The Shore

Genesis 50:1-14

There is something about the meeting of elements: wind, sky, land and water is probably the most common combination we are drawn to. I suppose skiiers feel the same thing in a different way. There is no doubt an insane exhilaration in being on a mountaintop.

A human meeting of elements can be just as exciting, moving – and risky. Marriage of opposites is potentially a rocky road but can work well (I like what Rick Warren says: If two people were the same one of them wouldn’t be necessary).

Israel and Egypt: apparent opposites. But consider this: How feasible would the long journey with Jacob’s body have been without the very long and thorough Egyptian embalming process? The Egyptian mourning period afforded Jacob the mourning of a king that his place in history warranted.

Does God not give us a basis for hope when there are apparently opposing elements: Jew and Arab, Christian and Muslim, straight and gay, white, yellow, brown, black – whatever? It could even be dynamic.

Prayer:
Transform our minds and hearts, Lord, to set aside any baggage of assumptions and live truly open to the working of your Holy Spirit, who gives birth to new things, new life, and new relationships. Through Christ. Amen.