Wrestling with Angels
Genesis 32:22-31
March 2, 2014
In the book of Ecclesiastes the writer observed, “Then I
saw that all the toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his
neighbor. This also is vanity and
striving after the wind.”[1] His attitude is either fairly cynical or it
is right on the mark. It all depends on
the way you look at life. Do people
spend most of their time striving after the things they see in their neighbor’s
homes? Does envy really drive most
people to pursue greater wealth, and power and prestige? Do we really just strive after the wind? Is
that all we are about? Is there
something or someone higher for which we might reach?
There’s an old saying that warns, “When climbing the
ladder of success, make sure it’s leaning in the right direction.”
In our scripture today, Jacob finally realized his ladder
had been leaning the wrong way and he had been “striving after the wind”. He wants to make things right with his long
lost brother, and he wants to make thing right with God. Changing directions like that can be a
struggle and it can even leave you scared and a bit scarred, but there is
blessing to be found at the end of the striving. That’s where Jacob went. That’s where were going. Let us pray:
Lord, each and every one of us has faced our own
spiritual struggles. Doubts have
troubled our minds and regrets have stung the soul. So much of our lives
consist in striving for things that will not last. Grant in this time O Lord, a greater
understanding to answer the doubts, forgiveness to salve the soul, and wisdom
to lean our ladders in the right direction.
This we pray through Jesus, through whom we all may see your face. Amen.
A lot of families have a guy like this. He’s a hustler, a wheeler-dealer, and a con
artist. He’s the one who shows up at the
reunions every year with a new scheme, the inside track, and a great deal. Lend him a thousand bucks, and he swears
he’ll return it ten-fold, but if you do you’ll never see that money again.
He’ll think nothing of using members of his own family to get what he wants.
Jacob was that guy.
He was shrewd and without scruples.
He’d even hustle his own father and brother to get what he wanted. Jacob was the consummate bargainer. Everything had a price.
But, one day he went too far, the deal went sour. He tricked his half-starved brother Esau into
selling his birthright for a bowl of porridge and he tricked his half-blind
father into bestowing the blessing that belonged to Esau, and when his older
brother found out, when his bigger stronger and angrier brother found out,
Jacob quickly concluded that retreat was the better part of valor. His mother told him to head for the hills and
she would send for him when Esau cooled off.[2]
That was twenty years ago, and Jacob still had not heard
from mom. Esau evidently knew how to
hold a grudge. Jacob had not wasted
those years. He had grown wealthy in his
own right and taken a few wives, but he continued in his hustling wheeling
dealing ways, cheating his own uncle along the way.
I think he would have continued to strive after the wind
had God not intervened. With one of
those graphic images for which Genesis is so well known, Jacob had a dream
about a ladder different from the one he had been climbing. This ladder led up to heaven. On that ladder angels were ascending and
descending. We even sing of this event
in that old Bible School song, “We are climbing Jacob’s Ladder”.
But, in this vision at no time does Jacob or
any other human being climb this ladder.
We don’t climb Jacob’s ladder up to heaven. Instead, it is used by the angels of God as
an image of God’s ministry coming down to people. The ladder is about God coming down to meet
us where we are. In that sense it is a
little bit like that babe born in a manger in Bethlehem.
When Jacob woke from his dream, he came to the startling
conclusion, “The Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”[3] With that revelation Jacob knew that his life
must change. He realized his ladder had
been leaning in the wrong direction. He
could not continue striving after the wind while knowing that God was in this
place. He could not live the way he had
been living with the knowledge that the Lord is in this place. The Lord changes
everything.
After that vision, Jacob set up an altar of
stone and named the place, Beth-el, which means House of God. He also began the custom of tithing, of
giving a tenth of all he had to God, so you can thank him for that.[4] It is a spiritual discipline many believers
follow to this day.
Life went on after that.
