2513AFC032825 – Lay that burden down ! 🙂 ← PODCAST LINK
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Isaiah 66:10-11 – 10 Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy,
all you who mourn over her—
11 that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her consoling breast;
that you may drink deeply with delight
from her glorious bosom.
Joshua 5:9 – 9 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” And so that place is called Gilgal * to this day.
* גָּלַל – galal – { gaw-lal’} To roll, roll away, roll down, roll together. This metaphor indicates God has relieved his people of the heavy burden they have been carrying – the humiliation of their slavery in Egypt.
Psalm 34:6-7 – (GNT) [1]
6 The helpless call to him, and he answers;
he saves them from all their troubles.
7 His angel guards those who honor the Lord
and rescues them from danger.
2 Corinthians 5:20 c-21 (GNT) – We plead on Christ’s behalf: let God change you from enemies into his friends! 21 **Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God .
** [5:21] This is a statement of God’s purpose, expressed ironically in terms of sharing and exchange of attributes. As Christ became our righteousness (1 Cor 1:30), we become God’s righteousness (cf. 2 Cor 5:14–15).
Luke 15:31-32 – 31 Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’
Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. Our opening Key Verse for today is the introit – the entrance hymn – for the fourth Sunday of Lent. Already we are past the half-way point this Season of Lent. Sunday is Laetare Sunday so named because of the introit (entrance antiphon) in Isaiah 66:10-11 which in Latin begins with “Laetare Jerusalem: et conventum facite omnes qui diligitis eam: gaudete cum laetitia, …” which means “Rejoice, O Jerusalem: and come together all you that love her: rejoice with joy, …” For this special Sunday, the vestments and church appointments are rose-colored (“pink”). This passage also contains the Latin word gaudete which also means Rejoice.
This passage is declaring the future restoration of Jerusalem. He promises True Worship will prevail, wickedness will be banished, the entire World will unite in Righteousness to dwell in a New Heaven and New Earth. As stated above “God has relieved his people of the heavy burden they have been carrying – the humiliation of their slavery in Egypt.” In this metaphor, Egypt stands for the evil and oppression in the World. That burden will be lifted through the Power of the Holy Spirit. It is such a wonderful message that Jerusalem, and all the world with her, will literally jump for joy. God will take away our hearts of stone (↔ Music Link) and replace them with hearts for Love alone. There is a caveat, however.
God created us in Love and for Love. His expectation – his command – is that we love and obey him. These acts of obeisance – homage, respect, and binding loyalty to him – are the implementation of his Grace in our lives. He gives us gifts. We use them to give him praise and thanks. He rewards us with even greater gifts – the restoration of our Original Innocence which we lost by Original Sin. That burden of Original Sin, the Egypt of our existence – is rolled away by the restoration of Love between God and all his Creation. What a great cause for rejoicing! Our future is the fulfilment of all for which we Hope.
In the passage from Joshua, this Hope is explained as having been rolled away. Envision a multitude of people gathered together to transport a gigantic stone across a long distance. Although they are weary, they continue to work together – mostly. There are a few grumblers and some slackers, too, but still they all move forward.
Then comes The Word of Proclamation, “I AM rolling away that burden. Rest, and rejoice!” Even the grumblers and slackers get relief because I AM restores them as well. Every angel guards those who honor the Lord, and rescues them from danger. In the presence of those Angels, (↔ Click Link) we will sing God’s Praise! The helpless call to him, and he answers; he saves them from all their troubles. Our exodus from Egypt is accomplished through Christ’s descent into Sheol and exodus from there to the Land of the Living by his Resurrection. This is because Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God. And thereby we are liberated from the burden of Sin – Original as well as personal but still with the caveat above – our burden is lifted (↔ Music Link). We are further blessed when Jesus commands us to help roll away the burden of our neighbors. It is reminiscent of the stone rolled away at the Tomb. That which is prefigured in the Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament. Our God is SO good!
Now, I owe you 2 “Person of the Week” stories. Let’s begin with the person God called Israel. You can find that account in Genesis 32:22-32. Here’s the back story: Jacob, the second son of Isaac and brother of Esau, the first son of Jacob, was going through Esau’s territory. There was still deep division between the two because Jacob had stolen his brother’s birthright by tricking him to cede it to him for a bowl of pottage. Jacob was afraid Esau would do him harm. God had told him to return to the land of his father and to settle in another corner of that territory, and so he had brought all his possessions – thousands of animals and people – including his wife, children, and servants. He sent all of them across the river Jabbok with many gifts for Esau hoping that the Gifts would soften his brother’s heart.
After Jacob had sent everything over the river Jabbok, he an “a man” wrestled all night. Jacob was winning, and he kept at it until it was early dawn. The man – whom we infer to be a divine being – admits Jacob has prevailed and signals to end the contest. Jacob refuses to quit until his opponent gives him a blessing. The opponent agrees and asks, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he replied. Then we read – Genesis 32:28 – 28 Then the mansaid, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” This name is Israel יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisra’el) { yis-raw-ale’} The meaning is: He struggles with God or God prevails. In all of that region, the descendants of Esau and Ishmael pronounce the name of Israel’s descendants as Isra-Elis (EEsrah-AYlees). Israel’s comment after that event was “I have striven with God and prevailed!” He named the place Peniel which mean “Face of God,” for he said “I have seen the face of God and lived.”
That’s one, and here’s two: Esau! We’ve already pointed out he was the first son of Jacob which means he was entitled to a double portion of the inheritance and the leadership of the family. The inheritance would be divided between both of Isaac’s and Rebekah’s sons, and the eldest would receive ⅔ of the inheritance, not just ½. In Genesis 25:19-34 at verses 22-23, we read – 22 The children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples born of you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the elder shall serve the younger.”
Esau came out first, and he looked fully mature – covered with hair, and reddish in color. That was the derivation of his name. Jacob was second, and – according to the account in Genesis 25:26 – 26 Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob, Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
Esau grew up to be a skilled hunter and was not one much for the religious side of life. After he moved away from Isaac’s territory, his descendants were called the Edomites and the land THEY occupied was often called Idumea. We read God’s words conveyed by Moses in Deuteronomy 23:7 – 7 You shall not abhor any of the Edomites, for they are your kin. You shall not abhor any of the Egyptians, because you were an alien residing in their land. Esau is a noteworthy person in the Patriarchal narrative, and – as with Ishmael – the tensions between their descendants continue to be felt today.
That’s if for this post. Thanks for coming along! We’ll see all y’all next week as we continue our Lenten journey. We continue to REJOICE, secure in the hope that our prayers and sacrificial offerings as stewards of God’s Love will free us – as well as our friends, neighbors, and relatives – from all that burdens us while we continue to remember that he says, “Adelphos – you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.” And what does God have for our inheritance? How about his Everlasting Love?!? (↔ Music Link) The Peace of the Lord is with us always!
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
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Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
[1] Passages marked (GNT): Good News Translation (GNT) are from the Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition)© 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
Jacob’s trip from Haran to Edom
