Remembering Our Family Stories 2017 Summer Devotional Guide

Remembering Our Family Stories 2017 Summer Devotional Guide

We know how it is. All year long you are busy going from one thing to the next: from work to dropping off the carpool to volunteer to family dinner to school to doing the laundry to more work to calling the plumber to settling an argument between your kids to settling an argument between your colleagues to It is exhausting. Summer may not mean a break from all of that, but it does often mean a change of pace. Change of pace is good. God built a change of pace into the very fiber of creation. In the scriptures we read that God created the Sabbath to rest and enjoy creation. If we don t do that during the summertime, when will we? That is why in the church we slow the pace WAY down in the summer. We don t want you rushing to church meetings or feeling like you have to prepare a Sunday school lesson. But we do want you to stay connected. During these summer months you may find that you are away from church on weekends, or that you miss those midweek Bible studies or chances to connect. We have created this summer devotional guide to help you stay connected to God and the church this summer. Each week there is a scripture that will be the subject for the sermon, plus some questions to reflect on the scripture on your own. There is also an image that connects to the story. And finally there is a prayer. Use this devotional to stay connected when you are gone. Or to prepare for the worship experience about to come up. Or to reflect more deeply on a worship experience that you just had. So change your pace. Breathe more. Worry less. Talk with those you love. Get outside. And stay connected. FCPC staff members

Sunday, June 11 Trinity Sunday Unidentified stonemason. Trinity, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?rc=56146 [retrieved May 21, 2017]. Scripture: Genesis 1:1-2:4a 1In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, Let there be light ; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 6And God said, Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters. 7 So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8 God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 9And God said, Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear. And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it. And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. 14And God said, Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15 and let them

be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth. And it was so. 16 God made the two great lights the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night and the stars. 17 God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. 20And God said, Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky. 21 So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth. 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. 24And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind. And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 26Then God said, Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. 27 So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. 29 God said, See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food. And it was so. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. 2:1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. 2 And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. 4These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.

Reflection If you are by yourself or with people you trust! try reading this entire passage out loud. When you get to the end of the day when you read, And there was evening, and there was morning, the day, take a deep breath before moving on. In some places in the Bible, it seems that the day did not start with morning, but with sunset on what we would call the evening before. How might that method of marking time change your perspective? It wasn t until the third day that the Scriptures record that God saw that it was good. And on the sixth day, God saw that everything that had been made was very good. What do you think changed in God s reactions to the creation, day, by day? What, do you think is good in God s creation? What do you think is very good? It is recorded that on the seventh day, God finished the work that he had done, and he rested. Do you think that God s work was truly finished? How do you rest from your work? How might you respond to God s invitation to rest in this summer season? Prayer for the Day God, whose fingers sculpt sun and moon and curl the baby's ear; Spirit, brooding over chaos before the naming of day; Savior, sending us to earth s ends with water and words: startle us with the grace, love, and communion of your unity in diversity, that we may live to the praise of your majestic name. Amen.

Sunday, June 18, 2017 Tiepolo, Giovanni Battista, 1696-1770. Sarah laughing, detail from "Angel Appears to Sarah", from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/actimagelink.pl?rc=55120 [retrieved May 21, 2017]. Scripture: Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7 1The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. 3He said, "My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on-since you have

come to your servant." So they said, "Do as you have said." 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes." 7 Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. 8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate. 9They said to him, "Where is your wife Sarah?" And he said, "There, in the tent." 10Then one said, "I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?" 13 The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' 14 Is anything too wonderful for the LORD? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son." 15 But Sarah denied, saying, "I did not laugh"; for she was afraid. He said, "Oh yes, you did laugh." 1The LORD dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as he had promised. 2 Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him. 4And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6Now Sarah said, "God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me." 7 And she said, "Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age." Reflection In the New Testament, this scripture is cited by the writer of Hebrews as an exhortation to be hospitable to strangers, for, by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it (13:2). How do you practice hospitality? What keeps you from practicing hospitality? Is there someone, specifically, in your life, that you feel called to welcome? Could it even be yourself? Can you make a commitment to reach out toward that person? How, if ever, do you feel God providing hospitality for you? Sarah laughs when she hears that she is to have a child in her old age. What makes you laugh? Who makes you laugh? How might laughing more often make space for God? How can you invite more laughter into your life? Prayer of the Day To fulfill the ancient promise of salvation, O God, you made a covenant with our ancestors and pledged them descendants more numerous than the stars. Grant that all people may share in the blessings of your covenant, accomplished through the death and resurrection of your Son and sealed by the gift of your Spirit. Amen.

