Proper 13 Yr A
Wrestling Transfiguration in 2023

Introduction

The Genesis lesson (Track 1) is a classic—Jacob wrestling with the angel. In general we look at Old Testament stories as lessons to be learned. So when you think about Jacob wrestling with the angel, what lesson do you believe is being taught? There are, oh, so many lessons. Here’s a few: patience (“wait for it!”), endurance (through pain and suffering), acceptance (all lessons have a price), you can be belligerent with God (how else can you fight), and God provides (blesses you). Did you think of those? What other lessons do you see in the Genesis scripture? Comments welcome.

Genesis 32:22-31

The same night . . . 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.

From sermon4kids.com: “. . . with God’s power, we can do greater things. We can stop doing things our way. We can surrender to God’s will and trust that He knows best.”

Scripture: August 2, 2020—Track 1: Isaiah 55:1-5 (image); Psalm 145: 8-9, 15-22 (image); Track 2: Genesis 32:22-31 (image); Psalm 17:1-7,16 (image); Romans 9:1-5 (image); Matthew 14:13-21 (image). Illuminating the scripture, an image and audio journey.

Collect: Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Reflection: “Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak” (Gen. 32:24). Why do you think God allows times of struggle in our lives? How have times of struggle affected your walk with God? How does your relationship with God affect your view of overwhelming problems in the world, such as hunger, poverty, violence, or injustice?\ 

Eye Candy: “The vision after the sermon” (1888), by Paul Gauguin; “Loaves and fishes” (1971), stained glass by Helen Maloney (Ireland); “Artoklasia” or breaking of bread service (to commemorate breaking of loaves and fishes) in Roman Catholic church in Canada

Ear Worm: “Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown” is a marvelous and haunting hymn. Its verses are written by the prolific poet Charles Wesley (original poem here) and, of course, shortened to fewer verses for the hymn (in The Hymnal 1982). Charles Wesley lived in the 18th Century. Two centuries later, a composer Erik Routley came along and created a mysterious and powerful interpretation of Wesley’s poem. It too is in The Hymnal 1982. Listen to Routley’s anthem version here. Two verses to meditate on:

1. Come, O thou Traveller unknown, / Whom still I hold, but cannot see!

My company before is gone, / And I am left alone with Thee;

With Thee all night I mean to stay, / And wrestle till the break of day.

9. ‘Tis Love! ’tis Love! Thou diedst for me! / I hear Thy whisper in my heart;

The morning breaks, the shadows flee, / Pure, universal love Thou art;

To me, to all, Thy mercies move; Thy nature and Thy Name is Love.

Brain Food: “Wrestling till daybreak“, commentary by Robert Cornwall (his assessment of who Jacob was); “Too tired to care”  by Peter Woods

Contemporary Parables: “The Sting” (1973), “all his life Jacob has schemed”; “The life of Yogananda” (2014), story of Yogi; “Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet” (2014), animated, eight profound and prophetic wisdom teachings

: Study guide, group activity, snacks—enjoy sweet things that stick together, kid video.

: activity; bulletin games; craft

:  activity; bulletin games; craft

Here’s a brief look at the Jacob-wrestling story from Elie Wiesel: “Both were wounded: . . . Jacob accepted his aggressor’s departure willingly; the latter, as if to thank him, made him a gift: a new name which for generations to come would symbolize eternal struggle and endurance, . . . At dawn Jacob was a different man. Whatever he touched caught fire. His words acquired a new resonance; he now expressed himself as a visionary, a poet.” How might you be different if you wrestled with an angel? How would you know?