This week's Parshah is: Vayechi "and he lived"
Genesis 47:28-50:26
1Kings 2:1-2:12
Hebrews 11:21-22
1Peter 1:3-9
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls."
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4 comments:
this sums up the jewish thought on resurrection...I think it has a lot to do with "restoration of broken pieces."
http://www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htm#Resurrection
"Olam Ha-Ba"=world to come
This is so closely related to "tikkun-olam"..which is really cool because hebrews stresses good works and grace so much. Our righteousness just like our "eternal life" begins now? As the good works we do aid in not only the "restoration of broken pieces" now but everlasting?
Restoration is clearly the core.
The Talmudic and ancient Rabbinic resources spend some developed time on the instance of restoration of Joseph to his father Jacob.
The picture of Joseph "falling upon the neck of his father". Anyone who has ever fallen into their fathers embrace knows about falling upon your fathers neck. I am reminded of my father telling me my grandfather died when I was six. Broken hearted, the best I could do was hold on to his neck as he carried me into the house.
For Joseph this moment is a collapsing into G-d restoration around Jacobs neck.
Jacob says nothing.
The ancient tradition suggest many things about this silence. One is that at this moment when Jacob's son is returned to him, he says the Shema.
I am deeply moved that the heart of a father would be to reach out to the provider of restoration and claim once again that foundational declaration. The Shema seems to seal all holy moments in the heart of the faithful Jew.
I wonder what Joseph, the earlthy dad of Jesus said at His birth?
Love your perspective on this text Scott.
This particuliar piece is to me all about blessings and curses. The ultimate portion being "Do we live as blessed people? or do we live as cursed people?"
This text is very close to the very heart of everything I wrestle with personally in life. I know that I am not alone in this. The evidence is strewn around and before me everywhere I go. This text is about relationships to me even more so than restoration. Although, restoration is the hope.
I personally bear the scars of blessings withheld and curses spoken over me. These are the things that hold us, snare us and hold us captive. This will be long but let me share a few things that I have learned over the years.
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Working Definitions
Blessing – to fill with benefits, either as an end in itself or to make the object blessed a source of further blessing for others. In another sense the word could mean to “praise”, as if filling the object of blessing with honor and good words.
Elements of a blessing:
• Meaningful touching
• A spoken message
• Attaching high value
• Picturing a special future
• Active commitment to see the blessing come to pass
Curse - being cursed often meant separation from God and the community of faith. It has involved the experience of insecurity and disaster, the results of the fall and the entrance of sin into God’s creation; the experience of being insignificant or contemptible.
The effects of a curse
1. A common effect of living under a curse is learning to be hopeless.
2. Instead of actively trying to solve our problems, we can become passive, dependent, and depressed.
3. We can begin to feel that there is absolutely nothing we can do to improve our situation, the only key to change is forever out of reach leaving us powerless.
4. The person tends to react as if I’m all alone in my pain.
So,how do you reverse a curse?
One of the most powerful ways of reversing a curse you’ve received is to give the blessing to others, even you enemies.
Heritage – Legacy, inheritance, birthright. Children, the law and God’s protective care are likewise called a heritage from God. A heritage is the spiritual, emotional, and social legacy that is passed from parent to child...good or bad.
Legacy
A spiritual legacy is the process whereby parents model and reinforce the unseen realities.
A strong emotional legacy is that enduring sense of security and emotional stability, nurtured in an environment of safety and love.
A social legacy is giving the child the insight and strong social skills for cultivating healthy, stable relationships.
Inheritance – The taking possession of; or anything given by God.
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My point in sharing these is that once a curse is spoken. You can never fully escape it. At least, not on our own, only God can repair that damage. We have to make a choice whether we are going to accept that curse and live in it or up to it or turn away from it. Turning is hard, extremely hard if you are really working at it on a personal level.
This is a huge key to the kingdom of heaven. Love is key. So many times we strike out at others in assumption of their intentions based upon what we have "inherited" in our own lives. We have to chose between the "heritage" of Christ or the "heritage" of Adam. It is a rift that only the Shema can heal.
Love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.
Loving your enemies well is the key to freedom and restoration.
Too much to cover for a blog.......
great ending to a messy first portion of the hebrew scriptures.
God DOES love to get involved in our mess and help us clean it up! What an amazing God we profess as Lord! I'm thinking ahead to next week so my mind is a bit scattered at the moment, but I love all the promises, blessings, revelations, and the humility to forgive in profound fashion. I love that in the midst of our life stories we are able to somehwat express this "inexpressible joy" that has filled our heart with "living hope." What is your story of living hope this season? I love the phrase from the N.T. passage, "living hope!" What other kind of hope is there if we are to go on living?
shalom
Ryan
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