There’s an entire conversation to have about giving and receiving blessings. It helps understand the story of Esau and Jacob. We’d consider what kind of blessings were at stake and who wanted which sons to have them and why. Of course, most of us would want to know why this was such a big deal to begin with. Like Esau, we might wonder if there was a spare blessing to give that could’ve made everything right. And what made it so binding there’d have to be such much drama?
All that would make for a great study together.
Today, I’m focused on another aspect of Esau’s encounter. It’s related, of course, to his father’s blessing. They both discover there’s been a trick. First, Isaac doesn’t know who received the blessing. But quickly recognized it was Jacob who deceived him. The text says Isaac “trembled violently” (Genesis 27:33). What was Esau’s response?
He cried.
You get to imagine what his “great and bitter cry” looked and sounded like. Think back to our blessing conversation. What did Esau stand to lose? What was he feeling? Chances are, you would cry, too, if it happened to you.
Esau asked for another blessing. His blood began to boil knowing his brother tricked him again. Then again Esau asked for another blessing. His father, seemingly, threw his hands in the air in defeat and confinement. What could he do? Then Esau did again what he first did.
He wept.
We’ve got something else to add to our blessing conversation. Isaac seemed helpless with Esau with one blessing. But, in the next chapter, Isaac will easily bless Jacob again. In this chapter, though, only after Esau wept twice did Isaac muster the ability to offer some kind of blessing.
I’ve often said the church is God’s blessing to the world. Our practice of love should be healing and transformative, thus being a blessing.
But, often, we withhold our blessing. Sure, we may not mean to, on our best days. We’re just too busy doing church-y stuff to get to it.
When we finalize realize the futility of that kind of church, what do we do? Where do we begin sharing the blessing of being loved by God? Start where there are tears.
Listen to what makes people weep. And be a presence there. Not to fix anyone. Not to swoop in and save them. But to be the blessing of a loving presence. I guarantee you’ll have a lot more blessing conversations to share!
Stay blessed…john
