PENIEL AND JACOB’S NEW NAME

 

         When I think of “wrestling,” I think of Yukon Eric, Gorgeous George, and Saturday nights at my grandmother’s house, or two of my cousins who were noted wrestlers for U.N.I., or a boy named Sue, who wrestled with his dad in the “ mud and the blood and the beer.” And I think of my own wrestling matches with my past, my sins, my addictions, with the essence of who I am, and with my God! If I could go back in time, I would change many things and even now, I would change some things. I wrestled with alcohol, everyone knows that, but I also wrestled with the truth, and acceptance, and surrender. Once God got my attention, right away He started leaning on me to trust and let go, to give up my efforts to direct everyone else in my world and let the Holy Spirit have His way with me.

      And through the years I’ve know many people who have struggled with relationships, sins, addictions, health, dying, surrender, real discipleship, authenticity, and God’s call in their lives. Maybe this is why I embrace Peniel and Jacob’s struggle for a new name. Jacob was the youngest of Isaac's and Rebekah’s twins, and it seems that he was his mother's favorite. He wasn’t the hunter his brother, Esau was, but he knew how to get what he wanted. So he and his mother plotted to cheat Esau out of his birthright and his father’s blessing, and they succeeded. But Esau swore to kill Jacob and Jacob ran to his uncle Laban’s house for protection.

      By all accounts, Jacob was a good shepherd and between his insightful work and an ongoing scenario in which he and Laban tried to out-maneuver each other, Jacob acquired immense wealth. He also acquired Laban’s two daughters as wives- one who he was tricked into marrying and one who he loved to his dying day. Jacob had children by both women (and their handmaids), but in time, he decided to go home. He had to go back home and face what he had done to his brother. So, when Laban was preoccupied, Jacob took everything he considered his and headed back home.

      He was getting close to home when he received word that his brother was approaching him with 400 men. His hour of reckoning was at hand. So Jacob divided his wives and other property into two groups and sent them off by different routes. Then... he laid down to ponder things and sleep by the wadi Jabbok. It was pitch dark and he was completely alone, as alone as he had been since he said goodbye to his mother years before. He had acquired wealth. He had two wives and several sons. He had a birthright and a blessing... but he didn't have peace! Not peace of mind, not peace with his brother, not peace with his God, not peace with himself. He knew how to scheme, but of shalom he knew nothing at all. He didn't know who he was and who he ought to become. So he laid in the darkness and took stock of it all... when suddenly, he was blind-sided by an intruder... and the wrestling match was on!

      It must have been quite a sight- two men rolling around on the desert floor, grabbing, punching, kicking, in an effort to win the match. And it went on... until daybreak. Finally, Jacob's assailant struck him in the hip and threw it out of place. The outcome of the match was no longer in doubt. Jacob would not win... but he would NOT let go. Exalted and beaten, he refused to let go. "I will not let go until you give me a blessing," he cried. I insist on a blessing! You are able to bless me and I will cling to you until you do. That's what he said, and he was given a blessing!

      A new name! A new identity. From now on, the intruder noted, you will be known as Israel... because you have striven with God and humans. You have done business with the living God, and within that struggle... you have found your own identity. Come morning, Jacob knew that he had struggled with God... and lived. So, he named the place "Peniel,"... and he limped across the wadi with a new name, moving toward a new relationship with his brother and a deeper understanding of himself and his God!  

      Peniel means “face of God.” Do we ever know ourselves until we've wrestled with the Living God? Can we ever get a new name unless we receive it in this struggle? How far can we run? How long can we hide? How long will we settle with just getting by, when God offers a life of purpose, authenticity... and a new name? Coming to grips with our deepest self will require a struggle with the Giver of New Names. We'll never find shalom by running, hiding and living by our wits.  Let those who have ears, hear!

 

HOW DOES THE CREATURE SAY THANKS?

We have a host of positive emotions- joy, wonder, serenity, love, hope, and happiness among them- but our passage today urges us to focus on Gratitude. According to Luke (17:11-19), as Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he entered a village where ten lepers were gathered to meet him. They stood a safe distance away and cried out for "mercy." Well, Jesus did not ignore them. He saw them and he told them to go and show themselves to their priests as men who no longer had leprosy, which would free them to engage in community life once again. The lepers did what they were told to do and as they were walking, they were healed. I suspect that nine of them began to run to their priests when they saw that their skin was free of imperfections.

