The personal blog of Anderson T. Graves II. Education, Religion, Politics, Family, and TRUTH------ but not necessarily the truth you want to hear.
I still love ya' though.
The
book of Exodus includes a lot of rules about oxen, donkeys, and sheep that seem
irrelevant and (let’s be honest) boring.
But not when you realize what God was really saying, what gets lost in
the translation.
Those
ancient rules are actually a contemporary guide to restoring the divided and declining
communities we live in right now. But,
there is a catch: restoration is
expensive, though not in the way you might suspect.
The
title is of this sermon is THE PRICE OF PEACE.
---Anderson T. Graves II is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry,
and rural leadership development.
Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor
of Miles
Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama; executive director of the Substance
Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO); and director of rural leadership development for the National
Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
Jacob and his family
were on their way. They had cut the cord
that bound them to Big Daddy Laban and his familia in Syria. They had gotten out with their money and
investments (sheep, oxen, cattle, camels, etc.). Now they were on the way to Canaan, where
Jacob would collect his inheritance and they would live the good life that God
had promised.
On the way, a band
of angels met Jacob. It reminded him of
the dream he’d had at Bethel when God had promised him land “to the west and
the east, to the north and the south,” descendants as numerous “as the dust of
the earth,” and a share in the destiny of Abraham that “in you and in your seed
all the families of the earth shall be blessed “ (Genesis 28:13-15).
It was a powerful
moment for Jacob. When he’d left Canaan 20 years earlier he didn’t even have an
extra bedroll to use as a pillow. Now
his family and possessions were twice the size of a typical caravan (Genesis
32:10). “. . . And he called the name of that place
Mahanaim” (Genesis 32:2). Mahanaim
means double camp.
Jacob was so caught
up in this double-sized moment because he sent riders 100 miles south to find
Esau and describe how successful he had become.
You remember Esau,
right? The brother from whom Jacob had
purchased, or extorted, or defrauded (depending on your perspective) of his
birthright as firstborn. Remember that the
last time they’d seen each other 20 years earlier, he’d promised to murder
Jacob? Jacob the not-warrior leading a
double-sized camp of women, children, and non-warrior goatherders sent servants
to THAT Esau bragging about how rich he was and where his unprotected camp
could be located.
Clearly he didn’t
think that through because when the messengers returned to inform him that yes,
the brother who swore to kill you is on his way to your unprotected camp with
400 men, Genesis 32: 7 says “Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed.”
He thought about
running.
“ . . . he divided
the people that were with him, and
the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies. And he said, ‘If Esau
comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left
will escape’ “ (Genesis 32:7-8).
He tried praying.
Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac,
the Lord . . . Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my
brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. (Genesis
32:9-12).
He tried bribery.
“So he lodged there
that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his
brother. . . For he said, ‘I will appease him with the present that goes before
me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.’ ” (Genesis
32:13-21).
Night dragged on and
Jacob sent his family away while he stayed where Esau knew to find him. He was
waiting for Esau to kill him. The attack
came, but not from Esau.
A Man, an angel, THE
Angel wrestled with Jacob all night long (Genesis 32:24), and Job repeatedly lost,
but he refused to tap out.
The “Man” dislocated
Jacob’s hip but Jacob wouldn’t stop grappling.
He said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” The Angel replied,
“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled
with God and with men, and have prevailed” (Genesis 32:25-28).
The Angel could have
dislocated Jacob’s shoulder or snapped his neck. He could’ve just poof! disappeared. Jacob didn’t “prevail” by winning. He won by not giving up.
“But he who endures
to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13).
Now, compare your story
to Jacob’s:
Has anyone believed greater
for you than you believed for? Don’t
give up.
Have you gotten caught
up in your family’s drama? Don’t give
up.
You ever been bullied? Don’t give up.
Ever thought you
were too smart to be played, but you weren’t?
Don’t give up.
Did you think they’d
be happy for you, but realize they weren’t?
Don’t give up.
