July 4 Gen. 27:1-5, 15-29; Mt. 9:14-17
When Isaac was so old that his eyesight had failed him,
he called his older son Esau and said to him, “Son!”
“Yes father!” he replied.
Isaac then said, “As you can see, I am so old
that I may now die at any time.
Take your gear, therefore–your quiver and bow–
and go out into the country to hunt some game for me.
With your catch prepare an appetizing dish for me, such as I like,
and bring it to me to eat,
so that I may give you my special blessing before I die.”
Rebekah had been listening
while Isaac was speaking to his son Esau.
So, when Esau went out into the country
to hunt some game for his father,
Rebekah [then] took the best clothes of her older son Esau
that she had in the house,
and gave them to her younger son Jacob to wear;
and with the skins of the kids she covered up his hands
and the hairless parts of his neck.
Then she handed her son Jacob the appetizing dish
and the bread she had prepared.
Bringing them to his father, Jacob said, “Father!”
“Yes?” replied Isaac. “Which of my sons are you?”
Jacob answered his father: “I am Esau, your first-born.
I did as you told me.
Please sit up and eat some of my game,
so that you may give me your special blessing.”
But Isaac asked, “How did you succeed so quickly, son?”
He answered,
“The LORD, your God, let things turn out well with me.”
Isaac then said to Jacob,
“Come closer, son, that I may feel you,
to learn whether you really are my son Esau or not.” So Jacob moved up closer to his father. When Isaac felt him, he said,
“Although the voice is Jacob’s, the hands are Esau’s.”
(He failed to identify him because his hands were hairy,
like those of his brother Esau;
so in the end he gave him his blessing.)
Again he asked Jacob, “Are you really my son Esau?”
“Certainly,” Jacob replied.
Then Isaac said, “Serve me your game, son, that I may eat of it
and then give you my blessing.”
Jacob served it to him, and Isaac ate;
he brought him wine, and he drank.
Finally his father Isaac said to Jacob,
“Come closer, son, and kiss me.”
As Jacob went up and kissed him,
Isaac smelled the fragrance of his clothes.
With that, he blessed him saying,
“Ah, the fragrance of my son
is like the fragrance of a field
that the LORD has blessed!
“May God give to you
of the dew of the heavens
And of the fertility of the earth
abundance of grain and wine.
“Let peoples serve you,
and nations pay you homage;
Be master of your brothers,
and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be those who curse you,
and blessed be those who bless you.”
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We all operate on two levels of consciousness: the first consciousness, or the Esau personality propels our physical life and focuses on the self. Its actions and desires are motivated by the quest for self-preservation and self-gratification. The second consciousness, or the Jacob personality, is drawn to its divine source, striving to become one with all the pervading truth of God. When we have two distinct personalities, living within the same body, it is hard to expect our inner workings to be an inviolable whole. Through prayer, reflection, and meditation, an intense, divine energy can overcome our animal personality. The animal personality desperately needs the continuous guidance and discipline of its divine counterpart for cultivation and refinement. But, in this process, the animal personality grants the spiritual personality a boundless creativty and passion that it could never attain on its own. It is only through union that our twin personalities can reach their ultimate potential; and it is in our collaboration with God that we fulfill the objective for which we are created. I struggle all the time with my two personalities–one for survival, and self-preservation and the one drawn to its divine source, both are necessary, but only when they are in union together can God truly work.
I took the day off. I went and saw “Public Enemies” and a movie about two sisters, about a terminally ill girl. Both movies were disturbing in that they stirred up for me so many emotions–one reminded me how brutal humans really are, how we live out of our animal natures, and the price we pay; the other the fragility of life, the sense of hopelessness, unless you live in a spiritual context, but even then there is a sense of futility at times. I am really exhausted, and am putting down boundaries with people. People seem to push in on me and have no concept of my boundaries and think only of themselves, and so I am going to be more forthright, and clear. Went to bed at midnight. Deo Gratis! Thanks be to God!