 

Nine of the lepers returned to the lives they had lived in the past. They went back home. They cuddled their children. They got back to work... but one of the lepers returned to Jesus when he saw that he was being healed on the road. He recognized that he had been healed by God and he saw that he need to express his gratitude to Jesus. So he turned around with praise on his lips, and when he met Jesus he fell upon his face and thanked him! He knew who had healed him. He knew whom he needed to thank and according to Luke, he was a Samaritan, an alien, a man who Jews at that time would have ordinarily shunned.

 

The Samaritan saw that God had manifested his grace and his power in Christ Jesus, and he was overwhelmed with gratitude. Gratitude comes from knowing that God is with us (Immanuel) and that God never forsakes us. How many of you have seen God at work in your own lives? How many of you believe that God sent friends and mentors your way? How many of you believe that God is behind your current relationships, or your new jobs, or your spiritual growth, or your long walk out of the valleys of grief and death? Perhaps it's because I strayed so badly, but I can see God's finger prints all over my life. It was God who held me together before I left home and it was God who arranged my first meeting with Sherry, when I needed a friend more than I have ever needed a friend. It was God who sent mentors to me and opened doors that I didn't even know about.

 

How about you? Where has God healed you, provided for you, walked with you, forgiven you, listened to you, or sent angels your way? Surely we need to follow the Samaritan's lead and give thanks. You know, one of my favorite hymns is entitled, "God of the Sparrow," and in part, it goes like this:

 

God of the sparrow, God of the whale, God of the swirling stars,

How does the creature say awe? How does the creature say

praise?

God of the rainbow, God of the cross, God of the empty grave,

How does the creature say grace? How does the creature say

"thanks"?

 

In many ways, no doubt, but these ways are among them. We thank God with our tongues, when we pray, when we forgive others, when we treat others as we would treat Christ, when we try our very best to know him better and to grow as His servant, when we pass the love and grace that we have received forward, and when we fall to our knees and cry out, "Thank you, God. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for loving me.Thank you for walking with me. Thank you for saving me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Amen!

 

  

THE LOVING FATHER!

 

    Today, I want to reflect on the parable of the “Prodigal Son,” which I think of as the parable of the “Loving Father.”

      We join Jesus as he teaches a gathering of people about the ways of God. A father, Jesus said, had two sons. His first-born son was dedicated and responsible (as eldest siblings often are), but his youngest son was impatient, impulsive, and self-indulgent. Well, the younger son, it seems, was bored on the farm and demanded his share of the family estate right away. In Jesus’ time, a request to cash-in and settle-up early, was unthinkable, but for reasons of his own, the father gave this youngest son what he wanted, and the young man left the farm for far-away places, where he squandered his inheritance

on wine, women, and song. We aren’t given details… but we know that things went really bad for the youngest son because he ended up slopping hogs for a gentile master, who paid him next to nothing. We also know that  he was so hungry that the pods which were being fed to the pigs… looked good to him. In short, he had “hit bottom,” and the jolt of hitting bottom brought him to his “right mind.” So, he started toward home, hoping that his father would hire him as a hired hand!

      However, his father had been spending a lot of time waiting for the moment when he would see his son coming home, and when he saw him, he threw protocol to the side and ran to embrace his son! He ran as fast as he could and hugged his youngest son, without any form of judgment or hesitation. In fact, he showered his son with love and decided to throw a party in his honor. Indulgent and foolish young men are a dime a dozen, but unfettered forgiveness and new beginnings are not. Grace- radical grace and not just kindness- is rare and amazing! It is also irritating to rule-abiding and score-keeping people everywhere… and the loving father’s eldest son was no exception! When he arrived home from a day’s work in the field and learned that his father was throwing a party for his no-account brother, the eldest son was enraged! He had worked faithfully his entire life and never once complained. He had given everything he had to his father’s estate and his father had never thrown a party  for him.

      It was all terribly unfair and he refused to have any part in it! He would not attend the party! His father assured him that he loved him too. His His father told him that he had to celebrate because what was lost was found and what was gone had come back home!  Grace doesn’t make sense and it never will. Grace is unearned and it has to be!

      Grace is the only hope we have, but the question for us is this “would we attend the party?” Our son got out on parole early- will you come and celebrate with us? Our unwed daughter has given birth to an interracial baby. Will you come to her Baby Shower? Our son is getting married to a really nice man. We hope you will stop by and dance to the early morning hours.  Are we, pray tell, more like the loving father or the older brother? Amen!

