Whoever it is that you love, that person is both Leah and Rachel. You may love one more than the other, but they are wrapped into the same person. Rachel is the one you love, and you're sure that she will be the blessing to your life. But you can't have Rachel without taking Leah, who you don't love and you didn't think you were getting. Not long after you are together, you discover you didn't get just Rachel.
I'm not a rigid person. I like to deviate from Standard Operating Procedures. I like the idea of Midrash, reading between the lines of the text. When I've been reading stories word for word (for years) instead of grasping the unsaid, and someone shares a glimpse of that text turned inside out, it's like a light bulb being turned on. Eureka! Sometimes the stories we think we know can be turned by a single word, read from another point of view, or another translation.
There is a strange problem in the Hebrew text when it comes to describing Leah's eyes. Our scholars are not real sure how to translate the word. Sometimes it is translated as weak, as to say, "Leah had weak eyes." Some translations such as the New International Version say this. Other times the word is translated as lovely, as to say, "Leah had lovely eyes," which is what the New Revised Standard Version states. The difference between weak and lovely is significant, but clearly it can be interpreted either way from the text. The Bible translators have to make a choice when they come to this strange word. Will they translate as weak or lovely? It could be translated either way. Leah's eyes could also be translated either way by Jacob when he looked at her. He chose to see them as weak, but he could have chosen to see them as lovely. When you look into the eyes of your loved one, long after you have discovered who this really is, what do you see? The weakness or the love. Well, that is your choice.
My prayer for the congregation?
Dear God, We are blessed because you love all of us: our beauty and strengths, our imperfections and weaknesses. You choose to see the ideal of who we can become; our possibility to become Christ-filled. Likewise, let us be generous in choosing to recognize the best of each person, and to provide support and encouragement that they have the opportunity to live their ideal role in the kingdom. Let us choose to love others more, to love the whole person, and to love you with our entire soul. Let us consider your Word with fresh eyes and with attentiveness to that which is unsaid, as well as what is said, and choose to be open to suggestions that might awaken a foretaste of your unending message. Amen
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