So might the headline read if this were a story in our local paper. Jacob – the one who had tricked his older brother Esau out of his birthright and blessing – Jacob – the one who had deceived his dying father Isaac into blessing him instead of Esau – Jacob – the ultimate trickster – is now tricked.
We smile when we read the passage – don’t we? 7 years of labor to marry his love –
then a dark night, a veiled bride, a shared bed, then in the light of morning – surprise!

Have you ever had one of those times when it seemed that everything is going against you, that no one cares for you, that you are desperate and alone – but suddenly in the midst of that desperation and loneliness something happens and somehow you experience God in a new way, in such a way that it becomes clear to you that God is with you and suddenly you no longer feel so alone but feel a part of a community that includes none other than God, God’s self?
Ever had an experience like that?
Many of us can tell stories of times God has come to us and shown us His presence and His love, His care, just when it may have seemed to us that no one cared.

Not many people like dirt. It’s usually something you try to get rid of. Things that are dirty are usually considered bad. Most people like things clean instead of dirty. When your house is dirty, you clean it. When your car is dirty, you want to wash it so it can be clean. When your clothes are dirty, you wash them so they can be clean. When you are dirty, you take a bath or a shower so you can be clean.
Most of us like things clean instead of dirty.
Unless, of course, you are a kid.

Maybe it’s because I use them so much, some might say I use them too much, but I love words and what they mean and where they are derived from. The other day I discovered a new word – stravacide. It’s a word created by and being used by serious bik racers. The “cide” suffix has the same meaning as it does in words like homicide, which is death caused by a human being, or suicide, when you cause your own death, or fratricide, which means death caused by a brother. The suffix cide means “the act of killing.” So in this new word being used by avid bike racers, stravacide means “death by strava”.
That really explains a lot, doesn’t it?
Just what is strava– and how is death caused by it?