A DIFFERENT DRUMMER

 

It was many years ago now, but I remember it well. One of our church members had died and he wanted to be cremated. There was nothing unusual about that, but his wife- also a church member- wanted to be present when her husband’s body went through the fire. She believed that fire cleanses us and prepares us to meet our Lord. So, we gathered at the oven and she pushed the rectangular box that contained her husband’s body down the chute and into the fire. Fire is a powerful thing, which can protect us from wild beasts, forge helpful tools… and consume us if we toy with it. Fire- physical, emotional, and spiritual- can inspire us and lift us to greater heights… or it can disfigure us or consume us entirely! And Luke tells us that Jesus said, “I have come to bring fire on the earth. Do not think,” he went on to say, “that I came to bring peace on earth. No, I tell you, but division.” (Luke 12:50-51)

      I’ve come to save your souls and to call you unto myself. I’ve come to lay down a choice, and in just making †he choice, you will be in conflict. In a person’s own family, there will be those who lay up their treasure in heaven and those who don’t; there will be those who go out of their way to welcome a stranger, and those who won’t. There will be those who see Christ in the ordinary and in the least among them, and those who don’t even try! There will be those who seek to know God day-by-day, and those who think such a thing is foolish! There will be those who insist on a small Jesus who will give them what they want and there will the those who trust in a BIG God. Mother Mary put it well in her song- “He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty”. Christ did not come to please everyone, but to invite everyone into a new world order where values and importance and success are turned upside down. And those who say “yes,” will be in conflict with the rest.

      Choosing Jesus put people at odds with the culture in which they lived. Christians didn’t trust in money and if they had it, they shared it generously. Christians didn’t judge or shun others, and they forgave to the point of being foolish. Christians- men and women who embraced the Holy Spirit- simply marched to a different drummer than others did. They sought different goals, they valued different things, and they measured life by a different standard. In short, they were at odds with the world, their own family members, their friends, and even their own former selves… at the very moment they emerged from their baptismal water!.        

 

A friend of mine in the Quad Cities was fond of saying that every man’s temptation is…  sex, but I suspect that every person’s greatest temptation is to worship God on their own terms, and to ask God for more than they are willing to give! We are tempted to believe that much of what Jesus said was hyperbole and that he totally understands why our careers and families are more important than He is. BUT Christ did not die so that he could understand us. He died to save our souls and comes to us with a choice- Him or them. He asked Peter plainly, “Do you love me more than these?” and He asks us the same question today.       Jesus said to his disciples: I have not come to bring peace but division. I’ve come to bring fire in the belly and fire in the soul. I’ve come to offer a way of life that will bring you joy and purpose and also empower you to be of use to the world. I’ve come to draw a line in the sand- on the one side of the line will be those who have rejected my message, or have watered it down to suit themselves- and on the other side of the line will be those who have trusted in me as their Savior and surrendered to me as their Lord. Heaven awaits these fortunate ones, not because they are “perfect,” but because they are faithful.

 

UECKER'S SEAT

 

^{DON’T END UP IN EUCKER’S SEAT}

        Our passage today encourages us to be humble and to see that we are no better/worse and no more/less important than all of the others whom God has created and blessed with grace. It reminds us that we are not at the center of all things and it urges us to quit judging who should be welcomed and who should be avoided. According to Luke, Jesus was a guest at the home of a Pharisee and when he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, He told them this parable: ⁸ “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, don’t take the place of honor, for you may be told to move if a more distinguished person shows up.¹⁰ Instead, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say, ‘Friend, move up to a better seat. ¹¹ For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” ¹² Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a dinner, don’t invite your friends, your rich neighbors, or others who may repay you, but invite the poor, and the lame, ¹⁴ and you will be blessed.” (Luke 14:7-14)

      This passage ranges from social strategy tips to the toxic effects of judging and scorekeeping, and it says at least this much to me.

1.      It is not about us! We are not the directors in some sort of play in which we are the star. We have an illusion of control, but it’s only an illusion! We are not in charge! God is in charge and we are blessed to assist to the extent that our gifts and talents allow! We are saved by grace and called to service by our Lord! If we hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” we ought to praise God for that too.

2.      We should be wise enough to stay out of “Uecker’s seat.” I am old enough to recall the Miller Lite commercials in which the Milwaukee Brewers announcer, Bob Uecker, is preparing to watch a baseball game. He is sitting near the field, pretty much by himself, when an usher informs him that he is in the wrong seat and needs to move! And Uecker pompously replies, “I must be in the front row!" A man of my ilk must be in the front row. Then, we see Uecker sitting in the farthest corner of the upper deck. Uecker’s seat was a cheap seat in the “nosebleed section,” and for years, cheap seats were called "Uecker seats." Be careful where you sit because you may be asked to move to one of "Uecker’s seats.”