Sunday, June 25, 2017 Ellen Mary Rope http://www.arthur.rope.clara.net/emr.htm# retrieved May 21, 2017 Scripture: Genesis 21:8-21 8The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. 10 So she said to Abraham, "Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac." 11The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, "Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you. 13 As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring." 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

15When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. 16Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, "Do not let me look on the death of the child." And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him." 19 Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink. 20God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt. Reflection In this story, set in a patriarchal society, neither Hagar nor Sarah have ultimate power and authority over their own destiny, and yet they are pitted against each other. Is there anyone in your life that you resent? Is there a way in which the person that bugs you the most at school, in social settings, at work, here at church, might also be in pain? What prayer can you pray for that person? Hagar, however, is the one who is cast out, with her young child. Who are those who are cast out in our society? Is there some way that you can reach out to them? By volunteering at Welcome Table? By looking a homeless person in the eye? Making a donation to a shelter? Psalm 86 is one of the other scripture passages of the day. Read it through in your Bible and imagine that Hagar might be the one praying it. Prayer of the Day God of power, you uphold us in times of persecution and strengthen us to meet the trials of faithful witness. As you delivered us from death through our baptism in Christ and the victory of his resurrection send us forth to proclaim that glorious redemption, so that the world may claim the freedom of forgiveness and new life in you. Amen.

Sunday, July 2, 2017 George Segal, Abraham and Isaac: In Memory of May 4, 1970, Kent State University, 1978 79http://artmuseum.princeton.edu/campusart/objects/31772 [retrieved May 21, 2017]. Scripture: Genesis 22:1-14 1After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, Abraham! And he said, Here I am. 2 He said, Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you. 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you. 6 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son

Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7Isaac said to his father Abraham, Father! And he said, Here I am, my son. He said, The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8 Abraham said, God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son. So the two of them walked on together. 9When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham! And he said, Here I am. 12 He said, Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me. 13And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD will provide ; as it is said to this day, On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided. Reflection This is a story that is sometimes called a text of terror. It may be unfathomable for us to imagine going as far as Abraham went in this story. Scholars suggest that the story may have been offered as a stark juxtaposition against other local religions that did practice the sacrifice of people as a part of their ritual, which none of the Abrahamic faiths ever have. Nevertheless, this is a hard story to wrestle meaning about God or a life of faith for us today. This text has, however, been a powerful image for social criticism of warfare, violence, commercialism, and greed. Indeed, on the campus of Princeton University there is a statue depicting this scene, which was created to commemorate the Kent State Massacre of student protesters by the National Guard during the Vietnam War. What are areas of the world where children are being sacrificed, even now? How might even our own children suffer from habits and circumstances in our community? Can you pray for God to provide a way out of the violence that the children of the world still suffer, as God provided a ram to stay Abraham s hand? Prayer of the Day To fulfill the ancient promise of salvation, O God, you made a covenant with our ancestors and pledged them descendants more numerous than the stars. Grant that all people may share in the blessings of your covenant, accomplished through the death and resurrection of your Son and sealed by the gift of your Spirit. Amen.

