Blessed, Broken, Given
- 15 hours ago
- 4 min read
24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. 28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” (Genesis 32:24-28)
Jacob lived with his uncle Laban for twenty years. During that time he gained two wives, many children and servants, as well as the wealth of livestock. Every relationship and every bit of profit had been a battle of competitive scheming between Jacob and Laban. Finally tired of the fight, and afraid that Laban might try to take everything, Jacob gathered everyone and everything he considered to be his and left to return home behind Laban's back. Once Laban realized that his daughters and Jacob were gone - along with Laban's gods which Rachel had stolen - he hurried to catch up and confront Jacob. Not knowing what Rachel had done, Jacob told Laban to search everyone, and giving Laban the right to kill whoever was found to be in possession of the gods. In an act of deception that might have made both her father and her husband proud, Rachel sat on the satchel containing the gods and claimed she could not stand up due to her period. Both now believing the accusation to be false, Jacob and Laban made a tentative peace pact and went their separate ways.
But Jacob's struggle wasn't over. He was headed back to a brother who had wanted to kill him twenty years prior. In fact, when Esau got word of his brother's approach, Esau gathered four hundred men to join him to meet Jacob. Fearing the worst, Jacob sent gifts to Esau ahead of everyone else, and divided his party in hopes that some would escape if Esau attacked. Then, once everyone had gone ahead of him and he was alone, Jacob prayed. Finally. That night Jacob's sleep was literally restless. All night long he wrestled with a man. Although the man would not reveal his name, Jacob came to realize that he was wrestling with God. Because Jacob would not let the man go, even after the man had wrenched Jacob's hip, God renamed Jacob as Israel. When Esau reached his brother, now humbled in spirit and body, he wrapped him in arms of forgiveness and they went home together.
Upon hearing that the king, Herod, had had John the baptizer killed, Jesus attempted to withdraw from the crowds of people who had come to associate Jesus with healing. But the people not only followed him, some beat him to the secluded place where Jesus wanted to find his own rest and rejuvenation. Out of compassion, Jesus spent the day healing the sick among them. As evening approached, Jesus' disciples suggested sending the people away so everyone could eat. When Jesus suggested that his disciples feed the crowd, they lamented that they only had five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus asked God to bless the offering, he then broke the bread, and had the disciples distribute it to a hurting people, wronged by worldly and religious leadership - those who should have cared for them. The little they started with was multiplied, and fed all present with an abundance left over.
While Jacob was still an arrogant, deceptive, bully he had been blessed by God. He was then broken by his experience with Laban and his struggle with God over who he had been and who he was called to be. Then, once humbled but multiplied, Jacob (now Israel) was given back to his brother whom he had wronged. We too have been blessed for the purpose of being broken open and given as communion to a hurting world - a world where we have been hurt, and we have hurt others. May God use us, multiplying our meager offering, to restore the world, and bring about God's kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. 18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. (Matthew 14:16-20)
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