Tales of Isaac, Part II

The Blessing

Esau had been out on the hunt. He entered his father’s tent with pride and expectation. With him he carried the stew he had prepared from the fresh game he had killed. He father had requested it, and he had cooked it with great care. Esau’s father was blind, weak, and bedridden. I was time to confer the patriarchal blessing upon the first-born.

As Esau approached his father in his chambers, speaking to him of the hunt, the stew, and the blessing, the old man was at first confused. Then the pieces began to fall into place in the patriarch’s mind.

“Esau,” Isaac spoke to him in a somber tone. “Esau, listen to me carefully.” The old man paused for a moment. “Listen to me, Esau. I cannot give you the blessing.”

Now Esau was confused.

“Your brother, Jacob,” Isaac continued, “has tricked your old, blind father, feeble as I am. He came to me in your guise and brought me stew – and not very good stew, I should say. I should have known, but I thought, ‘old and useless as I am, I cannot even taste food anymore’ – but Esau, I have given the patriarchal blessing to your brother. The sacred oath cannot be reversed. What has been spoken must be. But listen to me, Esau –”

Esau was no longer listening. Anger was ringing in his ears. The wrath of one betrayed was swelling within him. Rage that can only be ignited by kin was upon him. He ran from the tent, throwing stew and hurling curses in all directions. “No more!” He shouted. “Jacob shall not live!”

Jacob had already been advised by his mother and co-conspirator to leave the scene – to flee the country. “Give your brother time to cool off – ten, maybe twenty years or so – then come back to claim your role as patriarch.”

Nightfall approached. Esau had run, shouted and cursed his rage down to a shocked numbness. He returned to his father’s tent. Isaac was asleep, but awakened at the sound of Esau’s voice. When the old man was sure that it was Esau, his body began to shake, and he could not catch his breath. Esau went to hold his father, trying to prop him up in bed. The old man continued to shake, struggling to get a breath. Finally, the shaking stopped and the old man drew a long, slow breath – then he burst out laughing, body shaking again until he was once more struggling to breathe.

Esau pulled himself back to get a better look at his father. At that point he realized that the old man was convulsing with laughter! Isaac managed to get another breath, was able to control himself a little more so that he could speak.

“Esau,” the old man laughed again. “Do you know what this means?” He said as he alternated between chuckling and laughter. “You didn’t listen to me earlier today...” More chuckling. “...you just went storming out like a Moabite in battle...” Again, the chuckling broke into laughter. “Esau,” he said as he drew a calming breath, “do you know what it means that Jacob took the blessing?” He gave another low chuckle. “It means you are FREE!!” With that the old man broke into another gale of laughter. “My favorite son is now free, and you have what I was never able to enjoy.” The old man was beside himself with laughter.

“Freedom from the patriarchal promise of Yahweh! Esau, do you realize what that means? It means freedom from being the Chosen One. Freedom from carrying the promise of Yahweh. Freedom from stone altars in the wilderness. Freedom from claims to a Promised Land. Freedom from being a light to the nations. Freedom from being a city set on a hill. You are free from the White Man’s Burden, free from Manifest Destiny.” At this point, Isaac broke into more uncontrollable laughter.

Esau,” the old man continued, “you are free to live your life. You are free to walk in honesty and peace. You do not have to carry any banner except the banner of humanity. You can walk the side streets of joy, sail the seas of truth. You can live life, know love, and seek peace. You’ve got it, my boy!” Laughter filled the tent. “I would have never imagined it, but you’ve got it!” Isaac was almost breathless again with laughter. “You will be free from the blindness that comes with power and prestige.”

And so the old patriarch who had been serious all his life, the one who had not laughed or danced since the day he was tied as a lad upon the sacrificial altar in the wilderness, continued in uncontrollable laughter. The man who was born in laughter, whose name means he laughs, died laughing.


< Tales of Isaac, Part I


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Discovering Esau

The Genesis story of Jacob meeting Esau after his (Jacob's) return to claim his heritage is one that I find quite remarkable. Nowhere in the Bible in magnanimity pictured more fully than in the person of Esau. Usually we run with the main headline of the story of Jacob being scared out of his wits at the prospect of facing his brother, then taking his rightful place in Israel's pantheon of founders. But I find Esau quite remarkable. Either he is not the person we have been led to believe, or he has undergone quite a transformation. Here is a poem I wrote back in 1981 celebrating that meeting in the context of my own existential discoveries. It is followed by a meditation written in 1993 exploring the blessings that Esau might confer.


To Kierkegaard

When Esau met Jacob,
He embraced him and wept.
Two brothers who had been
strangers from birth
Were united in tears.

You were once a stranger to me -
Little known and scarcely understood.
But our tears have brought us together,
And in that I embrace you as my brother.

CLK



When I Met Esau

Since this was my second meeting with Esau, I knew what to expect. He gave me a welcoming embrace and put me at ease. His smile was warm, his eyes soft and inviting. The sweet earthy aroma of hay and cattle feed lingered about him as we sat at his kitchen table. I found myself telling him all that had happened in the ten years since we had first met. His interest in me was a remarkable touch of grace.

When we met ten years ago, Esau was not the man I had been told about. I had been told that he was brutish, unsophisticated, and not very bright. Instead, I found a man who was supremely magnanimous, disarmingly gracious. I freely told him my life story and found complete acceptance and affirmation in his presence.

Today we talked as old friends. As he talked, I noticed for a brief moment the brightness of his eyes fade, reminding me of his own loss. In years past, he had suffered the disregard of his mother, the betrayal of his brother, and the loss of support from his father whom he had loved. Somehow, in his loss of fortune, Esau had gained a depth of soul. He saw so clearly what was essential in life.

I found myself the recipient of his healing acceptance and encouragement. I found Esau to be a lover of life who had found blessing and had gained the power to bless. After spending time with him, I, like the patriarch Jacob, believe that if God could be seen, he would look like Esau.

CLK


How did Esau achieve that power to bless? What was the source of his magnanimity? Next I'll be posting a story about his father, Isaac, that may give us a clue.



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