I hope you’re enjoying reading these brilliant stories. We are going to look at the readings for Jan 6th – 17th; the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

I love the beginning of this story. God just says to Abram ‘go!’ and Abram goes. He just gets up, takes his family and heads off into the great unknown. No guarantees, just belief.

My friends and I are trying to plan our annual Lord of the Rings-watching weekend. We love the story so much that we decided we’d watch all three films (extended editions) back to back, once a year. It’s a twelve hour epic, and it’s great! The thing that most captivates me about Lord of the Rings is the constant conflict the hobbits’ face between the need to journey on through great peril and discomfort to destroy the Ring and the desire to be back in the Shire, their idyllic homeland. I resonate so much with that internal conflict. On the one hand I want to be changing the world, whatever the cost. On the other, I’d rather sit at home with a cup of tea and cocoon myself away from the problems of life.

The need to journey into the unknown is a universal experience. Even at the most ordinary, mundane level we face new challenges every day; new strangers not reckoned with before. Sometimes old enemies take us down once again. Death, of course, remains the greatest unknown path, ‘and’, to quote Gandalf’, ‘one which we all must take.’ Ultimately, any cocoon is a mirage; we cannot escape the journey, only accept and travel it with dignity.

In this context, Abraham’s belief is beguiling, his commitment inspiring. Not simply that he upped and left Haran, but that he had faith in God’s covenant with him. He knew that a son would be impossible, but yet he believed God’s promise of descendants. He knew that his family was relatively small and could not possibly take over such large territory as was promised to him, yet he believed God. ‘and it was credited to him as righteousness’ (15:6). Abraham was prepared to journey, both literally and metaphorically with guts (most of the time).

So I ask myself, do I believe? Not in children and territory, but in love, in compassion and in truth. If this is God’s mission to earth, have I got the guts to join him? Have I got the faith to walk with God, even when it seems a lost cause (see 22:1-19)? Have I got a hope of how things could be that will lead me from the Shire into the great unknown? God is knocking at your door, will you follow?

- Pause a moment to reflect -

Now onto the rest of them. It never ceases to amaze me just how messed up this family is! They treat their women with so little dignity - wives charaded as sisters; concubines mistreated; the childless shamed. The children seem to get worse as the generations progress. I get the impression that Isaac & Rebekah are pretty strict and intolerant (note that Esau had trouble bringing unsuitable girlfriends home! Gen 26-34-5, 27:46). Isaac, in particular, shows his immovability by refusing to bless Esau as well as Jacob. But Jacob is the genuine trickster; against his brother, his father and then later, his uncle, he wiles and worms his way into power and prosperity, always blaming someone else for his misfortune. Then, most disturbingly of all, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi murdered an entire city in retribution for their sister’s rape; the same sons who, along with others, would later attempt to kill their own brother.

The bizarre thing is that this is apparently the family on whom God relentlessly heaps both blessing and responsibility. So it is not just Abraham we praise for displaying great faith. God himself puts his reputation on the line and throws in his lot with this motley gang. Against all the odds, he believes they will come through for him.

Who is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? A God who does not give up on us, and a God who is obviously not scared of failure.

Reflection:

Remember back to a specific time when somebody believed in you. Could be a teacher who inspired you to pass an exam? Maybe your Dad when you were learning to ride your first bike? Imagine the confidence given by somebody you trust having faith in you. Recall how it feels to be believed in.
God believes in you. Bring to mind all the desires you hold to love more, to be kinder to others, to be more patient. God believes you can do it. He has faith in you, even when you do not. Let yourself be inspired by his belief.