29.07.2009 :: Genesis 32

Anglican Cycle of Prayer:
Psalm: 44:1-8 Mk 12:35-40
Rio Grande - (Province VII, USA) Vacant

Reading:
Genesis 32

Thoughts:
Jacob contacts his estranged brother, sending him an incredibly generous gift. Then he sends his household on ahead and spends the night alone.

Well, not quite alone.

He wrestles with God this night, and not metaphorically. Jacob is so strong that he is only defeated when God displaces his hip.

I don't know how smart it is to argue with God. I've done it myself, but always with the knowledge and understanding that I am rather unlikely to win out. It's more of a venting when I do it - we all know I'm going to surrender eventually, I just want to put on a bit of a show first. Kind of like an overtired child, fighting sleep.

I have a feeling that, if I were to see God face to face, I probably would find myself flat on the ground in awe and wonder. I certainly wouldn't take him on in any kind of a fight!

I expect that Jacob's wounded hip served as a reminder that he wasn't actually all-powerful. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd become a little bit proud of his wit and cunning; he is, after all, the trickster. "Pride goes before a fall," as the saying goes, and perhaps it is this story that begins the roots of it.