Sunday, July 9, 2017 Murillo, Bartolomé Esteban, 1617-1682. Rebecca and Eleazer, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?rc=46607 [retrieved May 21, 2017]. Scripture: Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67 34So he said, I am Abraham s servant. 35 The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become wealthy; he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys. 36 And Sarah my master s wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and he has given him all that he has. 37 My master made me swear, saying, You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live; 38 but you shall go to my father s house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son. 42 I came today to the spring, and said, O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, if now you will only make successful the way I am going! 43 I am standing here by the spring of water; let the young woman who comes out to draw, to whom I shall say, Please give me a little water from your jar to drink, 44 and who will say to me, Drink, and I will draw for your camels also let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master s son. 45 Before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her water jar on her shoulder; and she went down to the spring, and drew. I said to her, Please let me drink. 46 She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will also water your camels. So I drank, and she also watered the camels. 47 Then I asked her, Whose daughter are you? She said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor s son, whom Milcah bore to him. So I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her arms.

48Then I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to obtain the daughter of my master s kinsman for his son. 49 Now then, if you will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn either to the right hand or to the left. 58And they called Rebekah, and said to her, Will you go with this man? She said, I will. 59 So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, May you, our sister, become thousands of myriads; may your offspring gain possession of the gates of their foes. 61Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man; thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way. 62Now Isaac had come from Beer-lahai-roi, and was settled in the Negeb. 63 Isaac went out in the evening to walk in the field; and looking up, he saw camels coming. 64 And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel, 65 and said to the servant, Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us? The servant said, It is my master. So she took her veil and covered herself. 66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah s tent. He took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother s death. Reflection In the Bible, wells are life-giving places. They are centers of community, and often the site of romance! What images does the word well conjure up in your imagination? Where do you go for refreshment and renewal? Can you ask for God to show you how to drink more deeply this summer? This particular well, Beer-lahai-roi, was a place that Hagar, the mother of Ishmael (considered to be the patriarch of Islam) saw and spoke to God when she ran away after being poorly treated by Sarah. What do you think is the implication of this common heritage among the great monotheistic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)? Prayer of the Day We rejoice, O Christ, for in your tender compassion you shoulder our burdens and ease our heavy hearts. Give us the strength to carry each other as you have carried us. Amen.

Sunday, July 16, 2017 http://www.sfswedenborgian.org/sermons/2015sermons.asp. [Retrieved May 21, 2017]. Scripture: Genesis 25:19-34 19These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her; and she said, If it is to be this way, why do I live? So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said to her, Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples born of you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger. 24When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them. 27When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau, because he was fond of game; but Rebekah

loved Jacob. 29Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. 30 Esau said to Jacob, Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished! (Therefore he was called Edom.) 31 Jacob said, First sell me your birthright. 32 Esau said, I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me? 33 Jacob said, Swear to me first. So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. Reflection As God s covenant prepares to meet its third generation, sibling rivalry between Abraham and Sarah s grandchildren begins while they are still in the womb. Once they are born, the parents join in, creating a genuinely dysfunctional family where one parent prefers the firstborn, Esau, and the other Jacob. Think about the significance of Israel s family story running through such characters. What does it say that God s covenant, God s promise to bless all humanity, runs through such a messed up family? The second portion of this story is sometimes labeled, Esau sells his birthright. (In a story that follows, Jacob and Rachel conspire together to trick the blind Isaac into giving Jacob the blessing and birthright that rightfully belongs to Esau.) His hunger overrides any thought of bigger issues. Think of the times our immediate wants cause us to act foolishly. Is your own faith sometimes sidetracked by this short view? Prayer of the Day To fulfill the ancient promise of salvation, O God, you made a covenant with our ancestors and pledged them descendants more numerous than the stars. Grant that all people may share in the blessings of your covenant, accomplished through the death and resurrection of your Son and sealed by the gift of your Spirit. Amen.