3.      We should follow our Lord’s lead and walk humbly through life. Not considering divinity worth clinging to if God’s people were lost, Jesus chose to leave heaven and come down, down, down to earth in the form of a servant. He spent his life ministering to people in need, preaching good news to the poor, and equipping disciples who were slow to learn. In the end, he took his seat in the middle of two thieves … and saved our souls by dying on Calvary’s cross! Let this be our standard and our calling!

4.      We need to let go of the notion that love we live in a world where some people deserve to be invited and included… and others don’t! I recently read a sermon in which a pastor in Atlanta confessed that, in her heart of hearts, she had a list of people whom she would not invite to a special event. She had an unwritten list of people whom she didn’t want in her world. She noted that anyone who abused women and children would not be welcome, nor would any person who thought they knew… who was going to heaven and who wasn’t. She went on to say people who “know it all,” holocaust deniers, and people who blame victims for their situation in life would not be invited to any gathering of hers. But the more important point is this: who is on your list of people who would not be welcome in your world? And why are they on your list? Could they be on God’s list? Could anyone be?
    cI will close with some of the reflective words of Michael Coffey: “she entered the party room like a caped queen. Her heels lifted herself up to thinner air, almost to where she wanted to be. On the far end of the gathering she saw the out-of-fashioned, the rough-handed, and the wrong spoken. (A motley crew of misfits and neer-do-wells) On the near end she saw well-labeled suits, handbags with leather and metal clasps, wine for every occasion, and the look of confidence in the eyes of the highly educated. (There was one empty chair) so she sat and mingled, and sipped wine. She showed that she knew which fork to us for the appetizers, and she laughed controllably. Then the host came over and thanked her for taking the seat she took, and assured her that someday, she too could join him at the other end! Amen!

OUR COMPASSIONATE GOD

 OUR COMPASSIONATE GOD is on my mind today. 

      Some people think that God is at a distance, uninvolved, unchangeable, and unresponsive... but this is NOT the God of the Bible. No, the Bible tells us about a God who created us, walks with us, is sometimes disappointed in us, and even weeps for us! The Bible tells us of a forgiving God of mercy who came to earth to save us by giving his own life on Golgotha's cross of agony and shame.
Our God speaks to us, listens to us, and sees us with eyes of love and compassion, which brings me to the story of the "Bent-over Woman" in the gospel of Luke. 

      According to Luke, Jesus was preaching in a synagogue on a Sabbath and there was a woman in attendance who was "bent over." I suspect she was sitting alone and I suspect that she didn't get many invites for coffee after the service. People ignored her and pretended that they didn't see her... but Jesus saw her! He saw her and called her forward and then without delay, he told her to rise and stand up because she had been freed from the forces that imprisoned her. And she stood straight up and looked Jesus in the eye, which is something that she hadn't been able to do for 18 years! She looked him and the others in the eye. She saw their faces and she saw that many of them were filled with joy and emotion. She stood tall and saw that it was God who had set her free and she began to praise God from the depths of her heart!
       It was a moment of unfettered joy, but the leader of the synagogue could not see this. He could not see that God had just touched and transformed a woman in his midst, and he even blamed the woman, pointing out that she could've been healed on any other day of the week. He could only think of process and the way he had always interpreted things, and he didn't have room in his mind or in his spirit... for the wonder and power of God. Well, Jesus rebutted his argument and rebuked all of those who couldn't see that an isolated woman had received a new lease on life. I suspect that she would have been more than pleased if Jesus had only recognized her, asked her how she was doing, and listened to her story. I'm sure that alone would have made her day, but he touched her and set her free.
       Friends, God loves us more than we love ourselves and much more that we love our neighbors. God is filled with grace and compassion and He expects us to pass it forward (which is what Matthew 25 is about). It's a great little story, which invites us to answer these questions: 1) what does God require of us? (Read Micah 6), 2) What does it mean to be "holy"? Does it involve staying away from people who don't meet our standards... or does it require us to give the respect, listen to their stories, and do what we can to meet their needs? 3) Jesus gave the leaders and scribes credit for tithing what they owned, down to and including the spices they owned, like mint and cumin. (see Matthew 25) in Jesus' view, they should have done this, BUT they ignored the more important matters of God's law, which are justice, mercy, and faithfulness! Record keeping is great, but people are greater and the most important Christian acts we will ever do... require us to show mercy because everybody is SOMEBODY in Christ, work for justice because every child of God deserves opportunity and justice! Forgiving, inviting, including, listening, responding, helping, affirming, sacrificing- these are the words that changed a lonely and isolated woman's life!
       May God give us the courage and grace to make them part of our journeys as well! Amen!

