Grammies for Pilgrims

Genesis 47:27-31

“Home.” Say it out loud. For most of us it feels good just to say it. You could use it for a meditative chant. It’s the place you go back to. I know that’s not a positive association for many people who have suffered abuse where they should have experienced only love, but for Jacob it is a good word.

It’s worth noting that within these few verses we move from “Jacob” to “Israel.” Israel is the name Jacob was given along with the dream at Bethel. While it might not seem to us to matter what would happen with his body after he died, for him it must have been important to know that the representation of his bodily life would be going back to where heaven and earth connected, and he was given that new name that would also be the name of the people. We are maybe to see that the whole Joseph story – as romanticized as it has been – falls within the Jacob story.

Maybe his burial back home is kind of compass point for the nation in Egypt that is Israel but not yet known as such, even to themselves. Just a point to ponder: Maybe when God gives us a vision to follow he plants (buries) little compass points for us ahead of us that it’s our job to discover. We have no idea what they are no matter how much (as we need to) we plan. But we’ll know them when we find them. Following a vision is like a treasure hunt. No, that doesn’t mean when the people get back to Promised Land they’ll go dig up ol’ Jacob. It does mean his years of pilgrimage are lived by his descendants in their own down to earth, make-a-difference-in-the-world way, and God doesn’t leave us without prizes to excite us and encourage us along the way.

Prayer:
God you give us such an amazing journey. It’s so sad we get caught up in some of things we do. Keep our vision pure, and our journey focused on what you place before us. Through Christ. Amen.