The 22nd Sunday after Pentecost ----- 16 October 2016

Genesis 32:22-31

22 The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³ He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. ²⁴ Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. ²⁶ Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." ²⁷ So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." ²⁸Then the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed." ²⁹ Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him. ³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved." ³¹ The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

Luke 18:1-8

1 Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. ² He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. ³ In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, "Grant me justice against my opponent.' ⁴ For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, "Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.' " ⁶ And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? ⁸ I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

·        The story of Jacob wrestling with an angel is one of the best stories in the book of Genesis. There is so much there that it could be a whole series of sermons and still not exhaust the meaning… just like the rest of Scripture.

·        The story contains wrestling, naming, refusal to be named, darkness, and mystery.

·        First some context. Jacob and his brother Esau are arguing and Jacob has sent his family and flocks ahead to keep them from harm’s way because Esau is pursuing him with armed men. Jacob, the trickster, waits by himself for his brother at a river’s ford, ready to take what come. His family, household, and flocks are safe so his legacy is secure.

·        Esau come but only later. First Jacob wrestles with “a man” all night long and neither one wins. As dawn is breaking, “the man” hits Jacob and dislocates his hip, and asks to be let go.  Jacob refuses to do so until he is blessed. His opponent then blesses him with a new name. This may not seem like much to us, but, in Biblical terms, a new name carries with it an entirely new person with a new mission. “Jacob” is now “Israel” – the one who has “striven with God and with humans, and… prevailed.”

·        No doubt by now, you can guess that the man wrestling with Jacob is no mere man, but at least an angel and possibly God. The struggle takes place at night because, as the Bible tells us, no one can see the face of God and live. That is why the wrestler wants to be gone by sunrise, not for his own purposes, but to protect Jacob. He will not give his name for two reasons. First, Jacob should have guessed who he is wrestling with by now. Second, the true name of God is hidden at that time and further still, to know a person’s name is to know their entire person. There is a measure of control implied in knowing another’s name, something no one can ever have over God.

·        All this leaves the wrestling itself. The idea of wrestling with God in the darkness of night is a very real way of describing a relationship with God. I know we’ve been taught that we should submit to God’s will and as part of that, our struggle is with ourselves. Jacob’s wrestling appears to have no real point; it just happens. However, it happens at a time of real crisis for him. He stands alone in the dark, facing the brother whom he has cheated and who is coming to take his vengeance. Perhaps the wrestling at the ford is a way of illustrating Jacob’s own struggle with himself as well as a wrestling match with God.

·        Looking at this, we can take heart. Jacob became “Israel”, the one who contends and prevails. This new name is a new life and a blessing from God. Jacob did not give up despite the long struggle and a wound that left him lame. This may not be a great example of a time of prayer, but it is a great illustration of a life with God.

·        Those who prepared the schedule of readings we use in the Sunday Worship have paired the story of the naming of Israel with Luke’s parable of the unjust judge who finally gives in. Both have to do with God’s desire for us to stick with praying.

·        The parable of the unjust judge looks at this same idea as we found in the book of Genesis, but from a different angle. The judge in the parable would render judgement for the widow not because he was just, not because the Law of Moses required it (which it did), not because he saw value in her petition, but because she was bothering him - shaming him, harassing him, even going so far as to give him “a black eye”, which is just what the original language says. Whether that means shaming him or beating him up, I’ll leave to your imagination.

·        God on the other hand is just, for God’s justice is mercy. God is concerned for the poor. God will give justice and help to those who “cry to him day and night.” There is no need of shame or pestering or threats; God’s mercy goes beyond

·        In this parable, God is not symbolized by the judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. This character is the negative example to prove the point. If he has to give in because the widow pesters him so much, imagine how God – who does care for each of us – will hear our prayers and grant us his justice. As I said before, God’s justice is mercy and that is the Gospel message here. The final point, once again, is grace. God’s grace is mercy for those who may not deserve it, but to whom God grants mercy, grace, and salvation out of the love he bears for them. That mean us.

·        Our lesson then? Persevere in prayer, believing that our loving God hears us each time. Trust in the one we pray to. We don’t have to convince God of our need and we don’t have to pray as if God doesn’t already know. Trust that God really wants to know us and be part of our lives.

·        I’d like to end our talk today with a great quote from Martin Luther, one of the many things he wrote about prayer… and he wrote a lot!

·        Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance. It is laying hold of His willingness.