Trinity 20, 2007 Genesis 32:22-31Twente & Nijmegen 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5
Luke 18:1-8
Grappling with God
I open with words from Psalm 127:1-2. Words that are apt for any church and any city, but also for us as we pause in worship of our Maker on our Sabbath.1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain.
Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.
2 It is vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved.Verse 1 suggests that unless the Lord is present in what we aim for, especially as a community of faith, then we are done for. This is why we must pray constantly for Him to lead us to do the things He will bless, rather than only asking Him to bless the things we have already made up our minds to do. Verse 1 also reminds us that unless the Lord guards our cities, we keep watch for them in vain. The city of Glasgow is an object lesson. Back at the height of its power in the 17th century, the city’s motto was ‘Lord let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of thy word and by the praising of thy name.’ By 1699 this was shortened to ‘Let Glasgow flourish.’ Some would say that the city has never been the same since. It is the second verse of Psalm 127 that gives me pause, today, though: 2 It is vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved.Many of us, whether we are in paid employment or in unpaid employment in the home, may follow this pattern: we rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil. Thanks to Thomas Edison, the insomniac who invented the light bulb, and Philo Farnsworth, the Utah farm boy who invented the TV, we do not get the sleep we need. But not just modern technology but also modern life, with its pressures and pace, make hard for many of us to rest easily. My wife, who works hard, sleeps well and deserves it, once quoted to me Psalm 127:2 when I was having trouble sleeping – ‘for the Lord gives sleep to his beloved’. Touché!Still, Jacob’s story shows us that the Lord sometimes needs to wrestle with the ones he loves to get their attention.We may not rest easily because of overwork, or anxiety, or ill health. But even when we are not particularly blessed with sleep, the Lord has not abandoned us. I think these are moments to focus on him anew, to learn his purpose, rather than being consumed by something else. If we must grapple in the night, it is far better to wrestle Him and His message for us, even it may change us.These are lessons from the story of Jacob. Jacob’s name means ‘supplants’ or ‘takes the rightful place’ [or heel]. He lived up to that name, cheating his slightly older brother Esau out of a birthright. He then fled to another land, to the house of Laban, where he fell in love with Rachel. He agreed to work for Laban to secure the hand of Rachel, only to be tricked by Laban, who was just as crafty as Jacob, into marrying his elder daughter Leah. So Jacob cheats his father-in-law back by manipulating the breeding of their flocks so Jacob’s part of the flock is stronger. As you can imagine, dear Jacob is not really welcome anywhere.So when we catch up with him today, he’s parted company with Laban and is now fleeing his brother Esau, who appears to be coming after him with 400 men. Jacob reaches a turning point – a river crossing – always a momentous symbolic event in biblical terms. He sends his family on. He is desperate. He is alone. Suddenly, as if all his other worries weren’t enough, he is seized by an unknown attacker with whom he wrestles. The Hebrew is beautiful – Ya’aqov, when at Yabboq, is made to ye’abeq (wrestle). This man he grapples with, he only gradually realizes, is something of God – a messenger or what we do not know. Jacob is injured in the encounter, but he holds on. He will not let go until he has a blessing. When we ask for blessing what do we expect? A special favor, mercy, some benefit or other, some sense of approval? But his divine messenger does not do Jacob’s bidding that simply. He says gives Jacob a new name, Israel, which means ‘the one who strives with God’. Only after the messenger from God changes Jacob from someone who steals the rights of others to someone who grapples with the Almighty does he bless Jacob, now Israel.What do we learn from this? 3 things: 1) pick a worthy thing to wrestle with; but 2) don’t expect to be unchanged by it; and 3) seek to do what God will bless and not his approval for what you and I want.
- Pick a worthy thing to wrestle with. You can avoid God and you can live with your anxieties. But God can and will seek you out. And He can and will get your attention so that you will focus on him rather than all those other things. The great Prime Minister whose voice lifted Britain in the dark days of WWII, Winston Churchill, was himself was plagued by depression and lack of purpose in his life in his early years in politics. At the end of his life, looking back, he said, ‘Most of things that really worried me never really happened.’ A remarkable insight that. The fear of the Lord may be the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7) mainly because it puts all other fears in their place, under God. If you have to wrestle with something, make it a worthy opponent. Jacob, in his way, wrestles with God and is blessed. Jesus tells a parable of an old woman who wants justice and badgers a corrupt judge until she gets it. This, Luke tells us, is ‘ a parable about [the disciples’] need to pray and not lose heart’ (18:1). If you find yourself wrestling with a problem, do not wrestle alone. Wrestle with it in prayer instead, and the Lord, who is not a heartless judge, will help you. The young understudy Timothy is told by Paul to rely on the Scripture. From childhood he had been trained in it (may our children be) and it instructed him about salvation in Christ Jesus. And whatever jam you get yourself into, remember: ‘16All scripture is inspired by God and isuseful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.’ Scripture is not always easy to understand, but it is worth grappling with because it contains ‘all things necessary to salvation’ as the 6th of the Church of England’s 39 Articles of Religion says. If you’re going to wrestle with something, pick something worthy, like the meaning of Scripture, which is given to get you through the dark places in life and help you and those with whom, you share it to eternal life.
- Don’t expect to be unchanged by wrestling with God. Encountering God does not necessarily make life easier for you or me. It did not for Jacob. Jacob was forced to confront himself, his weaknesses and to be changed. Jacob was not a nice or good man. Yet God came even to him, for he loved Jacob and had a purpose for him, just like he has for you and me. God wants to come into our lives and make us his. That might be uncomfortable, but it is worth it. In CS Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, the figure of God, Aslan the lion, is described as good but not tame. God will surprise and challenge us to be different in a way we may not expect or like. But it is a better way.
- Seek to do what God will bless and not his approval for what you and I want. Jacob wants a blessing, but is given a change of name first. St Paul urges his young friend Timothy to do his best to present himself as one approved by God (2 Timothy 2:15). He does not say to do whatever you like, Timothy, and then seek God’s approval. A blessing is a promise from God that he accepts and loves us. But that does not mean he condones the wrong we do. Indeed, within each blessing is also a challenge, a challenge to be a blessing for God.
