Today was the second session of the Fall Reflection Series that Jennifer Wright and I are offering at the University of St. Thomas (on the Minneapolis campus) this year. The theme for this five week series is Women of the Bible.
In last week’s opening session, Jennifer spoke about Sarah and Hagar. (You can find her talk here.) Today’s subjects were the two daughters of Laban: Rachel and Leah. Two sisters married to the same man at the same time, making for a story of jealousy, envy and competition.
In my reflection I told the story of Rachel and Leah and then shared some of the lessons I think their story has for us. Those lessons include that reality the envy never solves our problems and gets us what we want, the certainty that God sees our suffering, and that God uses what we give him. I also spoke about the difference between the desire that is helpful – our deep desires that accord with God’s – and the desires that are inimical to our spiritual growth.
You can access a recording of the session here or stream it from the icon below. (The podcast runs for 24:23 and ends at the point at which we invited the participants into a period of silent reflection)
You can find a copy of the prayer materials we distributed to participants here. It contains excerpts from Genesis 29-31 and some questions for reflection.
Creo en Dios! 