Sunday, August 6th: "Along the Way: Broken and Blessed"

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First United Presbyterian Church

“Along the Way: Broken and Blessed”

Rev. Amy Morgan

August 6, 2023

Genesis 32:22-31

22 The same night Jacob 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, yet my life is preserved.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

He’d been wrestling all his life. It started with the heel grab for which he was named. Then he wrestled his way into his brother’s inheritance and wriggled out of the grasp of his father-in-law. But now Jacob is really in a bind. 

Tonight, he stands between two potential conflicts. Behind him, his father-in-law may be in hot pursuit. Before him, his estranged brother may be waiting for revenge. Jacob has sent an embarrassing amount of gifts to his brother, hoping to appease his wrath. But there’s no certainty that Jacob’s bribery will pay off. Tomorrow he will meet his brother again, he will have to face his past and answer for it.  

Before the physical wrestling match of this story begins, Jacob is struggling to believe in God’s promises in the face of a real and immediate fear. His brother Esau has every right to kill him for stealing his birthright. And God is sending Jacob and his family and possessions right into Esau’s hands. Jacob is wrestling with very present and practical challenges, and those challenges have spiritual implications for his relationship with God. 

It’s no accident that this story takes place in the hours between dusk and dawn. Through the dark night of the soul, Jacob wrestles. Darkness obscures his ability to see what is around him, to fend off danger, to see what is ahead. He’s vulnerable, and he’s alone. And into this darkness, a man arrives and wrestles with him through the night. 

The identity of Jacob’s opponent has always fascinated me. Throughout the story, he is simply described as a man. But Jacob knows there is something special about him, because he demands from him a blessing. Blessing was not something you demanded from a total stranger in ancient Israel. Blessing was relational, something fathers offered to sons, priests offered to people, God offered humans, and humans offered God. Blessings were not arbitrary or vague. They were specific and tangible, like health, longevity, offspring, wealth, honor, or victory. The ancient world focused on communal identity, meaning blessing involved a relational connection between the blesser and the blessed. This relationship gets defined by Jacob as the relationship between himself and God. When he leaves this place, he names it “face of God,” because he was convinced he had encountered God face-to-face. 

The fact that Jacob demands a blessing of God is almost laughable. Who is Jacob to demand a blessing of anyone? He stole a blessing from his father, Isaac, the blessing that rightfully belonged to Esau. This kind of paternal blessing was seen as materially effective, not just nice words delivered on one’s deathbed. It determined one’s future, and once given, it could not be rescinded or transferred. The outcome of this blessing was demonstrated in Jacob’s numerous progeny and obvious health, strength, and wealth. Jacob already had just about everything one could ask for in a blessing. What more could he want?

And yet, he is so desperate for this blessing, he wrestles through the night, through injury and exhaustion, to procure it.

I don’t know how many of you have seen actual wrestling matches. Not like WWE theatrical performances. I mean actual wrestling matches – like in school athletics, just two people on a mat straining every muscle in their bodies to try to pin and not be pinned. These matches last a very short time, like 2 minutes or less. And the athletes are totally depleted in that amount of time. 

So imagine that kind of wrestling, but for 8 hours, maybe more. And, oh by the way, your opponent is God. And, you’re winning, but your opponent has some kind of power that can put your hip out of joint. But you still keep on going until the break of dawn. 

That is some serious wrestling. That is some serious strength and commitment. That is absolute desperation. 

Jacob cannot give up this fight, cannot lose this wrestling match, because he needs this blessing. He has spent his whole life preparing for this struggle. He has grasped and reversed positions, he has ducked out and escaped, all for his personal advancement, his profit, his blessing. But the blessings he has managed to wrestle for himself will not guarantee the safety of his family and flocks as he returns to face up to his past. He needs a divine blessing, if he has to wrestle with God for it all night. 

We reach these moments in our lives when our struggles catch up with us. When we can’t go on pretending everything is fine, we’ve got it all together, we’re in control. When we can’t go back to the way things were but can’t yet see what’s coming next. When we feel alone in the challenges we face. When the only forces left for us to contend with are the supernatural. 

