Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Genesis 32:20-21 

20 And be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.” 21 So Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp. 

Have you ever been in a situation where you knew you had clearly wronged someone and, fearing their response, tried to gift, charm, or perform your way out of it? 

Maybe at work you missed a deadline, so you tried to smooth things over with your boss before the one-on-one conversation. 

One time, I shot an arrow through the garage wall and thought that if I did all my chores—and maybe even my siblings’ chores—Dad wouldn’t be as mad at me. 

Or maybe you missed an important birthday or anniversary and found yourself cooking an “I’m sorry—please don’t be mad at me” dinner. 

This is what Jacob is doing. He stole his brother Esau’s birthright and then colluded with his mother to trick his blind father, Isaac, into giving him the blessing meant for Esau. At the time, Esau promised to make him pay for what he had done. Instead of facing the music, Jacob ran. 

So, when we meet Jacob in today’s reading, years have passed. He has learned that Esau is nearby, and he is trying to appease his brother so the punishment won’t be so severe. 

Jacob is so torn up by fear and guilt that the very next passage tells the famous story of his wrestling with God. There, God wounds Jacob and renames him Israel, marking the beginning of a change in Jacob’s life and vocation. 

The next day, Esau—flanked by 400 men—intercepts Jacob’s people. Jacob is terrified. But Esau does something completely unexpected: he doesn’t attack Jacob. He runs to him and embraces him. 

Still, Jacob tries to appease him. But Esau will have none of it. He tells Jacob that he already has enough. 

Esau, who had every reason to hold Jacob’s sin against him, forgives his cheating brother—even though Jacob does not deserve it. Jacob receives a gift he could never earn. 

That is grace. 

We have certainly sinned against God, against our neighbors, and even against ourselves. And when we are afraid we might get what we deserve, we try all kinds of things: appeasing God, distracting our neighbor, or numbing ourselves so we don’t have to face the fear. 

But that is not how things worked with Esau, and it is not how things work with our Father in heaven either. Grace is receiving a gift you do not deserve—and we don’t deserve it. But in our baptism, we have received forgiveness that washes all our sin away. So, as far as your relationship with God goes, you have nothing to fear. You do not have to run away. And in your relationships with the brother, sister, neighbor, or community you have wronged, maybe the best way forward is not hiding either. Maybe it is trusting that people who have every right to give you what you deserve may instead give you what you don’t: forgiveness. 

– Pr. Jason 

God, thank you for your gift of forgiveness. Help me have the courage to accept it when I am trapped in my sin. Make me like Esau, willing to run after my brother who has sinned against me like you have run after me. Amen.