Have you ever fought with a sibling? I’ve had some of my most fabulous blow-outs with my brothers. There’s something unguarded between siblings that can lead to great affection AND great conflict. Family is the context of our initial formation. It’s a kind of sparring ring and the brothers and sisters with whom we share that context are sparring partners in the ring. God works with this — may have even designed it this way for our best. At any rate, there are plenty of sibling rivalry stories in the Bible, and a few unfold in Genesis within a large extended family context.

Family Feud

You may know the feuding brothers,
Jacob, Esau, the classic tale.
But don’t forget two sisters who
also fought in parallel.

Leah, The Fecund, and Rachel, The Beloved
labour hard for the ‘begets’
passing Jacob back and forth
and even sending surrogates.

They name their sons like slinging stones
to best and taunt each other,
’til Rachel wrestles from the Lord –
Joseph, and becomes a mother.

Rachel births her final son,
dies beloved as she began.
10 boys resent her favoured 2
and the rivalry begins again.

Joseph’s sold by angry brothers
but woven still with golden thread,
through pain and joy, God sovereignly
turns feuding to communion in the end.

Have you a feud between a few
you know you’re meant to love?
The God of – not just brothers – wrestles,
sisters too, and everyone beloved.

© 2020 Laurel Archer

Speaking of wrestling, sometimes poems are wrestled out too, like blessings. This one pestered me all week. Not, I’m not saying its good — just that it was worth finishing, if only to walk through the story in a slightly different way. What brings us joy and contentment, which is the meaning at the heart of ‘blessing’, is also often something we work at and with God to secure or receive.

I think God knows we need to do this, or even made us this way, so our muscles would remember the struggle, so we wouldn’t be left drowning ourselves in good intentions. Blessed Advent.