Today’s Scripture Reading (June 12,
2015): Genesis 27
Vladimir
Putin’s accusation against the United States a couple of weeks ago, in the wake
of the American charges that had been laid against FIFA officials for
corruption, opens up an interesting question. Basically Putin’s argument is
that the United States is meddling in the affairs of other nations. He does not
say that there was no wrong doing, but rather that the wrong doing had nothing
to do with the United States. Putin’s argument is that the United States is trying
to extend its domain and enforce its morality over things that ultimately have
nothing to do with Americans – which in his eyes is essentially a political and
a moral problem.
And Putin’s argument,
if true, makes sense (admittedly as I write this the role of the Swiss investigators does not seem to be entirely clear.) Essentially this conflict seems to be an extension of the
debate the United States had with Russia over the 2014 Olympics in Sochi and
the anti-gay laws that were in place there. And as the Global Community
continues to get more and more intertwined, the question of jurisdiction will
become more and more of an issue. Travellers are frequently warned about the
challenge of obeying laws in other countries that may differ from that of their
country of origin. And some countries may have what seem to be backward or
morally outdated laws, some may even become havens for criminals who are trying
to escape the laws of their own country. But when you travel to those
countries, it is your responsibility to be aware of those laws. And to a certain
extent, it is the country’s right to maintain and pass the laws that it sees as
essential – not those who view the laws from the outside. The United States has
the authority to enforce the laws that it has decreed on actions committed
within its territory, unless the action contravenes an international law; and
Russia has the same privilege. And any sovereign nation can also inhibit
incoming guests from entering into their nation. In other words, the United
States is fully within its rights to refuse travelling documents to any FIFA
official who, in the eyes of the United States, is guilty of ongoing corruption.
The problem is that such an action would likely be a death blow to
international sports. It might be that the only real solution is in some sort
of international court jointly deciding on what is correct behavior in sport,
rather than one nation taking the initiative on their own, and outside of their
jurisdiction.
Esau and
Isaac are upset that Jacob has stolen the blessing that Dad wanted to give to
his older son. Some experts have waded into this issue asserting that in the
action of Esau selling of his birthright to Jacob for a pot of stew, Esau was clearly
in the wrong. He was not tricked into it in any way, his appetites overruled his
desire for the birthright. Besides, he essentially saw the birthright as being
spiritual in nature, and about spiritual things Esau was not concerned.
But the
blessing was different. The blessing had to do with the physical and the material
world, and Esau was very concerned about that. The same experts that see Esau’s
culpability in the trade of the birthright for a pot of stew, argue for Jacob’s
guilt with regard to the stealing of the blessing. The problem is that they
have fallen for the argument that Esau is trying to sell here – that the
spiritual birthright and the material blessing are not in any way connected.
There would seem to be a jurisdiction problem here that neither Esau nor Isaac
have any control over. As much as Isaac would like to bless Esau, and as much
as Esau would love to receive the blessing, both had actually been sold to
Jacob on the day that Esau valued a pot of stew more than his inheritance from
his father. How Jacob got the blessing is really immaterial. He already owned
it and had jurisdiction over it, not because he stole it from his brother, but
simply because, at that time, his brother saw no value in it.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Genesis
28
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