Hello Everyone!
You can now reach my blog at www.cathostant.com!
See you all there!
Peace
-Daniel
Friday, August 19, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Wrestling the Night Away
This week my church took a brief detour away from the Revised Common Lectionary and explored Genesis 32 where Jacob wrestled with God and became Israel. The sermon was given by the awesome Dave Meserve this week, in which he shared about some of his journey and how this story became a pivot point for him. I appreciated hearing his story as part of the sermon, it's partially why I love my community. All of us have moments which are transformative, and when those stories are shared, a sacred moment is created.
In the life of Jacob, we find a man who has made it through life with tricks and his wits who finds himself at the end of his own abilities, about to face his brother who threatened him with death on the last time they saw each other. He sends everything he has in front of him, holding himself back, brooding, waiting, wrestling with himself. And then suddenly he is attacked, by God nonetheless. Isn't that an interesting picture of God? God watched Jacob struggle, and then enters into his experience in a very visceral way. Jacob has no idea who he is facing. Maybe his brother sent an assassin, maybe somebody else he tricked along the way is after him, maybe it is his brother himself coming to fulfill his promise. So Jacob fights on until day breaks. Jacob fights so tenaciously that God has to touch his hip, but even this isn't enough. Jacob demands a blessing.
Perhaps this is the first time that Jacob has really fought for something. He didn't connive his way through this encounter, but rolled around in the dirt and sweat for hours. From this he becomes Israel: "for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." This is what defines the Israelite people and by adoption those of us who follow Jesus, we wrestle with God. Just as with the early life of Jacob, God may give us many blessings that we don't have to work for, that doesn't require any interaction with Him. But eventually we find ourselves at a place where God isn't going to give us what we seek unless we get face to face and down in the dirt with Him. But even in that, it isn't about earning our blessings, our proving ourselves worthy. Instead, it's about the interaction, baring our soul, and being transformed.
When we meet God, really meet God, we come around changed. We begin as we are now, not much different from Jacob: prideful, self-sufficient, manipulative, but full of fear. At the end, when we are gripping God with everything we have, we come away with the blessing of a new self. We find ourselves ready to face our fears. After that night, Jacob/Israel rushed ahead of all those who he sent ahead of him, and met his brother face to face, come what may. He met God and found his new name. Whatever might happen to him from that day no longer has the power it once did. Even though things ended well, and he found reconciliation with his brother, he didn't come away completely fixed. Instead, he had a damaged hip that would serve as a reminder of that night for the rest of his life, and entered into the spiritual life of the Israelites in the Seder meal where a leg of lamb is a visual reminder of what happened.
What I take away from this concept is that while God is generous with his blessings, and we are under grace, that doesn't always mean it is completely free. But, it is definitely worth it, for we come away changed, more and more the image of who we were created to be and less and less of our shadow selves.
Peace.
In the life of Jacob, we find a man who has made it through life with tricks and his wits who finds himself at the end of his own abilities, about to face his brother who threatened him with death on the last time they saw each other. He sends everything he has in front of him, holding himself back, brooding, waiting, wrestling with himself. And then suddenly he is attacked, by God nonetheless. Isn't that an interesting picture of God? God watched Jacob struggle, and then enters into his experience in a very visceral way. Jacob has no idea who he is facing. Maybe his brother sent an assassin, maybe somebody else he tricked along the way is after him, maybe it is his brother himself coming to fulfill his promise. So Jacob fights on until day breaks. Jacob fights so tenaciously that God has to touch his hip, but even this isn't enough. Jacob demands a blessing.
Perhaps this is the first time that Jacob has really fought for something. He didn't connive his way through this encounter, but rolled around in the dirt and sweat for hours. From this he becomes Israel: "for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." This is what defines the Israelite people and by adoption those of us who follow Jesus, we wrestle with God. Just as with the early life of Jacob, God may give us many blessings that we don't have to work for, that doesn't require any interaction with Him. But eventually we find ourselves at a place where God isn't going to give us what we seek unless we get face to face and down in the dirt with Him. But even in that, it isn't about earning our blessings, our proving ourselves worthy. Instead, it's about the interaction, baring our soul, and being transformed.
When we meet God, really meet God, we come around changed. We begin as we are now, not much different from Jacob: prideful, self-sufficient, manipulative, but full of fear. At the end, when we are gripping God with everything we have, we come away with the blessing of a new self. We find ourselves ready to face our fears. After that night, Jacob/Israel rushed ahead of all those who he sent ahead of him, and met his brother face to face, come what may. He met God and found his new name. Whatever might happen to him from that day no longer has the power it once did. Even though things ended well, and he found reconciliation with his brother, he didn't come away completely fixed. Instead, he had a damaged hip that would serve as a reminder of that night for the rest of his life, and entered into the spiritual life of the Israelites in the Seder meal where a leg of lamb is a visual reminder of what happened.
What I take away from this concept is that while God is generous with his blessings, and we are under grace, that doesn't always mean it is completely free. But, it is definitely worth it, for we come away changed, more and more the image of who we were created to be and less and less of our shadow selves.
Peace.
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