Sunday Vigil

Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Genesis 27,1-5.15-29

When Isaac had grown old, and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he summoned his elder son Esau. 'Son!' he said, and Esau replied, 'Here I am.' He then said, 'Look, I am old and do not know when I may die. Now take your weapons, your quiver and bow; go out into the country and hunt me some game. Make me the kind of appetising dish I like and bring it to me to eat and I shall give you my special blessing before I die.' Rebekah was listening while Isaac was talking to his son Esau. So when Esau went into the country to hunt game for his father, Rebekah took her elder son Esau's best clothes, which she had at home, and dressed her younger son Jacob in them, covering his arms and the smooth part of his neck with the skins of the kids. She then handed the special dish and the bread she had made to her son Jacob. He went to his father and said, 'Father!' 'Yes?' he replied. 'Which of my sons are you?' Jacob said to his father, 'I am Esau your first-born; I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of the game I have brought and then give me your soul's blessing.' Isaac said to his son, 'Son, how did you succeed so quickly?' He replied, 'Because Yahweh your God made things go well for me.' Isaac said to Jacob, 'Come closer, son, so that I can feel you and be sure whether you really are my son Esau or not.' Jacob went closer to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, 'The voice is Jacob's voice but the arms are the arms of Esau!' He did not recognise him since his arms were hairy like his brother Esau's, and so he blessed him. He said, 'Are you really my son Esau?' And he replied, 'I am.' Isaac said, 'Serve it to me, so that I can eat my son's game and give you my special blessing.' He served it to him and he ate; he offered him wine, and he drank. His father Isaac said to him, 'Come closer, and kiss me, son.' He went closer and kissed his father, who sniffed the smell of his clothes. Then he blessed him, saying: Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a fertile field which Yahweh has blessed. May God give you dew from heaven, and the richness of the earth, abundance of grain and wine! Let peoples serve you and nations bow low before you! Be master of your brothers; let your mother's other sons bow low before you! Accursed be whoever curses you and blessed be whoever blesses you!

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Isaac is now elderly and wants to bless his son Esau, the firstborn. Rebekah is contrary to her husband's decision, because she was deeply embittered by his decision to take two foreign women as wives. She devises the trick to substitute Jacob to his brother Esau and purloin his father's blessing and receive the primogeniture, with what it entailed. In the biblical author's conception, it is not enough that the efficacy of this blessing is undisputed with God, but in order to apply it to a disciple, it must also be actively conveyed by man with a specific will. The narrative continues with Esau, now exhausted and full of hatred towards his brother, who decides to kill his brother. Jacob tries to repair the deception by prostrating himself "seven times" before his brother, as narrated later. God, however, does not cancel the blessing granted to Jacob by his father even though it was snatched away by deception. Only the restoration of brotherhood can bring peace. The story narrated shows that the history of God's people is not linear, but the Lord succeeds in leading his people on the path of salvation even if men and women stray from his ways. One thing however is clear: it is not the eldest and strongest son who receives the inheritance, but the youngest and weakest. It is a logic alien to men, but it is the one we so often find in the pages of the Bible.