Genesis 33:1-11Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids.  He put the maids with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all.  He himself went on ahead of them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near his brother.
But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” Then the maids drew near, they and their children, and bowed down;  Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down; and finally Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down.  Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company that I met?” Jacob answered, “To find favor with my lord.” But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” Jacob said, “No, please; if I find favor with you, then accept my present from my hand; for truly to see your face is like seeing the face of God—since you have received me with such favor. Please accept my gift that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have everything I want.” So he urged him, and he took it.
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Today’s entry in the Jacob saga is a tale of reconciliation. When last we saw Jacob, he had wrestled through the night with everything he knew to be true about himself, his past, and his present situation- and come out of that struggle with two things-
1. A blessing: He would no longer be called Jacob, and everything that went along with that (manipulator, supplanter, trickster) but would now be known as Israel: people of God. 2. A limp.

Now, just because you receive a blessing like Jacob; that you can no longer identify with the person you've been told you are because you've wrestled that to the ground, it doesn't mean everything is perfect.  Jacob, yes, knows who he is not, but in order to be free to be everything God has destined him to be in the future, and be the leader of a nation, he needs to reconcile with those in his past.  And that reconciliation begins with the brother he had swindled out of his birthright. 

This is a scary idea for some of us; we think we can walk into the future without regard to the past.  But unless Jacob can reconcile where he has come from, the things he has done in the past, and the people he has hurt, he will be running the rest of his life.
So as his brother and four hundred warriors travel toward Jacob, he regroups; and prepares himself and his family for the meeting.  Jacob lines up his family in groups, and in a specific order. 
In front, he puts the two slave wives of Rachel and Leah, and their children. 
Next, he places his wife Leah with her children.
Behind them all, he places Rachel, the one dearest to his heart, with her son Joseph.  
And after everyone is lined up, Jacob, finally more concerned for others than for his own security, goes ahead of them all- he will be the first to meet Esau and his warriors. 

As he sees Esau approaching, Jacob bows to his brother, (signifying subservience).  And then he bows again… and again… and again… and again, and again and again!  He bows to Esau seven times; in that day, the way one would greet royalty!

Can you imagine being Esau, approaching this scene? You have been met on your journey with presents of livestock, over and over, bearing a message, these are from your servant, Jacob… he is on his way to meet you.  No matter how angry you are, after five separate gifts, five times hearing your brother calling himself, 'your servant'… you may be softened just a bit, or at the very least, curious. 

And then as you get close enough, you see even more animals, herds of them! There are sheep bleating, and cows mooing, and camels spitting- and there are slaves and workers caring for them! And there are women... and little kids crying and big kids poking at each other.  And then you see that out in front of the whole parade is your brother… well, it looks like your brother, but he is so much older- and he’s bowing, and bowing.  And wait, he is limping… he must have been through some things too… even looks a little like dad…
That's a lot to take in.  And emotion sweeps over Esau, and he runs to Jacob and falls on top of him and kisses his neck... and they cry together… maybe over years lost, maybe over the past… but in the sheer joy of reconciliation.

And Jacob takes hold of the face of his brother in his hands and looks deep into Esau's eyes… and he sees Esau, perhaps for the first time, as a brother- not as something to be conquered, but as an equal, as a fellow human being.  He sees the familiar yearning of someone who also needs to be accepted and loved- just like him.  And in that moment- the text says, Jacob sees the face of God.
But there is more to do.  Jacob helps his brother to his feet, and Esau asks… “Who are all these people?”

And Jacob begins to introduce his twin to his family.   But notice how he does it- because its through the process of introductions that he demonstrates to his brother the man he has become; this parade of people is also a summation of what Jacob has learned these past twenty years. 

Esau already understands that Jacob has learned to prosper, just from the magnitude of his tribe!  His younger brother had left home with a blessing, yes… but materially, he had taken nothing but a staff.  Jacob has now become the founder of a future nation!  People have also prospered under his leadership as evident by the health, wealth, and richness of the community standing before him. 

Jacob escorts Esau to the front of the parade, and introduces him to his slave wives and their children.  Meeting them, Esau understands that Jacob has learned to care, not just for his possessions, but  for those in his charge; he is able to provide for and protect even the least of these.



Jacob brings Esau next to Leah and her children.  Leah was the wife Jacob was tricked into marrying.  But he kept and cared for Leah all these years.  She illustrates that Jacob has learned to become a man of his word; a man who has embraced duty… one who has grown to understand and honor family values and customs, and even birthright.

