Genesis 47:7
Jacob is presented to Pharaoh, and blesses him, not once but twice. Why does he bless Pharaoh?
Genesis 49:33
I really love the phrase 'gathered to his people' for describing when someone dies. Not only is it poetic, but it is calming and comforting. It shows a trust thy death on earth is not the end.
Genesis 50:3
Was Jacob so revered in Egypt that the Egyptians wept for him for 70 days after he died? Or was the more out of reverence for Joseph?
Exodus 1:15
I really like the attention that is given to Shiphrah and Puah, naming them and crediting them with not only helping he Hebrew people to prosper, but also in their fear and respect of God. Their names are recorded for the generations, yet even Pharaoh himself is left unnamed.
Matthew 14:13-14
Even Jesus needed time away from people to grieve for John the Baptist. But when he came back, he saw the crowds and had compassion on them because he knew that they needed him.
Matthew 14:31
I've always imagined that Jesus is not angry with Peter for doubting, but that he understands Peters doubt, and that his words are in the tone of a loving mother who is comforting her child after she has gotten lost, reminding her that there is no need to fear.
Matthew 15:6
How often do we confuse human church tradition with the will and Word of God? How often do we blatantly go against the Word of God for the sake of tradition?
Matthew 15:31
Most of the time it seems that web Jesus heals people, that they praise him as the Son of Man or the Son of God. But here, the people praise the God of Israel. What is different?
Today's ponderings:
Two of the passages that I read today talk about grief: one the death of Jacob, and the other the death of John the Baptist.
In the first passage, it goes into great detailed about the grieving of Jacob's family, the Egyptians mourning, as well as the burial and the traditions surrounding Jacob's death. It says that he was gathered to his people instead of saying that he died.
The second passage, about the death of John the Baptist, is much more direct, no poetry, no description about the mourning or the burial. The only real detail about the grieving is that Jesus went off by himself when he heard the news.
I wonder to myself which if these processes is better, which gives more honor to the deceased, which helps people handle their grief better, which is better for the community as a whole?
Grief is a very uncomfortable subject in our society, one that is pushed into the darker places of our souls, hidden and taboo because, I believe, people don't want to be reminded of their own times of grief, and also because we don't know what to do when someone is grieving.
Jewish communities (some, although I'm not sure if all) observe something called Shivah when someone dies. There are many rules and stipulations, many of which seem ridiculous or pointless in our modern society. But I see a kind of grace and honor in the act of Shivah. It sets aside a specific time, place, attitude, and particular behaviors that are meant to be observed during the mourning period.
I think back to when my father died 3 years ago, very unexpectedly. No one knew what to do. We didn't know how to act around each other, what was okay to say and what was not. People around us who were not directly involved REALLY didn't know what to do. And even though everyone wanted to be a help, to be a comfort, no one knew how.
I believe this is because our society has become so void of outward expressions of genuine, intense, awkward displays of human emotion. When someone is laughing insanely loud and hard in a public place, we look at them with annoyance rather then being glad that someone is experiencing a wonderful and entertaining moment. When someone is overcome with grief, wracked with sobs, and a has a face that is so distorted by grief and the pain of loss, we look away rather than join them in their grief.
Many cultures have wailers, people who join in with the grieving family and friends, giving them a comfortable and welcome outlet for their emotions. I would imagine that it is comforting for the ones who grieve because they are not alone in their misery, in their loss, and they are allowed to completely open up and feel what they are feeling out in the open.
We are rarely allowed to do that in our society. Instead, people who are sobbing hysterically are moved into a private room, told to breathe and calm down, as if stopping the gut-wrenching cries will somehow calm the grief. The only thing that did for me was make me feel numb, and caused me to have to wait until I wasn't around people to cry into my pillow, lest I disturb anyone else with my grief.
Grief over the loss of someone you love is not an individual emotion or experience. Sure, no other person can completely understand or feel your particular emotions, because they did not share the same relationship you had with the person you lost. But everyone can share in the experience of grief and loss. We can all mourn when a loving father dies, or when a child is lost at a young age, or when a grandmother who has lived a long and full life is no longer present to share her stories, wisdom, and life experiences with her family. Each life is sacred, special, and unique. And even if we believe in a glorious afterlife with no pain or suffering, we still must openly and honestly identify and fully experience the loss that we feel when someone is gathered up to their people.
I love the last few chapters of Genesis! They don't often get a whole lot of attention, but like with you the passage evokes for me some incredibly riveting images. If I could do it justice I would love to sketch sometime the scene of the bent, wrinkled old nomadic shepherd leaning on his staff, raising his hand to bless the strapping god-king Pharaoh. I am assuming all parties considered this appropriate given Jacob's age. And per your comments, I would say that if we are 100% freaked about by death & grief in this culture we are least 75% freaked out by old age. So much of this kind of wise, venerable blessing is overlooked by all ages in our mania to be young.
ReplyDeleteI also am profoundly moved by the death of Jacob. The story may be highly stylized, but if so then it still remains literary genius. Jacob poetically pronounces blessing upon each of his sons, weaving their past and futures together, and then "draws up his feet into the bed" and "is gathered to his people." Perhaps a surprisingly poignant end for the tired, old deceiver and God-wrestler.
Your comparisons between the two passages of grief is intriguing. At the risk of killing the mood with a word I wonder if part of the difference arose from the political climate. Jacob was the revered father of a national hero in a culture that made room for grief. The display was open and elaborate. Jesus and his friends, however, were morning the execution of a political prisoner. Open grief may have been seen as subversive. If this is true, then Jesus undergoes the pain that many of us suffer today of not being able to grieve as we ought, running the risk of censure if we display what we truly feel. But at the risk of, as Lewis would say, dispensing advice "so clearly meant for our betters," I will say that Jesus shows us something in his retreat. That tears shed in the wilderness as well as one shed into our pillow are never tears shed alone.
P.S. Pharaoh remains nameless while Shifrah and Puah are marked with honor! I'd never noticed that before. I love it!