Tricked but Trying

So [Jacob] went in to his father and said, “My father”; and [Isaac] said, “Here I am; who are you, my son?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn.” – Genesis 27:18-19a (NRSV) 

I’m thinking about Isaac today, tricked into blessing someone dressed up as someone else. How he raised his hands in good faith and wound up blessing a deceit. 

I’m thinking about all the times a younger me raised his hand and pledged allegiance in good faith, put his hand on his heart and belted “…the land of the free and the home of the brave” and meant it. How I eventually realized that, like Isaac, I’d been blessing a country dressed up as something it wasn’t. The claims of freedom, the truths held as self-evident, the liberty and justice that were supposed to be for all: not one of these was fully realized yet. Many of them were never intended to be, not for everyone, and each expansion of their reach had been met with fiercest resistance and won only with blood. 

They say Isaac “trembled violently” when he learned the switcheroo he’d been the victim of. I can relate. Whether I’m trembling with indignation or fear or outrage changes, but the trembling’s pretty much always there these days. 

I’m thinking about Isaac today, but I’m also thinking about Jacob the counterfeit. How he wasn’t what he said he was, but how he wasn’t all bad. How he too suffered for his sins. How he spent time wandering, but eventually came home. How he had a dream, and had to wrestle with God, how we was left limping but whole. How he confessed, tried to make reparation, spoke truth and sought reconciliation with those he had harmed.  

How, though he started out a shyster and a liar, he did eventually become a great nation. 

Prayer
May Jacob’s story be ours. Amen.

About the Author
Quinn G. Caldwell is Chaplain of the Protestant Cooperative Ministry at Cornell University. His most recent book is a series of daily reflections for Advent and Christmas called All I Really Want: Readings for a Modern Christmas. Learn more about it and find him on Facebook at Quinn G. Caldwell.