WHAT'S UP WITH THE FORKS?

Scott Peck began his well-known book, “The Road Less Traveled,” with these words- LIFE IS DIFFICULT. And indeed it is! 

It’s not easy to get through from beginning to end, without tears, or loss, or unpleasant turns in the road. Over the course of time, we become weary and wary, and the dreams that once seemed doable seem more than a bit silly. Almost everyone gathered here this morning has buried a parent and many of us have said goodbye to our siblings. Our old house on Shawnee Place in Des Moines, Iowa was filled with noise and activity at one time. Some of noises were unpleasant, but we shared life there. But now, mom and dad, and my brothers, Larry and Randy, have left the stage and it is empty. In the 12-step world, we talk about living one day at a time, but I've discovered that a terminal cancer diagnosis can immediately rid you of any tendency to live in the future! When we’re down-sized, or let go, we feel smaller that we did before. When the person who swore to walk with you in good times and in bad time, tells you that they’ve found someone else, the road we’ve been traveling together… crumbles before our eyes. When we bury our children, whether they are 5 or 55, the pain is unbearable and it seems like we will never get back on our feet.. 

Life is difficult, in part, because we’re prone to sin. Our greed, insecurities, and emotions run wild and we end up harming ourselves and many others. Life is also difficult because we can’t control, won’t accept it, and can’t bring ourselves to let go and let God! Life is difficult. Consider Jesus of Nazareth, who was called the “illegitimate” son of a Roman soldier before he reached puberty, challenged by teachers of the very law he was fulfilling, and who heard his people cry, “Crucify him. Give us Barabbas!” And when Jesus asked his best friends to pray for him in Gethsemane’s garden, they fell asleep instead. 

Life is difficult. Consider the Israelites who were exiled into Babylon. They were defeated and dejected, wondering how God’s chosen people could end up as losers… when their prophets begin to spread the news that today’s losses, this moment’s pain, our worst memories, most bitter tears… are not the final word! Not in a million years… because all things are possible with God! When God asked Ezekiel if a valley of dry bones could live, the prophet cautiously answered, “You know, Lord.” But the better answer is “of course, they can live because all things are possible for you.” The day is coming, God claimed, when my people will come streaming from every corner of the earth. The strong, of course, but the elderly, the disabled and the little ones too. People of faith, our God is an awesome God... and He will see us through. In Christ we are free to sing a new song...of praise and love forever! 

This morning, our hearts are heavy thinking about my cousin, Del, and my friend, Terry- both of whom have cancer, Jim and Pat, closer to 90 than 80 and they both have Covid… and our very good friend, Mike, has suffered a serious stroke and has COVID complications too. Life is difficult now for these wonderful people, and I know that life has been difficult for you as well. I imagine the rocky roads you’ve traveled at one time or another, the deep valleys that you’ve been in, and it gives me grief… BUT I do not despair… because I see the fork in your hands! 

Perhaps you’ve heard the story of a woman who was dying of cancer. She was an avid church goer, so she talked with her pastor about her funeral service- and went over every detail- the verses to be read, the songs to be sung, comments and prayers, and even what she would be wearing on her special day. She began to leave the pastor's office, but stopped and said, "There's one more thing. I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand. It's odd, I know, but in all of my years of attending church gatherings, my favorite part was the moment when I was told to keep my fork. When our tables were being cleared, someone would lean over and say, 'You can keep your fork!' You can keep your fork- that’s what they said- and it always gave me great delight because I knew that something better was coming. Something great- not pudding or Jello- but am awesome cake or one of my favorite pies. You can keep your fork… has always meant something special to me," she concluded, "And I want to spread the word. Pastor, when people file by my casket and say, "Hey, what's the deal with the fork," I want you to tell them that something much, much better IS coming and that they should keep their forks too! Tell them that the best is yet to come. 

The best is yet to come! The best is yet to come! May we bear witness to Christ by the love we show to one another and to others, and may we also witness to the wonderful truth that the best is yet to come… by carrying a fork! I pray that people will recall our ministries fondly, and I pray that we will also be known as a fork-carrying people who believe without a doubt that nothing is too hard for God!