As I continue my journey with Joseph, we are now passing through the window when he is rejoined with his father Jacob.
This moment speaks differently to me today than ever before, as Joseph foreshadows the Christ as a redeemer of Jacob's dream, while also positioning the lineage of Judah to fulfill a blessing soon to be placed upon him by an aging Jacob, now called out as, Isreal.
Jacob, as a young man had experienced the shenanigans of his mother, clothed in the skin of a goat so as to steal the birthright of his "hairy" brother, Esau from a then aged Isaac whose sight had dimmed.
That'll PREACH!!
Now years have past since he and his mom both broke the rules, yet he has been blessed far beyond the dream of his mom. He has by now, likely grown comfortable with a God who is a rule breaker, at least when those rules are man made and much of our rules, our religion is just that.
This God is for sure a promise keeper, but also at times, a rule breaker!
This morning, I glanced quickly at the link below* in order to explore the origins of that word, "religion" only to discover centuries of unresolved debate.
To those of Jewish origin it implies a fastening, as in "to bind" (see, tefillin), to others an encouragement to often "reread", then to other it implies the need "to choose again."
The irony of that sequence, is that in my recent years all three seem now to hold true.
I find religion now binding my mind, while my spirit encourages me to reread and rethink all that I have bound up within my mind. Unlearning and relearning occupies much of my devotional time. A shift seems occuring around who I had come to believe this God to be!
I am discovering One who is more akin to Jacob's God than religion's fixed persona. Yes, again it seems, even a rule breaker, as I "choose" to follow this inexhaustible God of the galaxies, with my passion now deeper than ever, though my understanding more challenged than I would have thought possible, and in my last days.
Interestingly, unlike my younger days, bathed in a "Full Gospel" renewal, these are more the days of spiritual famine, though churches in abundance and of every stripe imaginable positioned across our nation, yet a nation in turmoil.
Ironically, given this shift, I stillwrite with some hesitancy, given the religious "tapes" that play loud in my Boomer brain, though I am encouraged daily by the scores of folk in a similar place, "unlearners" like myself, some even more edgy than I.
Just now, Steve McVey posts: "Changing our minds about beliefs we've held for a long time can be scary. It can feel wrong. Don't confuse "growing pains" with doubt or confusion. That kind of radical change is what the Bible calls "repentance." There's nothing wrong with it at all. That is the grace walk experience."
Jacob had experienced the God I desire to know, unbounded by tradition, though seen as the very author of that tradition, first by Abram, then much later by Moses. Then centuries later, the Rule Breaker would reveal himself in human flesh, only later to be reeled back into religion by the offspring of those first called Christians in Antioch. By that I mean myself and others.
Today's Christianity, whether Catholic or Protestant seems now in a place where her very founder, the Christ might be saying, "How's that working for you" given the turmoil in our world.
This God who is unwilling that any should perish, seems unwilling as well to play by religion's rules! God, neither a "he nor she" by the way, is likely up to something big, though my guess that it's closer to a moment of miraculous transformation across the plethora of religious traditions, than the sudden exodus I was taught to prepare for.
Either way, I "choose again" to follow the hand that was placed on my head one night when there was no human nearby, assuring me of "his/her" touch on my life, though at that time I was more like Esau than Jacob!
Now that Jacob has truly wrestled with God, and by now like his father, Isaac, poor in sight but not in vision, he crosses his hands, placing his blessing upon Ephraim, rather than the firstborn, Manasseh.
He was simply obeying this rule breaking God. One who by the way made promises to Hagar, much similar to those made to Abraham; and we are still watching that play out, even moreso in this moment with Abraham's seed in today's divided Isreal.
Let that same God speak to you as you "read again" the rules of religion, unlearning what you must, so that you might "choose again" God's true blessing and promise for your unique life.
I read it twice it’s real deep - Thank you