Westminster Presbyterian Church, Alexandria Va

In the world to which we are accustomed – in which love leads to marriage rather than marriage to love, in which both parties have choice, and in which marriage is to only one person, the differences with the world of Rachel and Leah and Jacob can make this story seem laughable, offensive, or just too plain ridiculous to speak to us. But if we stick with it, as is the case with most Biblical stories, we can learn something from it, and leave this hour of worship not quite the same person we were when the hour began. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, as part of a sermon series on Genesis. The Scripture lesson is Genesis 29:15-23, 25-28, 30-35.