Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

The Venerable Ralph Leavitt, Honorary Associate Priest

Oh my. Sometimes life can be such a struggle. You know how it goes. Things are fine, but then, in a wink an eye, things are not so good, and you find yourself struggling. Struggling with personal fear, or darkness, loneliness, vulnerability or just plain exhaustion. Struggling with relationships or some of the many items present in your daily life, or struggling even with the world around us.

Today, in our Old Testament reading we hear of one of the most famous struggles in the Bible. Jacob struggling. And of all things, Jacob struggles with God. You can imagine who is going to win in that struggle.

There are many things in this passage that are quite interesting. The first being that Jacob, fleeing from Esau, sends his entire family and all his possessions across a river, and he does not go with them. He remains alone on the other side of the river and we read; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. It is interesting that we are not told who this man is at first, and it was this man who initiated the struggle. Although the text does not say this, I imagine that this struggle involved not only physical bodies, but also mental and spiritual struggle also. A turning point in the struggle is when the man strikes Jacob and his hip is put out of joint. Finally we hear these two people converse. It is the man that asks to be let go because the day is breaking. Amazingly Jacob replies I will not let you go unless you bless me. Wow.

Suddenly we realize that Jacob has been wrestling with God. With God! Can you imagine that? Is it a struggle for Jacob’s very soul? In any case, I feel that Jacob might have started the struggle relying on his own physical strength. However, after a long time Jacob realizes that he cannot win against God, and therefore he asks for a blessing. He has come to know that now he must rely only on God. He needs God’s blessing.

With the ball now in God’s court, God asks Jacob his name. Names were so important in Biblical times. God asks Jacob his name because God is about to change his name. God now changes Jacob’s name to Israel. Israel meaning “one who struggles with God”. And with that new name, Israel is blessed. Jacob, now Israel proclaims he has seen God face to face and he gives thanks to God for his life. Jacob has realized that in any struggle we have a rely on God. As Frederick Buechner, the theologian, said of this story; “it is the magnificent defeat of a human soul at the hands of God”. In other words, we cannot just rely on ourselves in this life, we must rely on God first. Jacob knew could not go on without God.

Now, although struggle is always difficult, with God in our lives, there is a lot of help to be had. To start with, having God by our side always, and keeping the faith is perhaps the most important way to face struggles. And God has important tools to help us as we struggle. What are they? Both scripture and prayer. God’s holy word, and prayer, communicating with God always help us.

In our Epistle reading from 2 Timothy we hear; All scripture is inspired by God. Timothy proclaims that sacred writings are able to instruct us, teach us, correct us and train us in righteousness. Certainly that will help us.
Further, Timothy urges people to proclaim the message. Timothy outlines the struggles he is up against in his day. He writes; For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but have itching ears, they will accumulate from themselves teachers to suit their own desires and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.

I find these words very frightening because it reminds me of what I feel we are going through today. Right now. Today, when the truth seems to be set aside to fulfill human goals. How scary. But Timothy, in times like these, urges us to proclaim the message more fervently. Timothy encourages us to proclaim the truth more fervently, to proclaim the message more often, to learn more of the truth that scripture teaches us. As with Jacob, with God on my side and God’s scripture to help me, I feel I can prevail in this current struggle. Thank you Lord.

The other tool God has given us in our struggles is the gift of prayer. In our Gospel, Jesus speaks about the need to pray always, and not to lose heart. For is not prayer the very way we communicate with God? Is prayer not the very way we ask God for help in our struggles?

Jesus in this parable sets two very different people together. An unjust judge, and a widow. What a combination. The unjust judge is exactly that, unjust. Not at all fair. No fear of God, no respect for anyone. He is not interested in any relationship, but rather just of his personal interests and goals and status. His dismissing the widow has nothing to do with the widow herself, but only of himself. Any more interaction with the widow would not enrich him in any way. So he dismisses her. He wants to move onto another situation that will give him more status and money.

Then we hear of this poor widow who continually cries out for justice. Remember that widows had no standing in biblical days. They were not recognized as having any rights. Nonetheless this widow continually asks for justice. She never stops. She most likely knows that no one in her community will listen, but she continues in her struggle to find justice. Then we read Jesus saying; will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?” There you go. God answered her prayer. A prayer she never gave up on. Indeed, God always answers our prayers and help us in struggles. Always.

Prayer and scripture are so important in our relationship with God and in our struggles.

To conclude I want to read to you what I consider to be one of the greatest psalms, our psalm today. Psalm121. And I am going to change one word throughout the psalm, an original Ralph Leavitt version if you will. I change one word to make the psalm even more personal so that you will truly know that God is always with you. Always. So put your own self into the psalm as I read.

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills; *
from where is my help to come?
2 My help comes from the Lord, *
the maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let MY foot be moved *
and he who watches over ME will not fall asleep.
4 Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel *
shall neither slumber nor sleep;
5 The Lord himself watches over ME; *
the Lord is MY shade at MY right hand,
6 So that the sun shall not strike ME by day, *
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall preserve ME from all evil; *
it is he who shall keep ME safe.
8 The Lord shall watch over MY going out
and MY coming in, *from this time forth for evermore.

I end with the prayer you can find at the end of Psalm 121 in the BAS.

Be present, merciful God, and protect us in times of danger, so that we who are wearied by the changes and chances of this life may rest in your eternal changelessness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.