Shameful movement: Jacob Week 2: Wednesday Reading Genesis 27.41-46 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, ‘The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.’ But the words of her elder son Esau were told to Rebekah; so she sent and called her younger son Jacob and said to him, ‘Your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran, and stay with him for a while, until your brother’s fury turns away— until your brother’s anger against you turns away, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send, and bring you back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?’ Then Rebekah said to Isaac, 'I am weary of my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women such as these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?' Reflection The complex and difficult relationship between Isaac and Rebekah creates enmity between their sons, Esau and Jacob. Jacob is very much a trickster, seeking the love of his father, but supported and defended by his mother. This is a fraught situation that leads to this ancestor fleeing his home. In this space of escape he finds the God of his forebears. Despite the deep shame that pursues Jacob, eventually his name is changed to Israel (Genesis 32.28). His shame becomes honour. Black Spirituality is born out of the complex and difficult lives of Black people which often means that they have to leave their homes and their loved ones just to make a life elsewhere. Often, it is only their enduring faith in God that sustains them. Watch Reflect on any journeys you might have undertaken out of shame or fear. ...and pray for God's deep healing within the relationships in your life. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
Sarah: forced movement Week 2: Tuesday Reading Genesis 12.10-20 Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to reside there as an alien, for the famine was severe in the land. When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, ‘I know well that you are a woman beautiful in appearance; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, “This is his wife”; then they will kill me, but they will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared on your account.’ When Abram entered Egypt the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. When the officials of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female slaves, female donkeys, and camels. But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. So Pharaoh called Abram, and said, ‘What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, “She is my sister”, so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and be gone.’ And Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning him; and they set him on the way, with his wife and all that he had. Reflection These ancestral stories are not only about men. They are also centrally about women, named and unnamed. Sarai (later called Sarah) moves to Egypt with her husband Abram to escape famine. This is a story of survival. But there is another dimension. Sarai is beautiful and Abram fears that he would be killed by the Pharaoh should it be found out that Sarai is his spouse. He puts his wife in danger by lying, saying that she is his sister. God preserves Sarai from this political game among men. Tragically, forced migration remains a reality of our world as it was in these early stories of Genesis. Women – very often Black women – have too often borne the brunt of the pain and loss incurred during forced migration. It is often their faith that preserves not only themselves, but their partners and their children. Watch Are there other women of the Bible, like Sarai, whose stories deserve more attention? ...and pray for justice for women and children caught up in human trafficking. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
Week 2: MovementThis week we consider the theme of movement within the spiritual life. Waiting in darkness and uncertainty – a key aspect of Black Spirituality as we have seen – does not mean not moving. It means joining in with a God who is moving always within us, around us, and ahead of us. God is movement. God is life.Prayer for the WeekGod of our ancestors, you have moved in generations past, and continue to move us in the present into your glorious future. Give us faith to trust you in the uncertainties of life. Amen.Abraham: A model of movementWeek 2: MondayAccess an audio version of this reflection via our free app for Apple and Android devices.ReadingGenesis 12.1-9 Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed on by stages towards the Negeb.ReflectionAbram – whose name is later changed to Abraham – is held up as a symbol of faith or faithfulness throughout the Bible. God seems to have a way of calling people to do what is uncommon with the assurance that God is present in the moving and in the doing. God abundantly blesses and brings about his promises – however unlikely they seem to be at the outset.It’s in this painful move away from his father’s home that God appears and promises Abram a land that he passes through. Abram does not understand how or when God’s plan might be fulfilled, but nevertheless makes an altar to the Lord.Black history is one where forced migration meant the leaving of the motherland, Africa. The unspeakable horror of this history remains unresolved, but out of this, much of the world has been blessed through Black Spirituality, ingenuity, creativity, and strength.WatchWhat are the ways in which your life journeys have shaped your life? ...and prayfor openness to God's unfolding plan for your life.Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
Sharing one bread Week 1: Weekend Reading 1 Corinthians 11.23-31 For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgement against themselves. For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. Reflection Holy Communion is where we learn what it means to receive and to be the Body of Christ. Selina Stone writes in Tarry Awhile, “To be invited around the Lord’s table, is a privilege that none of us deserve. As we gather around the table that is not our own, at which we are guests, we are reminded … of the reconciling work of Christ even while we tarry for this reconciliation in our experience. Of course, we experience moments of this reconciliation in the meantime … Our hope is built up by these moments. “The Eucharist … is a time when we accept a gift that tells us a truth that even we might like to deny: that we are all children of God and siblings of one another … it is through Christ’s life, death and resurrection that we have been reconciled to God and to one another.” Watch Reflect on how Christians are united - but also sometimes divided - by the Lord's table. ...and pray for deeper unity in the Body of Christ. Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.