Sunday, July 23, 2017 Chagall, Marc, 1887-1985. Jacob's Dream, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?rc=54650 [retrieved May 21, 2017]. Scripture: Genesis 28:10-19a 10Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12 And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 And the LORD stood beside him and said, 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; 14 and 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. 16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, Surely the LORD is in this place and I did not know it! 17 And he was afraid, and said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 18So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19a He called that place Bethel;

Reflection When Jacob spends the night at the place he will name Bethel, he is running for his life. After he and Racheal tricked Isaac and stole Esau s blessing, Esau plots to kill him. Jacob is a trickster and a scoundrel who deserves much of the trouble he finds. And yet, Jacob is the hero of the story and the one from who Israel will take their name. We often think of God calling good and righteous people to do God s work, but Jacob is anything but. Why would God use such an unsavory fellow to move divine hope into the future? Jacob s encounter with God leads him to set up a stone pillar and call the place Bethel (meaning house of God). Even though Israel s faith understands that God cannot be confined to any one place, this and other stories speak of God being in this place. Are there places where God seems especially present to you? If so, why do you think those places make God s presence more real to you? Prayer of the Day Through dreams and visions, O God, you broaden the horizon and hope of your people, that they may discover the meaning of your covenant, even in the midst of trial and exile. Increase the number of those who believe in your word so that all people may joyfully respond to your call and share in your promises. Amen.

Sunday, July 30, 2017 Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Leah and Rachel, 1855. http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/rossetti-dantes-vision-of-rachel-and-leahn05228 [Retrieved May 21, 2017] Scripture: Genesis 29:15-28 15Then Laban said to Jacob, Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be? 16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17Leah s eyes were lovely, and Rachel was graceful and beautiful. 18 Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel. 19 Laban said, It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me. 20So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. 21Then Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed. 22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place, and made a feast. 23But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. 24 (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.) 25 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? 26 Laban said, This is not done in our country giving the younger before the firstborn. 27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years. 28Jacob did so, and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife. Reflection So, the trickster, Jacob, gets tricked by Laban on his wedding night but gets Rachel in the end. On the surface, this can seem like an almost-tragic love story that has a happy ending at last. In this case, however, that ending is a fait accompli. It is the writer s intention throughout the long Jacob narrative to establish him as the literal father of the 12 tribes of Israel so he really does need a wife, or four wives in this case, to make sure there are 12 male offspring. But you may want to spend time reading it from a different perspective. Allow yourself to step into the narrative world of Genesis for a moment. What would it have been like to be a lesser character Leah or Rachel, sisters literally given in marriage by their father to the same man as payment for his labor? What would it have been like to be Zilpah, and Bilhah (named later), the handmaids to Leah and Rachel, respectively, who were used by their mistresses as they competed with each other to provide more offspring for Jacob? Prayer of the Day God of Jacob, Rachel, Leah, Zilpah and Bilhah, help us to hear your voice in the unheard voices in this old story of the second sons of our world with no inheritance of their own; of the women given as property and slaves; and of the citizens of small nations oppressed by surrounding super powers, struggling to be free. May they inspire us to do as Jesus did and treat everyone with respect, especially those whose can t speak for themselves. Amen.

Sunday, August 6, 2017 Fortt, Annette Gandy. Jacob and the Angel, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?rc=56023 [retrieved May 21, 2017]. Scripture: Genesis 32:22-31 22The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. 24 Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, Let me go, for the day is breaking. But Jacob said, I will not let you go, unless you bless me. 27 So he said to him, What is your name? And he said, Jacob. 28 Then the man said, You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed. 29 Then Jacob asked him, Please tell me your name. But he said, Why is it that you ask my name? And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved. 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Reflection This story may remind us of how Jacob tricked his blessing out of Isaac. Except this time he works much harder to get it, wrestling all night with a man (a messenger from God or God) until he prevails. He beats God! In return, Jacob gets a really big blessing this time: he becomes Israel, a name defined in the story to fit Jacob s triumph. Now we can see very clearly that the Jacob story is the story of the birth of the nation Israel.

