Genesis 27:18-27. This is the scene where Jacob, encouraged and instructed by his mother, fools and lies to his father Isaac in order to cut his older brother Esau out of his inheritance. Isaac is about to die, his eyesight is failing, and he has asked Esau to go out and hunt some food and prepare him a meal. When Esau departs, his mother, Rebekah, calls his younger twin brother Jacob and tells him to take a meal to his father while pretending to be Esau. She puts animal fur on Jacob's hands, since Esau was much hairier. Here, Jacob brings the meal to Isaac who wonders at how quickly Esau was able to hunt and prepare the meal. Isaac is suspicious because it sounds like Jacob, so he calls his son to him and feels his hands. They feel, of course, hairy like Esau's, but Isaac is still suspicious so he asks outright "Are you really my son Esau?" and Jacob replies "I am." So Isaac believes him and blesses him, thus cutting Esau out of the inheritance.

I have been thinking of this story a lot over the last year and a half. Many lies have been told and continue to be told to us, there is much deception going on, and many (most?) people are being fooled, often to their great detriment. I am so angry at it all, and I am mystified at why this is happening. Why is God allowing this? I truly do not know, but it has been a another long and hard lesson in trust for me. I do not know God's plan, I cannot understand his ways. The story of Jacob and Esau is a very good one for me to remember - God brings good out of our evil and deception. His plan incorporates all of our misdeeds and sin to bring about his ultimate good.

Did Rebekah and Jacob sin here? Absolutely they did. They deceived Isaac, they lied, they stole Esau's birthright. They are bad people in this part of the story. Does that mean they are bad people forever? That they have done evil and will never do good, that they can never be forgiving? No, not at all. God uses their misdeeds to accomplish great good - the birth of the nation of Israel, his chosen people. And, we also get to see Jacob have to wrestle (quite literally) with his sin and his conscience before he becomes Israel - the father of the 12 tribes. In Genesis 32:24-30 Jacob wrestles all night with a man who, when he does not prevail, touches Jacob's thigh so that it is out of joint, and asks to be let go. Jacob refuses until he gets a blessing. The man, clearly an angel, blesses Jacob and changes his name to Israel "for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." So Jacob wrestles with his wrongdoing, is forgiven his sin, and becomes Israel. He also immediately meets his brother Esau again after this (Genesis 33:1-17), and Esau runs to him, embraces him, kisses him, and has forgiven him completely.

This is how God forgives us - completely, totally; in love, not brooding, not holding a grudge. But, we must first confront our sin and wrongdoing ourselves, just as Jacob did. We must face it, we cannot just forgive ourselves and forget about it and try to move on. This is a vitally important lesson, and a very good reason to do an examination of conscience frequently.

Lastly, I have been praying hard for families lately - there is so much division and anxiety in my own family and in many others. It seems that every family has a fault line that is being exposed and exacerbated by recent events. Mary told us the final battle would be over the family, and I can really see that playing out. But this story gives us so much hope! Here is a seemingly unforgivable family deception and crime that actually works out in the absolute best way!

We don't know what God is up to, we have to trust him and abandon ourselves to Divine Providence.