SOS (Chapter 6, Question 1)

Here I am, once again, on a chilly Sunday evening, typing. Normally, I try to avoid doing anything related with homework on this important day of the week, but I am more behind then I would like to be, so I figured, “Why not do my theology homework? It is the Lord’s Day after all and we read Scripture every Sunday.” So, after attending the 12:15pm Mass and eating some lunch, I delved into my theology textbook.

The second chapter illustrated the story of Isaac and his two sons, Esau and Jacob. (Jacob later fathered twelve sons who were ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel.) Esau and Jacob were twins. Esau was born first and was Isaac’s favorite, while Jacob, born shortly after his brother, was his mother’s favorite. As Isaac’s first-born son, Esau was automatically given the responsibility of one day becoming head of the family and was entitled to a double share of the inheritance.

In Genesis 25, however, we read the story of how Esau sold this birthright to his younger brother. Jacob is boiling pottage when his brother comes in tired and starving after a long day of work in the field. Before Jacob feeds him, however, he makes his elder brother swear to sell him his birthright. Esau agrees, because of his hunger, and sells his birthright to Jacob.

The characteristics and weaknesses of these two young men come out strongly in this one event. Esau doesn’t take his birthright seriously and gives up his important role as Isaac’s first-born son for the sake of satisfying his hunger. Jacob, on the other hand, becomes manipulative in this situation, sees his brother’s weakness, and takes the initiative. Scott Hahn points out that Esau thinks only of his present desire; what he wants at that particular moment, while Jacob thinks of the long term.

When we read this story, we might think, “Why did Esau sell his valuable birthright to his brother over a simple bowl of porridge? That was not wise in the least. I would never have done something as stupid as that.” Would you really have been smarter than Esau? Let us move forward in time to the era of slavery, a time when people had ownership over others and could sell them as if they were merely objects. What was the underlying goal in this situation? The goal was to fulfill a desire of greed. When slaves were sold, their “owners” received money in return.

Another example might prove to be useful; one which might be related to the story of the two brothers above. Gluttony, as you might recall from a previous post, is one of the seven deadly sins and for good reason. It is a point of weakness and desire which we succumb to all the time.

One way to overcome our sins is to come to know ourselves better along with our faults. The better we know our faults, the better we can know what tempts us and pulls us into a state of sin. As our creator, God knows us better than we know ourselves, so he has provided us with a means of becoming strong in him that we might be better prepared the next time we are tempted to sin.

The human race falls into a state of sin repetitiously because of we have a fallen nature due to original sin. For this reason, Christ gave the Church certain sacraments to aid us in our continual struggle against sin. When we are baptized, we enter into unity with Christ, who died for our sins and rose for our justification (CCC pg. 867). It is our first means of forgiveness and when we are baptized we receive the remission of original and personal sin. Once we reach the age of reason, we receive the sacrament of Reconciliation which is one of two sacraments of healing. This sacrament is truly beautiful, because when we sincerely confess our sins, God, through the priest, fully forgives all the wrong we have done. The third sacrament received is that of Holy Communion. In this sacrament, the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ enter into us in the appearance of bread and wine. When we receive Jesus in this manner, all our venial sins are wiped away. Confirmation completes the grace of Baptism and we become more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit (CCC 1286). The last sacrament is the second sacrament of healing and the last one given to us before we die. The Anointing of the Sick is administered by a priest to a baptized person who begins to be in danger of death because of illness or old age, through prayer and the anointing of the body wit the oil of the sick (CCC pg.866). This sacrament includes a special grace of healing and comfort to the Christian who is suffering the infirmities of serious illness or old age and the forgiving of the person’s sins (CCC pg. 866). God gave the Church these five sacraments as a means of overcoming sin so that we might enter into eternal life with him.

Through the use of Scripture, and in this case the story of Esau and Jacob, God establishes lessons that we can take and apply to our own lives. Esau and Jacob show us that the human race is weak when up against our desires. But God knows our weaknesses and he strengthens us when we fall through the grace of the sacraments.