Ever press against
God’s will even while you were praying for God to save you? Left that one limping, didn’t you? Get right.
Get humble. But don’t give up.
You will face
overwhelming odds. You will be pressured
to alter your path by people who don’t understand your destiny. You will feel compelled to tell people what
they want to hear. Don’t give up.
Just keep going
until all the world has been blessed by the life you live.
Oh, and don’t forget
to praise God along the way.
“Then he erected an
altar there and called it El Elohe Israel.” (Genesis 33:20)
---Anderson T. Graves II is a writer, community organizer and
consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.
Rev. Anderson T.
Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in
Fairfield, Alabama; executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth
Networking Organization (SAYNO); and director of rural leadership
development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
You
can have it all and feel like you have nothing.
You can be persecuted and oppressed on every side and yet be
triumphant. In whatever circumstances, society,
or season, God offers a choice.
This
message, originally delivered for the 108th anniversary of Miles
Chapel CME Church is about the choice. The
message is called: BROKEN OR BEAUTIFUL.
---Anderson T. Graves II is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry,
and rural leadership development.
Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor
of Miles
Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama; executive director of the Substance
Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO); and director of rural leadership development for the National
Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
---Anderson T. Graves II is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry,
and rural leadership development.
Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor
of Miles
Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama; executive director of the Substance
Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO); and director of rural leadership development for the National
Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name
of the younger was Rachel. Leah’s eyes were delicate, but
Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance.
Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for
Rachel your younger daughter.”. . . So Jacob served seven
years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he
had for her
. . . Then Jacob said to
Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her.”
And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast
. . . So
it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban,
“What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why
then have you deceived me?”
. . . Then Jacob also went
in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served
with Laban still another seven years.
. . . When the Lord saw
that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. So
Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said,
“The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will
love me.” Then she conceived again and bore a son, and
said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given
me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. She
conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will
become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his
name was called Levi And she conceived again and bore a son,
and said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then
she stopped bearing.
(Genesis 29:16-35)
For 7 years, Jacob made it abundantly clear that Rachel was
his one true love (Genesis 29: 18-20). But,
Leah believed that she could change him.
If only he was her
man.
Leah’s dad trapped
Jacob into marriage to Leah, and Jacob honored those vows until they were
parted by death, but he never really loved Leah (Genesis 29:30).
If she had the
chance to “put it on him right” she’d make him love her. If she had his baby, he would be hers, truly
hers.
Jacob and Leah had
sex --- a lot of sex. She bore him 6
sons and his only daughter, and with each new baby she was sure that Now therefore, my husband will love me, now this time my husband will become
attached to me.
Leah's troubles may have inspired the late, great blues artist B. B. King.
Leah gave him 7
children, but Jacob never really loved her back.
And the deep
theological insight we derive from this ancient text is:
IF HE DOESN’T LOVE
YOU, HE JUST DOESN’T LOVE YOU.
He might be loving
and lovable but not love you.
He might be really
good to her, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be any good to you.
He might find you
relationally compatible, maternally impressive, and sexually exciting; but that
doesn’t mean he loves you.
Some men will say
they love you when they really don’t. Only
time and objective discernment can test the truth of a declaration of love.
But if he told you
that he DOESN’T love you, you don’t need to perform any tests. He don’t (grammar intentional). And he probably never will.
Move on before you
fall any deeper, or you’ll end up singing the blues.
---Anderson T. Graves II is a writer, community organizer and
consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.
Rev. Anderson T.
Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in
Fairfield, Alabama; executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth
Networking Organization (SAYNO); and director of rural leadership
development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
The
title of this sermon from the Exodus preaching series is THE CURE FOR MURDER.
At
the same time I was preaching this message in our 11 A.M. worship service in
Fairfield, Alabama; at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland, Texas someone
was killing 26 people.
---Anderson T. Graves II is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry,
and rural leadership development.
Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor
of Miles
Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama; executive director of the Substance
Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO); and director of rural leadership development for the National
Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
