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Getting
Physical with God
by Jessica Petersen
October 21, 2007
Genesis 32:24-31
As we go through life, although we believe that God is
always with us, we are often not acutely aware of God’s presence.
We are often not aware of how God is engaging us in each moment.
We are busy with the task at hand: doing the dishes, taking the kids to
soccer practice, doing homework, searching for the perfect college,
trying to beat the deadline at work. And often times, we have
decided for ourselves where we are going in life and what we need that
we don’t hear or see or feel God with us because we are so focused on
achieving the goals we have set. So, as we go through life, we
are not usually aware of God’s presence with us, actively listening for
what God is calling us to do, and thus we are not so active in our
responses. Does that sound about right?
But, there are some moments, some windows in time, when
in is clear to us that God is here. We know that God is with us,
that God is actively engaging us, calling us to respond. Those
moments often have a drastic effect on our lives. We leave those
moments forever changed. And, often in a way that we would have
never expected.
Today’s scripture focuses on one such moment in Jacob’s
life. It is a moment when God engages Jacob and requires an
active, full-body response.
So, Jacob is all alone. He has sent his family,
his servants, and all of his belongings on before him. He remains
alone. He is alone and afraid. He is on the way to see his
brother, whom he has betrayed. And he is not looking forward to
the meeting thinking his brother will greet him with hostility.
He is in need of divine care.
And, seemingly out of nowhere, here comes this guy, a
guy who immediately jumps into a wrestling match with Jacob. We
come to find as the story progresses that this is not just some
ordinary guy. Both Jacob and the guy himself identify him as
God. In the renaming of Jacob, the guy names him “Israel”, which
means God wrestles or he who wrestles with God. He says that he
has chosen this name because Jacob has wrestled with God and with
humans and has won. He is certainly referring to the current
wrestling match. Then at the end of this event, Jacob names the
place of the wrestling match “Peniel”, which means the face of God,
because he has seen God face-to-face and has lived to tell about it.
Jacob gets the divine care he needs. You may be
wondering what kind of divine care is a wrestling match. But, God
knows how to connect with Jacob in a way that Jacob with understand, in
a way that Jacob will respond to. God is engaging Jacob in a
full-contact relationship. God knows that this wrestling match
will get Jacob’s attention. This is a way for them to be in
relationship with one another. This is a way to show Jacob that
God cares, that God takes him seriously. And it is up to Jacob to
respond, and respond he does. He jumps right in to the wrestling
match. He accepts the divine invitation with full vigor. He
goes all in on this relationship. He responds with all that he
is. He actively engages in this relationship with God, and he
does not give up. He is fully involved and fully committed to a
relationship with God.
Both God and Jacob are in there. They are both
fully engaged. The embodied God and the man Jacob. Surely,
their blood is pumping, the sweat is pouring, their breath is heavy, as
they counter one move with another neither of them giving up. And
they go all night like this, carefully responding to each other, fully
engaged in the struggle. Then as dawn comes, God cuts off the
match and grinds into Jacob’s hip. Thus Jacob will be forever
marked by this encounter. Not only will he be marked physically
with a limp, but he also receives a new name and God’s blessing.
In this wrestling match, Jacob experiences a God who
cares for him and will be with him even when he is most vulnerable and
feels alone. He experiences a God who takes him seriously.
God initiates this engagement with Jacob, and Jacob responds. He
responds with all that he is; this is most definitely a physical
encounter, but it is also emotional and mental. This relationship
between God and Jacob is all encompassing. But, this would not
have occurred had Jacob not responded to God’s reaching out. God
initiates, God makes the first move, but Jacob must respond. And
how he responds affects the outcome of the match. He leaves that
place with a limp. He leaves that place with a new name. He
leaves that place assured that God will be with him as he goes to meet
his brother and in all future endeavors no matter how fearful he is or
how dangerous the situation may be.
Have you experienced such moments as this? Have
you jumped into the ring and gotten physical with God? Has God
initiated an encounter with you when you responded with all that you
were and you left forever changed?
I imagine you all have had some experience like
Jacob. Maybe it didn’t involve wrestling, but it did involve a
full-body response, and you came out of that moment forever marked by
it. I have had a few events like this in my life. And, no,
I never full out wrestled with God. But, there have been moments
in my life when I have so clearly experienced the presence and call of
God that I had to respond. And, like Jacob, my response most
definitely affected the outcome of the interaction. That is what
happens when each member in a relationship takes the other
seriously. They both affect how the interaction will turn out.
