Worship: Sundays at 8:15 am | 9:40 am | 11:00 am, Wednesdays at 6:35 pm, Fridays at 7:00 pm

 

 

Limping in His Footsteps


 

"But Jacob stayed behind by himself and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he couldn't get the best of Jacob as they wrestled, he deliberately threw Jacob's hip out of joint. The man said "Let me go. Its daybreak" Jacob said "I'm not letting go 'til you bless me." The Man said "What's your name?" He answered "Jacob." The Man said "But no longer. From now on it's Israel (God Wrestler.)"  Genesis 32:24-28 (the Message)


 


 

 This passage has so many unanswered questions. Who was this "man?"  Why did he disappear at daybreak? Why did Jacob fight so hard to learn His name? Why was his hip thrown out of joint?  Why is this detail mentioned? Many of us wrestle with problems on sleepless nights, and wake up with, if not our hip, then perhaps our nose out of joint.


 

Charles Wesley examines some of these questions, and puts a very "New Testament "spin on this ancient story, in a hymn entitled "Come O Thou Traveler Unknown" (number 386 in our Hymnbook). It has always been a favorite of mine because of its haunting Celtic tune but only recently did I notice that the lyrics come from our favorite prolific theologian /poet.

Charles doesn't envision just any "angel" visiting people in dreams, perhaps bringing some form of discomfort, and maybe changing their name in the process. In Wesley's version it is not Jacob emerging with a new name, but the Stranger, whose name is acknowledged in later stanzas: "thy name is Love," finally "tis love,'tis love, thou dieds't for me!" Was Jacob  on a walk with Jesus generations before Jesus birth and resurrection?


 

We are all Jacob, and God sometimes sends such a Spirit in the night, to comfort, to wrestle, maybe changing how we walk in the process, and perhaps changing how we will be remembered.


 

Prayer:  Gracious God "Yield to me now, for I am weak. I hear thy whisper in my heart. To me to all thy mercies move. Thy Nature and Thy name is Love" Lord help us to be reflections of that love, through Lent, and from now on. Amen


 

Nan Gordon


 

Contact Nan Here

 
 

P.S.  We are still accepting devotionals in addition to what we have.  Your work will be a blessing to you and others as

well.  [email protected]

Trinity United Methodist Church
4000 NW 53rd Ave | Gainesville, FL 32653
352.376.6615
TrinityGNV.org

Office Hours: Monday - Thursday, 8:30 am - 4:00 pm | Friday, 8:30 am - 1:30 pm