And finally, Jacob brings Esau to his heart of hearts, Rachel.  Perhaps she is Jacob's most important lesson- Rachel shows that Jacob is now a man who has at last, learned to love.  And his love has not been in vain- it has grown and multiplied.  For standing next to Rachel is the fruit of that love; the apple of Jacob’s eye, Joseph.

But why go through the process of showing all of this to  Esau? It seemed as if he had already forgiven him- without the display. 

Jacob knew that true reconciliation doesn’t stop at a hug, and a kiss, and saying things are “ok.”  Jacob needed to show his brother the things he had come to learn because it was evidence of how he had changed.  And that would mean that this reconciliation attempt was coming from a sincere and changed heart, and was not just another manipulation technique.  He had changed a lot in the 20 years since Esau saw him last; no more tricks, no more running.  Jacob was now a confident leader…with a limp.

But let’s talk about the limp… A limp can happen to a person in many ways, but once you are the owner of a limp, it tends to slow a person down a bit.  A limp cause’s one’s pace to be altered; if you walk with a limp you generally lean to one side.  And that means the way you see the world, because of that limp is changed… your perception of things is slanted… different.  You are a little more cautious and a little less independent; you are reminded with every step of your vulnerability.  And, the thing about a limp is, it’s with you wherever you go. 

And you can try to pretend your limp doesn’t exist; but that only tends to slow you down further.  When you refuse to acknowledge the things in our past that have brought you to this point; all the painful things you have struggled with that have made you who you are... then your world becomes one of sidestepping, where you are always trying to make accommodations for that limp while attempting to hide it from others (and yourself). I suspect all of us have at least a little limp, amen?

The limp, for Jacob, was symbolic of how he had grown- and he would not try to hide it; his limp was a physical sign that announced his coming as loudly as theme music- it pointed to how he had changed.   Further, it served as a reminder.  The limp had come, in part, as a result of Jacob struggling to confess who he had been- it became part of his baggage, if you will.  And he brought it with him boldly, into his attempt to reconcile with his brother. 

This is true for us as well.   Our limp, regardless of what caused it, is a sign of our own struggle, the things we've been through, a sign of our vulnerability and our growth- and is a reminder that from time to time, we need to be dependent (at least a little) on others.  And like it or not, acknowledged or not, out limp can be as prominent and identifiable with us a theme song- we bring it with us wherever we go.  That's the thing about a limp- there really is no hiding it, so why not acknowledge and embrace it?  

But admitting I have a limp, and you have a limp, and you have a limp, and all of us, limping into community with each other and helping each other learn to walk is only step one.  Step two is realizing that although we have them, and although they may slow us down, they do not stop us from moving forward toward reconciliation.   
Yet at times, that’s exactly what we do.  We say (or think) “I’ve been through so much, I have struggled with so much… look at me… I’m so damaged I can’t even walk straight… and besides… why should I put myself out to reconcile? After all… she hurt me too.” And we limp away like a wounded puppy with our tail between our legs and a bag of excuses under our arm.

But here’s the thing! You haven't gone through all this and struggled so hard you got your hip socket knocked out of joint so that you could use your limp as a crutch.  Your limp, whatever it is, is a sign of what you’ve overcome- it represents what God has built and is building in you! 

The call on your life is that you learn to grow and live out all the promises God has for you… and that begins and ends in community with each other.  Look again at the line up of Jacob's parade and the way he interacted with each group.  They are the steps to living in community: The slave wives and the possessions represent the way we learn to live with each other, care for each other, even the least of these- we build each other up so the whole prospers.   Leah and her family represent how we learn to honor and value the customs and traditions of the other, even though they may be different from our own, even though we may not agree with them, we respect what the other believes, who they are and what is important to them at their core. And finally Rachel represents how we learn what it is too deeply love and cherish each other.

We are given a ministry of healing and reconciliation. (2 Cor. 5:18) That’s it! That's our calling. The thing is, it's only after the struggle, after we have silenced the voices of who we think we are, or have been taught we are, or who we believe ourselves to be, and embrace the identity that is God in us, God in us, God-like identity, can we begin to live that out... and that process leaves us forever changed and able to limp toward the future.   It took Jacob took twenty years to figure that out- some of us take longer than that, and sadly some will never figure it out.  But in the end, it’s what we are called to in the Community of God.  

If you have someone or something you need to reconcile with, it doesn’t matter who it is… don’t wait any longer.  As long as there is something between you, you will never be really free to be all God has designed you to be.  Come to grips with your limp- Take stock of where you’ve been, the hurts and struggles you’ve lived through- the pain you have felt and the pain that you may have caused others. 
And then confidently start limping toward healing and reconciliation.  And as you reach the person you're looking for, hold their face in your hands, and look deep into their eyes... and don't you let go until you see the face of God!