Yet, because of the writer s skill, its characters become real to us rather than mere symbols. The name Jacob means (roughly) one who comes from behind to get what isn t his. He is very human. Maybe that s why his wrestling with God can also inspire us to wonder what kind of role we play in our own relationship with God. Are we passive or active? Are we in there wrestling our way through our lives or do we listen and receive wisdom less confrontationally? Perhaps a bit of both? Have we changed? How big a part does perseverance play? In other words, how much of our faith is just hanging in there with God until we get our blessing and remember who we are? Prayer of the Day God beyond all seeing and knowing, we meet you in the night of change and crisis, and wrestle with you in the darkness of doubt. Give us the will and spirit to live faithfully and love as we are loved. Amen.

Sunday, August 13, 2017 Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowiczowa. Joseph Sold Into Slavery By His Brothers. 1883 https://03varvara.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/annabilinska-bohdanowiczowa-joseph-sold-into-slavery-by-his-brothers-1883/ [Retrieved May 21, 2017] Scripture: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 1Jacob settled in the land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. 2 This is the story of the family of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. 4 But

when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him. 12Now his brothers went to pasture their father s flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them. He answered, Here I am. 14 So he said to him, Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me. So he sent him from the valley of Hebron. He came to Shechem, 15 and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, What are you seeking? 16 I am seeking my brothers, he said; tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock. 17 The man said, They have gone away, for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. 18 They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. 19They said to one another, Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams. 21 But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, Let us not take his life. 22 Reuben said to them, Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; 24 and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh. And his brothers agreed. 28 When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. Reflection This is a story of jealousy, and how it can poison a family. Because of their father's obvious favoritism, and because of the dreams Joseph told his brothers about, where they bowed down to him, his brothers were filled with anger and jealousy. They wanted so badly the attention Joseph received that they considered killing him. We seem to see some sense of humanity, and remorse, when his brothers decide not to kill him and eventually sell him to the Ishmaelites, less for the small fee, and more to get rid of him. How do we act in love when jealousy clouds our minds? Has there ever been a time where you do something to spite someone else, or because they had something you didn't have? How did this make you feel? How might this story have been different if the brothers had talked to Joseph or their father about their feelings? How may this have affected their actions and their futures?

Prayer of the Day Eternal God, you are present with us throughout our lives, even when others plot to do us harm. May we learn to live together in unity, that in all we do, we may sing your praises now and forever. Amen.

Sunday, August 20, 2017 Pontormo, Jacopo da, 1494-1556. Joseph in Egypt, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?rc=49486 [retrieved May 21, 2017] Scripture: Genesis 45:1-15 1Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, Send everyone away from me. So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3 Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph. Is my father still alive? But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence. 4Then Joseph said to his brothers, Come closer to me. And they came closer. He said, I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. 10 You

shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children s children, as well as your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 I will provide for you there: since there are five more years of famine to come so that you and your household, and all that you have, will not come to poverty. 12 And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you. 13 You must tell my father how greatly I am honored in Egypt, and all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here. 14 Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin s neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him. Reflection This reading comes years after our previous reading. Joseph had been sold into slavery and served until he found favor in the sight of the leaders. His brothers have now come to Egypt to ask for food and water because of the famine ravaging their land. Joseph is the leader who is answering their plea. I wonder how you imagined this story would end? Likely not with Joseph so quickly forgiving and embracing his brothers. But this story demonstrates one of the Bible's purest examples of grace. Joseph is tempted to punish his brothers; to withhold from them the wealth he now has. He wants them to suffer just as he did; that's what seems fair. Instead, though, he embraces them and promises them safety and plenty; he invites them to come live with him and share in his life. If he had acted out of revenge, he would not have had the chance to reunite with his family and experience the joy that came from that. We tend to cling to grudges, but at the end of the day, that leaves us angry, tired, and oftentimes alone, when forgiveness offers us relief from our burdens, and relief for those who may be seeking our grace. Prayer of the Day God of the foreigner and outcast, your arms reach out to embrace all those who call upon you. Teach us as disciples of Christ so to love the world that your name may be known throughout the earth. Amen.

