Jacob’s Journey
Sermon by Eric Hollas, OSB
Saint John’s Abbey, Collegeville MN
12 July 2013
Today’s reading from Genesis 46 is an abridgement of a much longer passage that recounts Jacob’s decision to leave his ancestral lands and seek relief in Egypt. But both shorter and longer versions of the story share the same elements. First, Jacob had a natural hesitation — and even fear — of going off to a strange land. Second, it meant a total commitment, since he had to pack up his extended family and virtually every scrap of everything he owned. And third, it was a giant risk. God promised relief, but beyond that there were few details.
God asked Jacob to trust him and bet the bank on his promise, and God asks the same of us as well. And we should not be surprised that our first reactions might be those of Jacob. We’d be crazy not to entertain some doubts about what God asks of us. We’d be wise to hedge our bets by holding something in reserve, just in case it didn’t turn out the way God promised. And we’d be prudent to have a plan B, just in case God’s ways were a little bit impractical.
Thankfully, those big decisions are few and far between; but they are the choices that shape our lives entirely. Such decisions, we know, are not easy; and in fact they can be painful.
Jesus has promised that those who lose their lives for his sake will save them. And that was certainly the case with Jacob, who left literally nothing behind when he cast his lot with God. And that leads to the last bit of Jacob’s story that applies to us as well. God promised to be with Jacob at every step of the way on the road to Egypt. God promises to walk with us as well; and with such a companion at our side, we’d be foolish not to make the journey.
