Chan Willis – C.P.C.

                                                                                                                                                January 31, 2010

“Struggling with God”

Genesis 32:24-30; Luke 10:1-3

          As I mentioned last week, in this first part of 2010 we will be considering passages that relate to the vision, and mission (or “vission” J) of the church… and for us personally.  I am preaching from a lectionary, a list of certain Scriptures, developed by Mr. Tom Bandy.  Each week there are two passages, one O.T. and one N.T., that relate to how individuals in the Bible grappled with seeking God’s ‘vission.’  Of the challenges in determining and fulfilling God’s purpose for their lives.

          And as I read through the two ‘pericopes’ (you remember, that word that looks like ‘periscope’ that allows us a limited opportunity to ‘look up’ and catch a glimpse of God’s activity in the world) I gave thought to the themes of each one.  What they were saying to me.  And what words I could use to capture that theme.  What clever title I could give to pique the interest, the curiosity of you, the congregation.  But the words just wouldn’t come!

In my vocation as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament, I am called to be a ‘man of words.’  (Some might say that, particularly on Sunday mornings, I am a man of too many words!)  What I mean is, though, that one of the primary functions of minister, priest, or rabbi, is to be able to articulate issues of faith.  To be able to find ‘just the right words’ to talk to others about what we believe… and in my case, a belief in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. 

But here I was, with my ‘wordy self,’ unable to come up with some 3-5 ‘simple’ words!  I mean, I left and came back several times, reading and re-reading the words of Genesis and Luke, writing down notes about my interpretation of these passages, waiting for that ‘clever, catchy phrase’ to pop into my head… and it never popped.  And then, finally, in glancing one more time at the story of Jacob’s wrestling match, I saw it… right there, just about in the middle of the passage.  “… you have struggled with God.”  What more appropriate title to describe what Jacob was doing… what I was doing… what those 72 who were sent out by Christ ‘like lambs among wolves’ were no doubt doing… than ‘struggling with God’?

Now, you are probably thinking, ‘Well, no duh, I could have come up with that one, and I haven’t had any seminary training!’  And that is part of the point.  A key principle in our reformed Presbyterian tradition is “the priesthood of all believers.”  To borrow from one of our country’s founding documents, “we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable abilities…”  Among those is the ability to seek God’s wisdom and understanding for ourselves… to read God’s Word, to pray to Him for guidance and clarity in what we are reading… and to act upon what we have read.  Sure, you can hopefully get some useful thoughts from me to benefit  your walk with Christ.  But the bottom line, it’s not about me!  It’s about GOD… and your personal, individual relationship with the Living Lord, Jesus Christ.  It’s about how we, like Jacob, have “struggled with God…and man… and have overcome.”

So, what DO you, and I, have to learn from these passages about living the more fruitful Christian life?  How do these words help us to see more clearly God’s vision for our life?  Understand more fully the mission He calls us to?  In part, their value lies in how they deal with our struggles with each other, and with God, and overcoming those.

In the story of Jacob’s ‘wrestling match,’ you may know that Jacob is on his way to meet up with his ‘long-lost’ brother Esau.  The reason for their long separation was not because of anything Esau did, but rather, what Jacob did.  He betrayed his brother in robbing him of their father Isaac’s birthright and blessing, which were of great significance in the Hebrew culture.  For the guilt and fear Jacob had for what he had done to Esau, he had chosen to be separated for many years, and now was going to be re-united.  And of course, was quite anxious about what this meeting might hold.

And so, as he camped out along the Jabbok River, worrying about his upcoming reunion with his brother, we read that Jacob “wrestled with a man until daybreak.”  And according to the story, this ‘man’ could not overpower Jacob.  That indeed he asked Jacob to let him go.  It is clear that Jacob did not believe his opponent to be any mere man, however.  For he changed the name of the place where they had their ‘wrestling match’ to “Peniel,” which means the “face of God.”  The place where Jacob says that “I saw God face-to-face…”

Was it God?  Or an angel, a heavenly messenger?  Or perhaps, a human being sent by God to represent him in the battle?   Surely if this were a heavenly being, or God himself, Jacob could have easily been ‘overpowered,’ don’t you think?  Or, did God just ‘let Jacob win,’ kind of like you do when you’re playing your young child in a game, and you want to be gentle to his ego.