Sunday, August 27, 2017 He, Qi. Finding of Moses, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?rc=46089 [retrieved May 21, 2017] Scripture: Exodus 1:8-2:10 8Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 He said to his people, Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land. 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. 13 The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites. 14 and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them. 15The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live. 17 But the midwives feared

God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. 18 So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live? 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them. 20 So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. 22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live. 1Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. 4 His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him. 5The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him, This must be one of the Hebrews children, she said. 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh s daughter, Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you? 8 Pharaoh s daughter said to her, Yes. So the girl went and called the child s mother. 9 Pharaoh s daughter said to her, Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages. So the woman took the child and nursed it. 10 When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, because, she said, I drew him out of the water. Reflection It has often frustrated Biblical historians that the author of Exodus neglects to share the name of Pharaoh who is portrayed in this story, and yet who offers the names of the Egyptian midwives who saved so many Hebrew children who would have otherwise perished. What do you make of this detail of the story? Think about the people whose names you know, and people who are unnamed to you. How do you think of people differently after knowing a name or a little bit about them? What is the meaning or origin of your name? Have you ever noticed that when we baptize somoen in the church, we do not use their family name, their last name, because we trust that we are being made into one family, and so in a way our last name is Christian. Offer a prayer asking God to help you to live into the fullness of the name of Christ. Not only do the midwives act in defiance of Pharaoh s decree of death, but so does Pharaoh s own daughter. How may you be called to act in a hope-filled way in the face of a world that sometimes seems so filled with violence and despair? Maybe by volunteering at Welcome Table, maybe by writing a note to someone you know to be in pain, maybe by making a donation of school supplies to your local elementary school to help a child who may not be able to afford it? Or maybe you can think of something else?

Prayer of the Day God of Miriam and Moses, you are our help from age to age. Accept our worship, our living sacrifice, and transform us by your Spirit, that, being many members of one true body, we may dare to pray together in the name of Christ the Lord. Amen.

Sunday, September 3, 2017 Unidentified. God Appears to Moses in a Burning Bush, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?rc=55955 [retrieved May 21, 2017] Scripture: Exodus 3:1-15 1Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up. 4 When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, Moses, Moses! And he said, Here I am. 5 Then he said, Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. 6 He said further, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7Then the LORD said, I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. 10 So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. 11 But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? 12 He said, I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain. 13But Moses said to God, If I come to the Israelites and say to them, The God of your ancestors has sent me to you, and they ask me, What is his name? what shall I say to

them? 14 God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. He said further, Thus you shall say to the Israelites, I AM has sent me to you. 15 God also said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the Israelites, The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you : This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations. Reflection Have you ever heard God s voice? Most of us answer that question no; at least when we think of God speaking as is recounted in this story - from out of a burning bush. But most of us have had experiences that we felt were special, different, holy: the birth of a child, in a moment of service, while lost in music, in the midst of an ancient forest or at the top of a mountain, in a moment of vulnerability with a loved one. If those moments were moments that you could claim as God s voice what might God have been saying then? Moses reply to God s clear call could be summed up as, I would love to God, but I have a really excellent excuse. Is there anything that God is inviting you to do or be a part of that you are trying to avoid? If so, what might the first step in saying, yes, to that call be? God offers a name for God s self that has always been a bit of a puzzle. Some translations render it as ours does, I AM WHO I AM, but the tense is not clear in Hebrew it might mean I will be what I will be or I am who I will be, or a several other variations. There is no doubt that the name has to do with being, with acting in the midst of history. This name for God became to be considered so mysterious in Hebrew that the tradition emerged that it should not be uttered out loud. In the gospel of John, Jesus is recounted as claiming this name as his own (I am the bread of life; I am the Light of the world; I am the Gate for the sheep; I am the Good Shepherd; I am the Resurrection and the Life; I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; I am the True Vine). What name would give for yourself in the same style? Who are you in your being: I am a child of God? I am laughter? I am ashamed? Might you be able to come up with seven such sayings? Prayer of the Day In the flaming bush you promised deliverance to your people, O God, and in the cross of Jesus you embraced our suffering and pain. In times of trial, show us the transforming power of your love that we may know the hope of your glory. Amen.