These moments may come in times of spiritual deconstruction, physical or mental illness, national crisis, or the loss of a job, an identity, or a loved one. These moments may cause us to question everything we know, doubting the goodness or even existence of God. We may find ourselves trying to wrest control of our lives away from God. We may flounder in anxiety or uncertainty about the future, or be haunted by the past, We may be trying to outrun our mistakes and avoid the consequences of our actions.

These are moments when there is no going back, and the future holds uncertainty or even terror. Our old world order and it’s comfortable assurances have collapsed, but what lies ahead feels dangerous. This is a moment that we are all in as a society, to some degree or another. 

The authority of institutions we once trusted in have been hollowed out. The people who used to command our respect have failed to live up to their promises. The injustices and oppression faced by many in our society have been unmasked. There are shifting definitions of just about everything, including intimate concerns of gender and sexuality to global matters of fair trade and international cooperation. Even our faith is in upheaval, as “traditional” theologies are being deconstructed and our sacred scriptures raise more questions than they answer most of the time.

And what lies ahead brings us no comfort. The hottest season (possibly) in human history has just occurred, portending greater and more frequent climate disasters to come. Scientists predict that pandemics will become more frequent in the future. Eroded faith in our medical, educational, and governmental systems undergirds fear of a future with more illness, ignorance, and anarchy. 

In very real and concrete ways, we are standing in that conflict between past and future. We can’t go back to the way things were – whether they were really that great or not. And we’re terribly uncertain about what the future may bring, and there are real dangers to be considered. We are wrestling with very real and practical challenges, and those challenges have spiritual implications for our relationship with God. This is a dark night we are in. We cannot see clearly what is around us, we can’t fend off the dangers or see what is ahead of us. We are vulnerable, and often feel alone. 

And in this darkness, we wrestle with God. We wrestle for certainty and security. We wrestle for answers and insight. We wrestle for direction and hope. We wrestle for that blessing that will bring light into our darkness.  

But who are we to wrestle with God? To demand a blessing even? We live in one of the wealthiest, most privileged countries on earth in a time of unprecedented health and security. We have wrestled for prosperity and freedom over centuries, and we have prevailed and reaped the blessings of the good life. Technological and medical advances have made life easier, longer, and of better quality than at any time in human history. 

But we’ve reached a point where we have to face up to the consequences of all our striving to accumulate markers of blessing. We’ve run up against the reality that the only blessing that will truly save us is a blessing from God. 

Because what we learn in this story is that God’s blessings do not always come in the form of health, wealth, and happiness. What we learn in this story is that God’s blessings mark us and re-define us. We learn that we can be both broken and blessed.

In wrestling with God, Jacob is wounded, and he is re-named. When morning dawns on this dark night of the soul, Jacob limps away from this encounter as Israel, the one who struggles with God. And he walks away with the blessing he wrestled for. 

We could see that blessing as the joyful reunion he has with Esau. No bloody revenge or even stony coldness defines this encounter. Esau falls on Israel’s neck, weeping with love and joy. That is a blessing, no doubt. 

But Israel also goes on to become the father of a great people, the descendants promised to his grandfather, Abraham. And this people, chosen by God, are blessed to be a blessing to all people. They are a people whose blessing has not always come in the form of health, wealth, and happiness. They are a people who have struggled with God and with others throughout history. They are a people who have been both broken and blessed. 

And they are the people through whom God’s reign began on earth in the form of one who would teach us, in bread blessed and broken, what brokenness and blessing really means. Jesus, the bread of life, broken for us, has blessed us with abundant life, now and always. Jesus, broken to heal our wounds, blessed to reign with God and the Holy Spirit. 

We come to the table of our Lord, wrestling with fear, shame, and doubt. We come wrestling for certainty, hope, peace. We come wrestling for a blessing. And we come here broken, struggling through the pain that is part of the human experience. 

But here we remember that brokenness and blessing are intertwined. Bread that is broken is also blessed. And so are we. We are blessed and broken, for the life of the world. 

To God be all glory forever and ever. Amen.