For me, it’s not at all about the physical struggle that Jacob had with God, or even God’s representative.  It’s the spiritual struggle that Jacob was engaged in with God that was important.  Jacob knew that the next day he would come face-to-face with his only brother, the one whom he had so taken advantage of, the one with whom he had so much unresolved ‘issues.’  How would Esau respond to Jacob?  Would he have his men execute Jacob on the spot?  Would he demand restitution for all that had been denied him by the taking away of his birthright?  Grappling with all of what the next day would bring, Jacob spent the night before wrestling not merely with a human foe, but with God.  With the only One who brings true blessing… the only One who can truly save and protect us. Before confronting his earthly brother, Jacob must first come to grips with his heavenly Father.

This week I met with a lady who was going through a family struggle of her own.  Her mother had been deceased for a number of years, and this woman had never resolved the resentment she bore for the way her mother had treated her.  She was troubled with how to bring closure to the relationship.  How can you express forgiveness to someone who is no longer on this earth?

I told her that in my mind, the only way to get right with her Mom was to get right with God.  That if she offered up to God her earnest prayers of forgiveness, her sincere prayers of petition for the unresolved bitterness between the two, that God would hear her prayers, and would bring the healing that she sought.  That in the end, God is the ONLY one who can bring healing to ANY relationship.  If we leave the responsibility to mend broken relationships strictly up to our sinful, prideful natures, we will screw it up for sure. 

Jacob proves a number of times how he badly he could mess up. And yet, when it counted, he held on to God.  He wouldn’t let go until he was blessed by his ‘Divine adversary.’  And because of his tenacious grip on his relationship with God, his relationship with his estranged brother would be healed.  Like Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”  And he indeed would be blessed.  By being a “FROG” (Fully Reliant On God) Jacob would, in the end, overcome.

Jacob is an example of how ‘its not about us,’ but about God.  That our earthly struggles must take a backseat to our struggle with God.  That the problems we face with humanity will all fade away ‘in the light of God’s glory and grace.’  God’s vision for our lives…the problems we face today and the opportunities we look for tomorrow… can only be seen as we look at Him ‘face-to-face.’ 

The bottom line is, we do not face our problems, our broken relationships, our unresolved conflicts, alone.  We can always count on “Emmanuel,” “God with us.”  As we remember from God’s words to Jacob last week, “I am with you.”  That is what I get out of the verses from Luke we read.  The Scriptures tell us that the 72 were sent out “ahead of him… to every place where he was about to go.”     [Jesus does not ask us to go…]

Jesus does not ask us to go anywhere that he himself is not willing to go.  In fact, He has gone to places for us where we cannot go… like, say, the cross!  Yes, we who are God’s workers in the field of his human harvest may, at times, feel like we are as vulnerable as “lambs among wolves.” But, like so many fearful followers of God have in the past, we are told to “fear not… I am with you.”. 

There is little doubt that those 72 Christian evangelists appointed by Jesus were more that just a bit anxious of the prospects of going out and talking about this controversial son of a Jewish carpenter.  I doubt that any of them were ‘seminary trained.’  Theirs was probably a mixed background:  student, teacher… mother, father… professional, working class… retired or just plain tired.  In other words, folks just like you and me.  People who probably thought, ‘and just who am I to be talking to someone else about their faith in God… I have a hard enough time with my own faith!?’

Well remember, my fellow evangelists… which simply means ‘the bringer of Good News’… we do not face this task alone.  We only go out “ahead of him” who is sending us.  We only go to those places where he is “about to go.”  Don’t worry that you won’t come up ‘just the right words’… like I did.  As you simply look into His Word… if you simply let your struggle be with God… you will overcome.  To Him, and Him alone, be all glory and honor, dominion and power… Amen.

^{Gen 32:24}   So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak."
      But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."     ²⁷ The man asked him, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered.     ²⁸ Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, ^[a] because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."     ²⁹ Jacob said, "Please tell me your name."
      But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there.     ³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel, ^[b] saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared."

^{Luke 10:1}  After this the Lord appointed seventy-two^[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. ²He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. ³Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.

Know that no matter what man-made struggles you may encounter, the only struggle that matters… the only one in which true victory comes to the one who submits… is the struggle with God.  May the words of the hymn be ours as well:  “His faithful follower I would be, for by His hand he leadeth me.”