Sermon for September 22

The readings

Genesis 32:[9-13] 22-30

[9 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,' 10 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. 11 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. 12 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.'" 13 So he spent that night there.]

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." 28 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." 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."

Mark 14:32-36 
 
32 They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. 34 And he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” 35 And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 He said, “Abba,[a]Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.”


The message


(no mauscript this week, so heres a decent summary)

Today, we continue our Long Advent season as we wait for Christmas, for the moment when we yell Christ our savior is born, when we see and know God is with us like no time before or after

So far, we heard creation, a story I shared at Rainbow at the children’s church this week on Friday,  connecting to the climate march, why did people not go to work or school today, God’s instruction for us to care for the world entrusted to us;.  


Last week, we heard about one of the major patriarchs of Israel, Abraham who first hears God’s covenant, him and his wife Sarah will have a child. After years under this promise, never fulfilled, they start to think yeah right. In old age Sarah and Abraham have Isaac.  Aferr this, the Lord tests Abraham, asking him to sacrifice Isaac but stopping him at the last minute


Today, we meet Jacob and Easu, Issac and Rebakh’s twin sons and Abraham’s grandsons. Jacob’s story is a soap opera, a collection of deceitful actions, sometimes to level an unfair situation (Jacob leaving Laban) other times out of sheer greed or necessity. Jacob’s actions are sometimes seen as deceitful or scheming, other times celebrated as doing what he had to do, sometimes both, However we see Jacobs’s actions, he is the one God has chosen to build the kingdom of Israel, his 12 children will become the heads of the 12 tribes his name will literally be changed to Israel.


Heres the highlights of what Jacob did.   He is the younger of the twins (a big deal back then in terms of inheritance and privilege, Esau the first born male is special, I tease my own younger twin brother about this sometimes).  Jacob buys this birthright for a meal,  from a starving Easu who just returned from a long hunt and was desperate for something to eat, only thinking about food,  Then Jacob tricks their father a now old, blind Issac into giving him the blessing meant for Esau (by pretending to be Esau) .  After this Esau wants to kill Jacob, so Jacob flees to his mother’s brother Laban.  Here he falls in love with Rachel. Laban promises his daughter in marriage if Jacob works for 7 free years.  He does, Laban tricks Jacob into marrying Leah, Rachel’s older sister.  Jacob works 7 more free years and then marries Rachel.  After several more years, Jacob plans to leave with his family, after a tricky deal with Laban and some clever animal breeding, Jacob leaves with a great wealth.


Today’s reading has Jacob and his family on the trip home.  Esau is looming ahead of them (its been 20 years but Jacob suspects the promise to kill his betraying little brother is still very real).  Esau is there with about 400 soldiers (not a good sign and not good odds for Jacob and his 0 soldiers).  Turns out all is forgiven, Jacob and Esau reconcile, those 400 soldiers get the day off.  Before their meeting, Jacob has this night of wresting with God.  This is one of the oddest stories we will hear. A young girl at Rainbow once asked me, do I know about the guy who wrestled with God”, I said yes that’s Jacob. Then she asked me if God is so great why cant he beat that guy up,  It was super important to me that this little girl not think God could get beat up by a person.  Well God didn’t want to beat Jacob up, God wanted to teach him something, to teach the world something.  


Today, we all wrestle with God sometimes, our reading from the start of Jesus last hours, he is wrestling with his life and death, Jesus is powerfully forcing himself to accept what is next,   Today, people wrestle with “why hasn’t it happened yet”, why are things so bad in the world. Ancient Jewish commentaries suggest that Jacob limbed for the rest of his life, after his hip was moved to stop.  We are changed in the wrestling, we come out marked or scarred but loved by God.