brother Alan. It sounds a little old fashioned today, but their intent was to remind themselves of how related we all are. Sisters and brothers, all children of God, gathered together (virtually) in Jesus the Christ.
Pray – Thank you, God, for calling us your children. Help us learn to love each other, and those we meet, like family.
Scripture: Genesis 29:15-28
Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah’s eyes were lovely, and Rachel was graceful and beautiful. Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.” So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” So Laban gathered together all the people of the place, and made a feast. But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.) When morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” Laban said, “This is not done in our country—giving the younger before the firstborn. Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.” Jacob did so, and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife.
This is the word of God, for all the people of God, thanks be to God.
Sermon
It all started at the well. Remember when Isaac’s servant saw Rebekah at the well(Genesis 24)? Now it’s Jacob’s turn, where he met Rachel. In later stories, we find Zipporah and Moses meeting at the well (Exodus 2).
How did you two meet? This is such a common conversation starter. For several people in the Bible, it all started at the well.
It is a gathering place. It is a place for nourishment, refreshment. And for engaging in conversation. All these couples have meaningful encounters, … at the well. These stories set the stage for Jesus, meeting the Samaritan woman at … the well.
It’s like starting a story, … “A man walks into a bar …”
But there are other parallels to other stories here. Sinister parallels. Remember how Jacob stole Esau’s identity and fooled Isaac into giving him a blessing? Karma is a terrible mistress, as the saying goes. Now Jacob is fooled by the identity of his wife on their wedding night. Veiled from his sight, he realizes too late that it is Leah and not Rachel.
And after this is “worked out” There’s the issue of children, or the lack there of. This follows the barenness of Sarah and Abraham; Rebekah and Isaac.
Read ahead to chapter 30 and if you are keeping track at home you can score it as follows:
Barrenness
Leah has four sons
Then Rachel’s maid, Bilhah, has two sons
Then Leah’s maid, Zilpah has two sons
The Leah has two sons and a daughter
Finally, Rachel has two boys
Four women, 13 children
In concluding this Sibling Rivalry (reminiscent of Esau and Jacob, Isaac and Ishmael) Rachel boasts after delivering Joseph and Benjamin, “I have wrestled mightily with my sister and prevailed. The score is seven to two, but Rachel has the last two.
Lest we think this is a love story staring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, it’s not La La Land.
This is an alliance between men that involves the exchange of property. In his book, “Dirt, Greed, and Sex” William Countryman, references this exchange, noting there is nNo consultation with the bride to be as was the case with Jacob’s mother Rebekah. This continues the theme of treating women as things to be possessed; Part of a work force that will serve the patriarchy.
And if that insult isn’t enough, we turn to Laban’s “bait and switch.”
Dr. Wil Gafney, who teaches at Brite Divinity School, writes of Laban’s deceit. There are no rules about the eldest daughter marrying first. Dr. Gafney also highlights the absence of the mother of Leah and Rachel, and their lack of involvement when it comes to the marriages to Jacob. She reminds us that Jacob’s mother exercised some authority and autonomy when it came to marrying Isaac. These women, Leah, Rachel, and their unnamed, absent from the story, mother, are at best, “chattle” or even worse, “invisible.”
Dr. Gafney points out that there is something about Leah’s eyes that set her apart. A quick comparison of English translations only confuses the matter. Her eyes are described as weak in the New International version; Blurry in Wycliffe’s translation. “Tender” is the polite way the Modern English Bible puts it. King James called them “delicate.” The New Living Translation says, “There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes.” But, in the New Revised Standard Version I read for you, they are described as “lovely,” with a footnote that reads “Beautiful.” That’s a long continuum from blurry to beautiful.
At that point it sounds like your friend setting you up for a blind date: He’s rugged, which means he has no personal hygiene; She’s got a great personality once you get to know her, which means she’s socially awkward); He loves sports, translation: Not the sharpest tool in the shed; she’s well read, meaning: she doesn’t get out much.
So, there’s something about Leah, … but Rachel was … stunning. And once again, in the pages of our holy book, we are witnessing a beauty pageant unfold, or actually, … it’s more like a cattle auction. One bride for seven years of service, two for just 7 more. What dya say, Jacob? Deal? And faster than you can say polygamy, it’s done.
In seminary, Katie, they will tell you this is an elaborate back story to set up the twelve tribes of Israel. More mythological than factual. More phenomenal/epic than practical. I mean, four sister wives? 13 kids? You need a mini bus and a bank heist just to take them out for a burger.
But here it is, a part of our story: Our ancestors in the faith. What do we make of this in the 21st century after Christ?
The quick and easy answer is that God uses ordinary people, even flawed people, to get the job done. That’s good news for us who may never have four spouses and a baker’s dozen of children, but who, none the less, make mistakes along the way. God can use our flawed personalities and our brokenness to bring about something Good in this world. We just have to be willing to participate in bringing the realm of God into the lives of the people we meet.
But we can go deeper with this story. Laban’s deceit. Jacob’s willingness to “buy” his brides with his labor; the invisibility of the women in the process, rattles our sense of what is fair, ethical and decent.
Countryman’s book, which I mentioned earlier, taught me a lot about the ways our ancestors valued or devalued people, and how ritual became more important than relationship. How the worst thing you could do to a man was to treat him like you would a woman. As property, as an object for your personal gain. It’s the sin of the men of Sodom. It’s the same ethic hidden in the story of the woman caught in adultery. Where is the man she was with? They could have caught the man as well, but the difficulty, according to their law, was with her behavior, not his.
As Christians, we are learning the ways of Christ. We are discovering that following Jesus means recognizing the difficulties of our past, admitting them and calling ourselves to a higher purpose. Having met Jesus on the road, like Zacchaeus or Paul, we lead a different life from this point forward.
How do we love in this hate filled time? Is the question Valerie Kaur asks in her book “See No Strangers.” How do we fix a broken world while not breaking ourselves? She is the founder of the Revolutionary Love Project and calls us to look/love in three directions: to others, to our opponents, and to ourselves. It enjoins us to see no stranger but instead look at others and say: You are part of me I do not yet know. Starting from that place of wonder, she says, “the world begins to change”
We hold each other, and the world we are helping God to create, to a higher standard. We teach our children to value all of God’s beloved children, as sisters and brothers. We teach them we are walking this road together. Partners in this new realm of God’s presence.
Communion
Sharing our Resources
Again, yesterday, several of you distributed over 100 bags of groceries. I give thanks to God for your generosity. And beyond that, we’ve received notes of gratitude from the people we have helped in our community and at the Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries. Your financial contributions help make that happen. We are grateful for the gifts you’ve shared that sustain this ministry, and if you haven’t lately, you can use any of the ways listed in the comments to contribute to this church’s work.
Benediction
Hold your hands out, like you are holding a framed photograph, or a photo album, or scrolling through photos on your smart phone. Lord, today we recognize your active presence among our ancestors, Sarah, Abraham, Hagar, Ishmael, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, Bilhal, Jacob, Zilpah, Rachel. May their witness and testimony be a strengthening cord for us. And we think of our more recent ancestors in the faith, grandmothers, grandfathers, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, cousins, friends. May their testimony and their lives fill us with renewed hope, and inspire us to do even greater things for the realm of God’s presence in this world. Amen.