Genesis 32


Greetings.

Reflections on Genesis 32

There is something to be said for putting your best foot forward. Jacob is returning to what is by all rights his home, his land, his inheritance, but he knows, despite his clever trickery it all really belongs to Esau. But still, he must return home. It has been said that one can never go home again, but we do try! Interestingly enough, the main reason most of us wish to ‘go home’ is to heal - sometimes ourselves and sometimes those we have left behind. I wonder why Jacob returns.

One thing is certain, his clever mind is still at work. He sends out wave after wave of gifts to his brother in an attempt to win him over. Jacob remains safely behind to see how the gifts will be received. But again the question remains, are the gifts for Esau’s or Jacob’s healing....or a little of column A and column B?

I noticed this parallel theme played out in the boys new favourite movie, WALL-E. The caption of the Axiom feels the need to return ‘home’ after over 700 years. This personal desire is mixed with a desire to care for a plant (representing the world’s fragile ecosystem) and see it grow (and maybe become fruitful and multiply).

Peter Gabriel Wrote "Down to Earth" for the movie.

The lyrics below speak to a coming home that needs to happen for each of us before our world moves on without us.

Did you think that your feet had been bound
By what gravity brings to the ground?
Did you feel you were tricked
By the future you picked?
Well, come on down
All those rules don’t apply
When you’re high in the sky
So, come on down
Come on down
We’re coming down to the ground
There’s no better place to go
We’ve got snow up on the mountains
We’ve got rivers down below
We’re coming down to the ground
We hear the birds sing in the trees
And the land will be looked after
We send the seeds out in the breeze
Did you think you’d escaped from routine
By changing the script and the scene?
Despite all you made of it
You’re always afraid
Of the change
You’ve got a lot on your chest
Well, you can come as my guest
So come on down
Come on down
We’re coming down to the ground
There’s no better place to go
We’ve got snow up on the mountains
We’ve got rivers down below
We’re coming down to the ground
We hear the birds sing in the trees
And the land will be looked after
We send the seeds out in the breeze
Like the fish in the ocean
We felt at home in the sea
We learned to live off the good land
Learned to climb up a tree
Then we got up on two legs
But we wanted to fly
When we messed up our homeland
We set sail for the sky
We’re coming down to the ground
There’s no better place to go
We’ve got snow up on the mountains
We’ve got rivers down below
We’re coming down to the ground
We hear the birds sing in the trees
And the land will be looked after
We send the seeds out in the breeze
We’re coming down
Coming down to Earth
Like babies at birth
Coming down to Earth
We’re gonna find new priorities
These are extraordinary qualities
We’re coming down to the ground
There’s no better place to go
We’ve got snow up on the mountains
We’ve got rivers down below
We’re coming down to the ground
We hear the birds sing in the trees
And the land will be looked after
We send the seeds out in the breeze
We’re coming down to the ground
There’s no better place to go
We’ve got snow up on the mountains
We’ve got rivers down below
We’re coming down to the ground
We hear the birds sing in the trees
And the land will be looked after
We send the seeds out in the breeze
We’re gonna find new priorities
These are extraordinary qualities

I know, I’m rambling.

It’s good to be back!






Every Blessing.

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