He married Leah and Rachel and built up his herds, but beneath the
surface of his success and in the background was that pinprick reminder that he
is where he is because he did he did his father wrong and because he betrayed
his brother. He cannot live where God is
and ignore the sin he committed. It
whispered to him in the wind of the night – Esau. He could not live where God is and not be
reconciled with his brother. When you
know that God is in this place you must do what you can to live at peace with
others.
This soul struggle went on for some time, because
reconciliation does not come without risk, and Jacob considered carefully the
cost. Mom had still not sent word that
Esau had cooled off. He had no idea how
he would be received, but still he had to go.
If he was ever going to find peace, he had to go.
So, off he went with his family and flocks and
servants. The closer he came to Esau,
the more his fears grew. When Esau heard
Jacob was coming he went out to meet him and brought four hundred of his best
men to boot. Whether this would be war
or welcome, Jacob did not know.
On the night before this fateful meeting this question of
war or welcome rattled around Jacob’s mind. He could not sleep so he wandered
across the Jabbok River. The Bible says,
“Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the
day.”[5] Who this man was, the Bible at this point
does not say. The prophet Hosea later
identified this man as an angel, and that the angel represented God, so Jacob’s
struggle was really with the Lord.[6]
If that is the case, if Jacob’s struggle was really with
God, then there is a theological dilemma here, because Jacob wins the
fight. The name that Jacob received from
God as a kind of reward or trophy for this contest is “Israel”, which is
translated here as “striving with God and prevailed.”[7]
The question many have is how can a man fight against God
and win. Most of us believe like that
old Broadway show proclaims, “You’re arms are too short to box with God.” Does this story mean that in this case mean
that at the end of the game the score was Jacob – 1, God- 0?
Well, it depends on what your definition of victory
is. What was Jacob really striving for
here? He’s looking to make peace with
his brother and as a consequence he’s also trying to “see the face of
God”. He is trying to come closer to
God. He is seeking the blessing of God
and the best pathway to do that was to repent and confess his sin and seek
forgiveness and reconciliation with is brother.
That is what Jacob wants and it is what God had seeking all along.
The Lord wanted Jacob to face his own sin. God wanted him to seek reconciliation with
his brother. The Lord wanted him to know
that he was in this place. If through struggle
Jacob wins this reconciliation and comes to know God more deeply, God does not
lose. Jacob’s will has not prevailed; it
has only finally blended with and meshed with the will of God. In this case Jacob’s victory was God’s
victory. So the score was really Jacob
-1 and God 1.
Ellie Wiesel, made this observation about Jacob: “In the
good and evil that made up Jacob there were two factors of nobility that saved
him. The first was his awareness that
life has a divine meaning above its material fact. The second quality revealed in his wrestling
with God was his determination.”
Another preacher put it this way, “There are some things
worth fighting for. Caught in the grip
of judgment, Jacob’s prevailing desire was not for escape. He would hold on until something decisive
happened. He would not let the
experience go until he had wrung a blessing from it. Those who are shallow may ignore their sins;
the coward may try to evade their consequence, but Jacob was neither shallow or
a coward.”[8]
In the relationship between God and humanity, between
brothers and sisters, little has really changed since the time of Jacob. There are those who are shallow and those who
are cowards and those who strive after the wind. Then there are those who are willing to
struggle, to wrestle with their past, seek reconciliation in the present, so
that one day they might also see the face of God.
In a few moments we will celebrate the Sacrament of Holy
Communion. This ritual was given to us
by Jesus to remind us of that time when it was possible to see the face of God
in him. As we hold the bread and cup in
our hands, we are called to reflect upon those times when we have fallen short
of the glory of God, and acknowledge those times when we still strive after the
wind, and seek reconciliation with a brother a father a friend whom we have
hurt.
This can be a true spiritual struggle, but when the dawn
breaks we are also promised a blessing from God we can find nowhere else. So, take the bread of heaven and the cup of
salvation. Through them, you may catch a
glimpse of the face of God.
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