{"id":19124,"date":"2019-01-23T11:38:59","date_gmt":"2019-01-23T19:38:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/?p=19124"},"modified":"2019-01-23T11:39:08","modified_gmt":"2019-01-23T19:39:08","slug":"wrestling-with-god-in-st-louis-a-biblical-reflection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wrestling-with-god-in-st-louis-a-biblical-reflection\/","title":{"rendered":"Wrestling with God in St. Louis: A Biblical Reflection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Rev. Paul Graves <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When I consider the special General session in February, my mind somehow gets stuck on a wrestling match.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For years, one of my favorite biblical characters has been Jacob.\u00a0When I think of Jacob and wrestling, I find myself on the edge of the River Jabbok.\u00a0I believe that incredible story has some things to remind us about how valuable it will be for General Conference delegates to wrestle with God in St. Louis\u2014before and while they wrestle with each other. Join me as we watch Jacob wrestle with God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story is found in Genesis 32:1-33:17<\/a>.\u00a0As you read and reflect for yourself, please pay attention to four key phrases\/words:\u00a0POWER OF NAMING, HUMILITY, RECONCILIATION, and BLESSING.\u00a0Please don\u2019t settle for an allegorical interpretation of the story.\u00a0Go deeper.\u00a0Look for meanings hidden by easier interpretations.\u00a0\u00a0
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In ancient Israel, the\u00a0power of naming\u00a0<\/strong>of individuals embodied their most fundamental character.\u00a0Jacob\u2019s name means \u201cgrabber\u201d, \u201cone who grabs by the heel.\u201d\u00a0That action began at his birth and didn\u2019t stop.\u00a0\u00a0
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The naming power didn\u2019t stop with persons either.\u00a0The naming of gods was also a way that persons identified the fundamental character of a given god.\u00a0So to possess the name of a god was to have access to the power of that god.\u00a0Wow!\u00a0We didn\u2019t invent that trick after all.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Jacob and the stranger finished their wrestling match, Jacob asks for God\u2019s name but is denied it. God\u2019s true character won\u2019t be compromised by a grabber.  
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then Jacob reveals his name and character to God. And God changes the grabber\u2019s name to Israel, \u201cone who struggles with God.\u201d  
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I suspect these are righteous things to remember in St. Louis.  
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also suspect it\u2019s always been easier to wrestle with each other rather than with God; hence the pettiness and vitriol we often find.\u00a0For years, I\u2019ve wondered if our major family squabble has been more an effort to keep from dealing with our desire to control others, rather than wrestle with God.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, it took all night for Jacob and God to wear each other out. But Jacob found his hip wounded in their draw.\u00a0He limped through the rest of his life.\u00a0Humility\u00a0<\/strong>became his constant companion.\u00a0I can only hope humility is a constant companion in St. Louis.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the last 47 years, I\u2019ve too often see only humiliation, not humility, as a primary driver of the conversations driving our denominational obsession with homosexual orientation.  
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Dec. 19, 2018 edition of Christian Century (p. 35), Professor Stephanie Paulsell reminds us that \u201cHumiliation isolates us in shame, but humility helps us to see our life in relation to other lives and to ask how our choices affect others.\u201d\u00a0Will both character traits will rise up in St. Louis?\u00a0
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jacob story isn\u2019t just about Jacob, you know.\u00a0He headed to the River Jabbok with his family and animals to nervously meet his twin brother Esau.\u00a0Yeah, the one he cheated out of his birthright so many years ago.\u00a0He was waiting for Esau\u2019s arrival when the God-stranger showed up.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his manipulative desire to \u201creconcile\u201d with Esau, he had sent various gifts ahead to his brother.\u00a0Reconciliation\u00a0<\/strong>was merely a business transaction for Jacob.\u00a0I can\u2019t help wonder if too much transactional business will be attempted in St. Louis.\u00a0A lot of disruptive church business has been transacted since 1972.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deep-down reconciliation may not happen in St. Louis.\u00a0But cheap reconciliation mustn\u2019t happen either.\u00a0For any kind of lasting \u201cway forward\u201d to occur, delegates must meet delegates as persons, not merely representatives of a particular \u201cPlan Protector.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reconciliation at the Jabbok was first an act between Jacob and God, not Jacob and Esau.\u00a0Can it be any other way for us?\u00a0I don\u2019t think so.\u00a0\u00a0But so much personal humility is required!\u00a0Not from God, but from Jacob\u2014and from us, whether we\u2019re in St. Louis or at home.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we might refresh our memories of Paul\u2019s words in 2 Corinthians 5:16-21. Let\u2019s discern a new creation because in Christ the old has passed away.\u00a0Limping our way into that new creation as the UMC is likely in our future.\u00a0\u00a0
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s also refresh the multiple layers of reconciliation-truth we can embrace in I John 4:20-21.\u00a0How can we say \u201cI love God\u201d and hate our brothers and sisters, whom we see?\u00a0\u00a0
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s blessing <\/strong>just waits for us to claim it. But how can our integrity embody that blessing when we let fester the inner conflict between what we say with our mouths but cannot honestly live in our hearts? 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be sure, Jacob\u2019s blessing in vs. 29 wasn\u2019t made pure immediately, because his grabber character still lived.\u00a0But his transformation was on its way!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That Kairos moment of fulfillment came through the spiritual dynamics of the POWER OF NAMING, HUMILITY, RECONCILIATION, and BLESSING. 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m convinced those dynamics are essential if our denominational transformation can move ahead in St. Louis.\u00a0But it likely needs a good wrestling match with God to happen before, and during, the three-day wrestling match in St. Louis.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If that happens, perhaps Jacob and Esau will find that reconciliation is closer than they might think possible today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

The Rev. Paul Graves serves as the chair for the <\/em>Council on Older Adult Ministries<\/a><\/strong> for the Pacific Northwest Conference of The United Methodist Church.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When United Methodists gather in St. Louis next month, Rev. Paul Graves is expecting something akin to a “wresting match”. According to Graves, the story of Jacob could provide some helpful insights to delegates and observers of the General Conference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":19150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6,449,485],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19124","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-conversation","8":"category-general-conference","9":"category-voices"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/024.Jacob_Wrestles_with_the_Angel.jpg?fit=1601%2C1047&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2l75j-4Ys","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19124"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19153,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19124\/revisions\/19153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}