This Is Who We Are: Jacob Wrestles (MPLS)

Genesis 21:1-3; 22:1-14

And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, and I will do you good’, I am not worthy of the least of all the steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan; and now I have become two companies. Deliver me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I am afraid of him; he may come and kill us all, the mothers with the children. Yet you have said, ‘I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted because of their number.’”

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. He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.

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. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”

Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” 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. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

Mark 1:12-13

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

 
Even if you haven’t watched it, you’ve most likely heard about the streaming TV show that’s gained great popularity this past year: “Ted Lasso.” It’s a series about an American college football coach who’s hired to coach an English soccer team — a sport he knows nothing about in a country far from his hometown, Kansas City. The show provides good comedy with endearing characters. They’re flawed. They’re also kind and care deeply for their community.

In one episode, Roy Kent, an extremely gruff character in the series and one of the star soccer players on the team, is being pressured by pundits to retire. He’s the captain of the team, the oldest, and has played on the team the longest. He’s not performed well in the last few games and he’s wrestling with making a decision.

Speaking in the third-person, Roy tells his girlfriend: “Roy Kent’s been the best player on every team he’s ever played since he was a kid. I like being Roy Kent… It’s all I’ve ever known. It’s who I am. It’s all I am.”

His girlfriend calls out to Roy’s six-year-old niece playing quietly nearby. “Phoebe, come here please… close your eyes and describe your Uncle Roy for me — everything you can think of…”

“Well,” Phoebe says, “he’s my uncle, his beard is scratchy, he buys me ice cream, he swears a lot and I love him.” Nothing about soccer. Her words challenge Roy. Being a soccer player isn’t all he is. Subsequent episodes have him choosing again and again to be vulnerable in the struggle of discovering the fullness of who he is.

This isn’t a new storyline. It’s as old as humankind. This is who we are.

We just heard a similar storyline in Genesis. It’s one episode in the context of a much larger biblical narrative. Jacob is an ancestor in the faith, an important character in the unfolding story of God’s relationship with Israel.

Refresher: Jacob was the younger twin brother of Esau, born to Isaac and Rebekah. The name “Jacob” is derived from the Hebrew word for “heel” and has the connotation of displacing or cheating. It’s a name that points to his character, revealed in his words and actions. He’s a trickster, a liar, a cheat. He tricked his brother into giving him the inheritance. He pretended to be Esau and lied to his blind father to steal his brothers’ blessing. When Jacob hears that Esau intends to kill him because of what he’s done, he runs away to live with an uncle. Laban and Jacob struggle for 20 more years as one continually deceives the other.

The Jacob we meet today seems to have had a change of heart. The trickster, the liar, the cheat shows up humble before God, Jacob prays: “I am not worthy of the least of all the steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant… Deliver me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I am afraid of him.” Jacob reminds God of God’s promise to bless him with descendants too many to count and it’s God’s promise that strengthens Jacob in his resolve to make peace with his brother. He sends his servants to deliver gifts to Esau. He takes his family and all his possessions to the other side of the river and returns alone, wondering about the future he’d already entrusted to God.

And that’s when the struggle starts. That’s when the wrestling match begins — when he chooses to be vulnerable with the stranger in his midst. In the heat of the struggle, Jacob refuses to let go. Jacob holds on tight and insists on a blessing. The stranger asks his name. Jacob confesses who he is — I am Jacob (hear trickster, liar, cheat). But that’s not all of who he is. Jacob is given a new name. God says: “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and you have prevailed.”

Jacob didn’t know who the adversary was in the moment. The storyteller keeps it vague too. But, after the encounter, Jacob is certain — he was face to face with God. It was a terrible, unsettling night. Jacob emerged changed. He would walk with a limp the rest of his days but he was also blessed with hope for a future only God can give. Follow the trajectory of the story and it leads to reconciliation and peace between brothers.

It’s been a couple of years of some pretty intense wrestling, wouldn’t you say? We’ve wrestled with fear and isolation — and with health and death and grief. We’ve grappled with truth, hyperbole and conspiracy. We’ve struggled with history we thought we knew and a future we can’t predict. The wrestling hasn’t stopped. We are being changed and it hurts. Living in these times has made us weary and leaves you to wonder like the psalmist who cries, “How long O Lord, how long?”

Jacob’s story is a much needed reminder that a life of faith involves some wrestling — with God and with humans. Life is hard. Even with God, there can be struggle that brings some hurt. Faith doesn’t keep you safe from struggle; faith gives you courage to enter into the struggle — not with a goal to win, but with a yearning to engage with the living God and be blessed.

In Jacob’s story God doesn’t solve the problem, take away the threat, or promise happiness. God is present in the struggle. God meets Jacob where he is, accepts him as he is, and then gives him a new name, calling him into the fullness of who God has created him to be.

Jesus himself engaged in this wrestling. Immediately following his baptism a voice from heaven declared: “You are my son, the beloved, with you I am well pleased.” Then the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where he wrestled with exactly what, God only knows. Jesus emerged from the struggle living into the fullness of who he already was — preaching, teaching and healing with the good news of God’s love and mercy for all.

This is our calling too — as disciples of Jesus Christ — to make confession of who we are, being vulnerable enough to engage in the struggle, with God and with people.

God’s promise is that you are not alone as you wrestle. God is with you. God meets you where you’re at, accepts you as you are and has already given you a new identity in Christ. In baptism God claims you and names you. You are marked as Christ’s own forever. You are a beloved child of God.

May this good news free you to live into the fullness of who God has created you to be and may you receive God’s blessing to be of good courage as a voice for healing and hope that reveals Christ alive in the world.