the one is empowered, the other is suppressed.
The story of Jacob and Esau is the story of our human family: instead of living in harmony, the
one undermines the other. Betrayal results in a theft of birthright and blessing. The brothers personify
the two communities of their day who struggle with their differences. There were those who relied on a
successful kill for their food and there were those who could depend on their herd of sheep to meet their
needs. There were hunters and shepherds.
Esau proves to be stronger than Jacob. He is quite the outdoors man – a hunter – a common
livelihood in the land of Palestine. But Palestine would change over the course of time. The woods
would become less dense, the soil would be worked, and a more dependable way for living would be
developed by shepherds.
Physical strength was becoming less essential as a personal asset. Esau discovers this to be true
when he returns from an unsuccessful hunting excursion. Famished, he sees the stew Jacob has
prepared and he insists that his brother share it with him.
Jacob does not miss the opportunity to claim from Esau what he was denied at birth: the benefit
of being the first-born.
“First sell me your birthright,” bargains Jacob. And so Esau does.
The struggle that began in their mother’s womb continues in adulthood. The men do not live in
harmony. They live as adversaries, not brothers.
Esau and Jacob are caught up in a struggle for defining their lives in a way that will allow them to
prosper. They are caught up in a struggle for defining their lives in a way that will allow them to honor
that which is important to them, those activities which sustain them, which they enjoy.
They are caught up in the struggle of humanity. Esau and Jacob embody our struggle.
Like twins, we have become defined by who we are not. We are not the other. We are not
our twin. We are distinct.
We are not Jewish, we are Christian. We are not Christian, we are Muslim. We are not
Muslim, we are Hindu.
We are not who they are.
We are not communists, we are socialists. We are not socialists, we are capitalists.
We are defined by who we are not.
We are not barbaric, we are acting in self-defense. We are not defensive, we are civilized.
We are like two nations, a people divided.
R. S. Sugirtharajah recognizes our dillema. Sugirtharajah, an Indian theologian, writes:
When one is exposed to others who profess a different faith,
speak a different language and draw inspiration from different texts, one realizes one’s
own provincialism and limitations. One is faced with new realities. One such reality is
that the communities we belong to and live in are no longer groups of people with
shared concerns but people with competing interests who try to accommodate each
other’s concern and endeavour to arrive at amity and accord.
(“Toward a Christological Missiology Today with the Guide-Who-Stands-Aside,” by J.
Jayakiran Sebastian, Theology Today, April 2005, Vol. 62, No. 1, p. 18)
We do not live as brothers and sisters with shared interests. On the contrary, we have competing
interests.
God knows, before we enter this world, humankind is destined to be in conflict. Nevertheless,
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