The moment I would like the share with you drastically
altered my life and has greatly affected it since and will continue to
have a great impact. The moment I would like to share with you is
the moment of my call to ministry.
Very early in life, I had my mind set on becoming a
doctor. Actually, I had decided I was going to be a lawyer, a
doctor, and the president. I was going to do it all. But,
as I grew a bit older, when I was about 6, I narrowed my career pool
down to one. I was going to be a doctor, and that was all there
was to it. My desired career became even more specific a couple
of years later when I decided that I was going to be a brain surgeon,
which a soon after discovered was a neurosurgeon. And, this was
not secret. I told everybody. My family, my friends, my
teachers. Anyone one who had come in contact with me ended up
knowing that I was going to be a neurosurgeon. I had chosen my
path, and I was going to follow it.
So, I went through elementary school, middle school, and
high school getting the best grades I could, because I knew you had to
be smart to become a neurosurgeon. They wouldn’t just let anyone
work on people’s brains. And, then I headed off the
college. So, I knew I wanted to become a neurosurgeon, but I
really didn’t know the best way to get there. I registered as
pre-med, that much I knew, but then they made me choose a major.
I looked through all of the science related majors and found one that I
thought would be perfect: biochemistry. Biology and chemistry,
how could I go wrong. Most definitely the right route for anyone
aspiring to become a neurosurgeon, right?
Just over a year into my college education, is when my
moment occurred. I was getting the grades I needed to get into a
medical school. Well, at least I thought I was. But, I was
not happy. I did not enjoy any of my science courses, in fact I
was quite miserable in them. But, I had made up my mind, and I
had told everyone that I was going to be a neurosurgeon, and I was
going to do it. I could not dare let down all of those people,
who I suspected would think I had failed if I went another route.
I felt alone, and I was afraid. What if I couldn’t
do what I had told everyone I was going to do? What if I couldn’t
do what I had convinced myself I was going to do?
I felt alone, and I was afraid; I was definitely in need
of some divine care. And, divine care I received.
I was in my college boyfriend’s dorm room watching a
movie with him. I don’t remember for sure which movie it was, but
when it was over God attacked. God initiated a life-changing
moment right there. “What am I doing?” I thought. I felt…I
don’t even know how to explain how I felt. I felt alive. I
had this moment of “ah ha.” It was this moment of
discovery. It was more powerful than any moment of discovery than
I had ever experienced before. It was a moment of clarity.
I could feel it with my whole body. I was not going to become a
neurosurgeon, I was being called to the ministry. I was being
called to devote my vocational life as well as my personal life to
developing my relationship with God and to helping others as they
developed theirs. I knew that God was reaching out, that God was
calling me. I felt it with all that I was, and I had to respond.
And respond I did. I immediately changed my major
from biochemistry to religious studies and began to search for
seminaries. But, what about all of those people I had told I was
going to become a neurosurgeon. Not only was I not going to
become a neurosurgeon, I wasn’t going to be any kind of
physician. How could I possibly tell them? But, I knew God
was with me; I could feel it. And, I told them. I told my
family, whom I had told over and over again of my plans to become a
doctor. And, you know what, they accepted me. They still
loved me. They spoke words of encouragement. I had not
disappointed them; they did not think I was a failure.
So, my moment was not exactly like Jacob’s, but no
moment is the same. No window in time looks exactly like
another. God comes to us where we are and reaches out to us in
the way fitting of that moment. God calls all in different ways
as our situations change and as we change. God is initiating a
conversation, a wrestling match, an encounter of whatever sort in each
moment. Even now as we are gathered here together, God speaks to
us, God challenges us, God struggles with us.
So, I ask you to take a moment. Let us all take a
moment right now and listen for, look for, feel for the way God is
attempting to engage us. Relax. Close your eyes if you
wish. Clear your mind of all of the tasks that lie ahead.
And really feel. Open yourself up to God’s presence right here
with you.
What is God calling you to do? Who is God urging
you to be as you are gathered here at Westmoreland Congregational
UCC? Can you feel it? Can you see it? Can you hear
it? How is God attempting to engage you right this moment?
And, how will you respond? Will you sit there
passively throughout this time of worship as God makes the
attempt? Will the moment pass you by? Or, will you actively
respond? Will you fully engage this God who is calling to you,
this God who longs to engage you in a meaningful relationship?
Will you answer God’s call with all that you are, body, mind, and
soul? Will you leave this moment, this time, this place forever
changed? Your response will make all the difference.
Amen.
Last updated Wednesday, Februrary 29, 2008
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Bethesda, MD 20816
301-229-7766
Email the church office: churchinfo@westmorelanducc.org
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