A Blessing, A Limp, A Sermon on Genesis 32

Text: Genesis 32:22-31

With nothing left but the clothes on his back, Jacob settled in for the night. He sent everyone away, I’m not sure why, maybe he was afraid of what would happen if they stayed, maybe he was sick of the nagging from the long trip, maybe he needed a few hours to clear his mind. Whatever the reason, he was alone.

And then Jacob spotted another man on the darkened horizon; where did he come from? Where was he going? Why was he there? As the man approached, Jacob tried to hide and cower, anything just to let him pass. Jacob would have a busy day tomorrow and didn’t want to be bothered. But this man’s eyes pierced right through him; how could he see him? How did he know he was there? With each step the man took, Jacob’s heart beat faster and faster; his breath, shorter and shorter. What did this man want?

Within what seemed like a second the man had a hold of him, fighting, wrestling, struggling. What did this man want; didn’t the man know that he already sent all of his possessions away? There was nothing there except him; did the man want to do him harm?

Jacob found himself entangled in a wrestling match with a man, or was it an angel, or was it God? It was too dark to tell, but he seemed familiar. Had Jacob met him before maybe? Had he been another person Jacob had tricked? Another person Jacob had struggled with before? No, this man evoked a warm memory in Jacob. Could this be a dream? No, but the last encounter was. That was a long time ago.

Jacob was well on his way out of town, far from his brother, Esau, who had promised to kill him. It wasn’t Jacob’s fault; it was God’s plan. Jacob was destined and chosen by God. This seems all good and well, but when you look at the story and follow the natural right of the first born, you have to scratch your head. You see, Esau was supposed to be the one destined and chosen by God. Esau was the older brother, but God chose Jacob. God chose Jacob when no one else did.

As you can imagine, when Jacob received God’s blessing instead of Esau, he lost favor in his older brother’s eyes and so, he was forced to flee north, out of fear for his life and for the preservation of his blessing. On his first night, another time when he found himself alone, he laid down and dreamed. He dreamed he saw a ladder that was set up on the earth and reached into heaven. He dreamed he saw the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And he dreamed he stood beside the Lord, the God of his fathers. In this dream the Lord spoke to him, promising a future, promising a home, promising many children.

Oh, how this dream sustained him through those long years! Fourteen years he slaved for that man, Laban. Sure he had a lot to show for it, far more than he arrived with, but again, when he lost favor in Laban’s sight, he had to flee for his life; that’s why Jacob was there again, alone and without any possession.

Could this be God again? Jacob thought so. But why would God wrestle with his blessed one, his chosen one? “Couldn’t he just have a nice dream again?” he thought. But here he was, wrestling with his God.

I imagine that Jacob was sick of running and sick of hiding and he thought to himself, “Alright God, if you want to have a go, I’ll go all-out with you. I’ve had to fight my whole life because of your blessing; if it’s a fight you want, then it’s a fight you’ll get!”

The hours passed and the struggle went on; Jacob would not relent; nor would God. Each held on, each refused to let go. What was it that God wanted? When God saw that Jacob was not going to give up, God struck Jacob on the hip, hitting Jacob below the belt, so to speak.

God hit Jacob below the belt, but Jacob kept holding on. Jacob held his own against the holy One. Jacob was unrelenting and it was God who had to bargain: “Let go of me; the sun is almost up!”

But, Jacob would not relent. Not until he received a blessing. Not until he received what God had promised him. Why was God hesitant to bless Jacob as he had done so many years ago? Jacob wanted what was due to him.

God wasn’t ready to bless Jacob, but when he saw that Jacob would not let go, God decided to give Jacob a new name: Israel.

What’s in a name? Everyone’s got one. Our parents name us when we are born, telling us that we are different than everyone else. We are their child. Sometimes our last names tell us where we’ve come from:

Sweden, Germany, Mexico…Minnesota. We are named and we name our children, or our pets. When God renames Jacob, whose name meant trickster, heel grasper, scoundrel, God changes the shape of Jacob’s life. He was a rascal when compared to his father, Isaac and his grandfather, Abraham. He is now Israel, the one who strives with God and human beings and prevails. He is a new being; he has a new identity.When Jacob asks God his name God does not yet reveal himself. And Jacob continues to hold on. Jacob literally squeezes a blessing out of God, holding on through the night until God blesses him. And God did bless him.

Biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann notes, “Jacob did gain a victory. And he limped every day thereafter to show others (and himself) that there are no untroubled victories with this holy One.”

Jacob walks away from the encounter with the holy One with his blessing. But Jacob also walked away from this encounter with a limp. It’s seems strange, but it’s not unusual. Women go through nine months of pregnancy, and many hours of labor before a child is born. Students endure hours of studying and writing and struggling before accomplishing a good grade on a test, publishing a paper, obtaining a college degree. I believe the fitness slogan reads, “No pain, no gain.”

Even our Jesus had to endure the cross before being raised from the dead. Our Jesus walked away, out of his grave and into our lives, but he enters with his scars, with his wounds.

All of this teaches us that a blessed life is not a life without struggles. Life is not without its times feeling like or being hit below the belt. I arrived in

Sierra Vista at the end of a string of young, tragic and untimely deaths and suicides. Yesterday I walked past the newsstand on the way to pick up my mail and saw that in Hereford, one teen is dead and another in custody after playing with a gun. I can only imagine the wrestling, the struggling that is going on with their parents, friends and communities. I know each of you can think of struggles that have kept you up through the night, holding on to someone or something true, good or right. We cling to God just as Jacob did, in faith, but we cannot see God or trust what he is doing. We have to trust that though we feel like we’ve been hit below the belt, though we feel like we have to wait through the night to the dawn, we are and will continue to be blessed.

And what are these blessings? Today some of our youth will be confirmed. In their Christian education they have been taught about the blessings that God gives. God the Creator has made you and everything that exists, God preserves and protects you and gives daily bread. God the Redeemer has purchased and freed you from all sins, from death and from the power of the devil. God the Holy Spirit has calls you to faith, gives you gifts, makes you holy, forgives your sins and will raise you from the dead and gives you eternal life.

Though we are marked by our scars, it is still our God who blesses us. God wrestles along side you and sometimes even with you, continually creating you in his image. God is at work in you and God is faithful.

This is most certainly true. Amen.