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Back in 1858, a tall, gangly prairie lawyer from Illinois was running for the US Senate. Now this man had run for office before. In fact, he had served in the House of Representatives. What set this election apart was the greatness of the debates. One particular issue at the forefront was slavery, which this candidate was opposed to.
In this candidate’s speech, he gave a quote that is often attributed to him. In fact, the phrase comes from Scripture, curiously enough in Matthew 12, the chapter in-between our Gospel reading this week and our Gospel reading last week. It goes as follows:
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
The man I am referring to is, of course, Abraham Lincoln. Now he lost this election, but won another one just two years later for President of the United States.
Unfortunately for Lincoln, he saw his words come true. After his election, this country faced the greatest division we have ever seen: the Civil War. The impact of the division that led to this war would be felt for the next century, eventually leading to the need for the Civil Rights Movement. Some of the impacts of that division are even felt today.
Lincoln was right, just as Jesus was in making this quote before him, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Whatever the issue, we cannot stand if we don’t do so together. We cannot move forward if we don’t stand united.
The story of Esau and Jacob is a great warning to us on that front. Here is Isaac, Abraham’s son, with his own family now. With the birth of two twins, the unity that was there is coming undone.
This is because each parent played clear favorites. Isaac chooses Esau, whose name means “Red” because he came out red and hairy. Rebekah, on the other hand, chooses Jacob, whose name refers to his clinging to his twin’s foot when they were born into this world. This idea of clinging to the foot would have meant a great deal more to our ancient Israelite forebears. It would have been like calling him “Sneaky Pete”. It means he’s a scoundrel, a trickster.
This split the family led to a great divide. As we see today, Jacob tricks Esau out of his birthright. What we will not see in our journey through Genesis this season is that Jacob soon after, with the help of his mother, tricks his father, who is going blind, into giving him the firstborn’s blessing instead of Esau.
The result is that Jacob leaves for a time, worried about Esau killing him. Now the two eventually meet again and reconcile, another event we sadly won’t see in the Lectionary, yet it isn’t the same. The damage is done. As God tells Rebekah, it might even be better to say God warns Rebekah, that inside her womb are two nations. That’s exactly what happens.
Jacob eventually is given the name Israel, the name which the country that comes from his children will be called. Esau, who we hear is also called Edom, another name for “Red”, also lends his name to a nation to the south of Israel. At times, these two nations contended with one another even.
Like many stories in Scripture, this is meant to be a warning to us. If we are not united, we will fall. We are not called to take sides. We are called to work together.
Nowhere is that more true than in the church. We are called to be united as those who have been made righteous through the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, as Paul reminds us in Romans. We are called to be united as those on who God pours his Spirit, as Paul is telling us.
We are called to be united in sharing the message of that Truth Paul tells us, the Good News of Christ Jesus our Lord. We are to be united so that this message might fall on good soil always, as Jesus tells us in His Parable today.
The nations of the world rise and fall. This is how it has always been. It is how it will always be. It is the truth we see in history and in the Words of Scripture. Yet God lasts forever. To bring all to God, we have to last too.
As the church, we must accept the call not to be like the world. We must stay united. We must continue forward as one. Though we have differences and disagreements, we must always remember that we are all called to share the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ to all that we meet, so that all might come closer to God and so all might have that opportunity to have the Word land on good soil in their hearts and minds. That is what unites us, our love of God and our desire to share that love with all that we meet.
Learn the lesson God is trying to share with us today. Do not let anything divide you. Let God unite you that we might all continue to do God’s will and share God’s love with the world.