Genesis 32:22-32
This is probably one of the most mysterious of passages in Scripture. It seems we are to see “the man” with whom Jacob struggles to be God or his agent. But then, if this is God in some form, why would he not be able to overpower Jacob? Maybe for this to be a genuine struggle, the figure representing God had to have this kind of vulnerability. Or something. It remains, anyway, that “the man” does have the power to rename Jacob with the name of a nation. That means we can read this as signifying something of Israel’s contending with God and man, or the contending of a faith community, if we make it even more general. And note that in the midst of the struggle the contenders seem evenly matched, but it’s Jacob who comes out wounded. I don’t think he would have any basis for saying you should see the other guy.
As I’ve reflected previously in this forum, one would hope that a church environment is such that there is love and warmth all around. But I’ve observed in a number of church settings, from the one I grew up in on, that there can be so much emphasis on pleasantness that you don’t feel free to have the kind of down and dirty questioning and wrestling with God that authentic faith fellowship, and true supportive love and warmth, permits. I think the reason some churches find opposition to small groups is because the very idea is experienced as a threat to the comfortable let’s-keep-any-real-emotions-at-a-distance mindset of too many churches. Some churches are so focused on having a seemly environment that they actually work against authentic Christian community.
We don’t need to go out of our way to wrestle with stuff so we will grow. That would be madness. Enough stuff just happens. And more than enough stuff has no doubt happened for you in the past year. The question is, what do you do with it? There are lots of ways to try to feel better. God invites us to take off our jackets and wrestle with him in it all. You can go into it feeling free to insist on his blessing.
We have more going for us than Jacob in this, in that our Lord has entered the fray and accepted battle scars for our sake.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
- Isaiah 53:5.
Prayer:
God, you do surround me with people who really care. May others find that in me. Thank you for this loan of life to be shared. There is a lot to wrestle with. Thank you that you have promised now to contend alongside me, through the promised counselor, your Holy Spirit. There is nothing I need fear. Through Christ. Amen.
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4 comments:
why does god wrestle with jacob at all?
why does jacob want a blessing?
why does god rename jacob?
here are some wild thoughts:
why does god wrestle with jacob at all? god is a personal god. not a god of nations. god created a man and a woman. not a nation. a nation isn't a person, anymore than a corporation is a person. there are some very personal interactions with god in the bible, such as:
to jeremiah: Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "I have put my words in your mouth.
to mary:
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
as for deceitful jacob, what could be more honest and personal than a brawl?
"But then, if this is God in some form, why would he not be able to overpower Jacob?" god created and rules the universe. s/he can stop the sun and dry up the rainclouds and shake the earth. s/he can harden and soften hearts. but i venture to suggest, and correct me if i sway into heresy, that there are times and spaces where god treats us as equals, that within certain bounds, we have the gift of free will. how mindful are we of this gift's grace and power? a lyric of sheryl crow's is apropos: "are you strong enough to be my man?" god doesn't need to know this, but maybe jacob does, in a very personal way. so personal that he asks to be blessed by his true parent, and then his true parent names him.
it also occurs to me that god taking on human form here with jacob harkens back to the personal relationship with adam and eve:
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"; and it foreshadows god incarnate as jesus.
i cling to the belief that god is a personal god, not a god of faceless nations and corporations or any other kind of institution. including church. at best, an institution is the sum of what the people are. and without god involved, it will be nothing more than transient and human. what the people are is what the church is. our personal template is the person of jesus christ, and our corporate template is the body of jesus christ. for me it's an ongoing mystery that tests me, causes me doubt and despair, gives me joy and ecstacy. i like this especially: "God invites us to take off our jackets and wrestle with him in it all."
god-less or god-led? being god-led we leave behind the sanitized flatness of shopping malls and parking lots and sitcoms and reality tv and celebrity shows and videogames. we have on our hiking boots for the uneven and unexpected terrain of walking with god. i can't see over the mountains, i can't fathom the wild rivers, but i trust in god, my creator, my muse, my lover, my sparring partner.
I cannot fully fathom how it works that we are the Body of Christ, one living organism, and yet individuals. The Biblical understanding is probably even that we are truly individuals BECAUSE of being 'members' (hands, feet, etc.) of that organism (better than institution).
Neither can I fully fathom how one God is three persons.
i've been thinking since i wrote my reply that i overstepped my bounds in stating things such as "god is a personal god. not a god of nations." who am i to define god?
there are some things we know expressly from scripture, but i don't recall these particular factoids.
i'm sorry. i find it's so easy and tempting to claim to know god or god's purpose.
I don't think you have anything to be sorry for. This forum is all about faithful risking. If we didn't say anything we didn't question later we probably wouldn't be saying anything.
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