Open-ended,
Life-centred,
Gospel-Focused Explorations of Hebrew Bible Readings from the
Australian Prayer Book.
GEN 32:22-31... 21st S. after Pentecost, C .... (For LK 18:1-14
scroll.)
NOTES: 1]Read the Hebrew Bible in the light
of our Christian understanding of God revealed in Jesus.2] This primitive story has been
re-interpreted at a number of points in its passing down, but remains a
key HB passage. Read from the start of Ch.32 for the context. 3] In vv.24+, although 'a man' is
spoken of, we are meant to understand that 'man' as God (as in the
'apparition' of God in three 'men' who appear to Abraham at Mamre in
18:1-2) 4] vv.27+ reflect an
ancient belief that knowing a person's name gave you power over them.
Maybe it's a current one, too!?
WARMING UP: Have we ever had to
travel to meet some person we didn't want to meet?
TREASURES OLD & NEW:
Identify God at work in anything this week?
ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
22-23 Does Jacob's concern for the safety of his family
from his brother Esau say anything to us about our need to care for
family/ies? Do we ever have to face the need to protect - in some way -
a family member from another? Given the vital role of family as
'security' for each other in that culture, do we take that aspect of
family seriously in our own culture? Or do possessions sometimes
usurp people?
24-26 Have we ever felt
'alone with God'? Is that a scarey business, or a blessing? Does that
depend upon what we bring to the encounter? If there's a difference
between a meeting & an encounter, what is it? Have we ever
experienced an encounter with God turning into a wrestle? Who turned it
into a wrestle - us, or God? Do we take God seriously enough to
bother wrestling with Him?
What makes us think God thinks we're worth wrestling with? Does
wrestliing with God leave us
marked in any way? Do we
carry some 'scar' - of any kind - from such an encounter? Would / does
God ever say to us, "Let me go!"? Or do we ever say it to God? Do we
ever deprive ourself of a blessing by either clinging to God too long,
or letting go of God too soon? Do we ever consider we missed out on a
blessing by God either hanging onto, or letting go of us too soon? Is
either of these questions asking too much of our imagination? (But
then, isn't imagination itself a blessing God gives us?)
27-30 How do we feel when
someone we don't know presumes to use our name in a familiar sense? If
this at least irritates us, could that be a 'hangover' from that
ancient view, & we feel threatened by them assuming / presuming
some power over
us? Does either our family or given (at our Baptism?) name play any
part in the way we 'strive and prevail with God and with humans'? Do we
ever feel a bit sorry for younger generations being given all kinds of
strange, even weird names at their parents' whim? Is that a sign we've
freed ourselves from ancient concerns about meaning &
all that kind of thing? Given Jacob's new name, 'Israel', means 'God
strives' [for his people] is it encouraging that we can be strengthened
by God's own strength
when we 'wrestle with God'? Can we ever have a genuine life-changing
religious experience till this Jacob story becomes true in some sense
for us? What do we
make of the idea that anyone can see God face to face & live to
tell the tale? What about the Christian interpretation that we see
God's face in each other's? Can we identify anything apart from
physical disability that causes us to 'limp'?
31 Can we
identify any legends we carry as 'baggage' like this primitive
(mis)interpretation as to why we should or shouldn't do this, that, or
the other?
