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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
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January 2007
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June 2007
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Time after
Pentecost – #29 (C) In the Name of our Lord. Amen. JIHAD – it’s an Arabic word that most of us are probably familiar with – especially since the terrorist attacks on 9/11 six years ago. Osama bin Laden and members of his Al-Qaeda organization claim that they are conducting a JIHAD against the United States. Other radical Islamic groups such as Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon are also claiming to be engaged in a JIHAD against Israel. The word “JIHAD” is usually translated as meaning a HOLY WAR, but that is actually not the best translation or meaning of the word. “JIHAD” literally means “STRUGGLE” – a Godly Struggle – and in the best of Islamic tradition it does not refer so much to being a struggle against outside enemies as it does to a struggle within one’s self. “Jihad” refers to the daily struggle of resisting temptation and of submitting to God’s will – to confront our fears and our shortcomings and to grow into the kind of persons that God wants us to be. Today’s first reading from Genesis is the story of such a JIHAD. It is the story of Jacob wrestling in the middle of the night with a mysterious stranger by the brook of Jabbok. Although Jacob did not win, neither did he give up – and in the end he received a blessing and the new name of Israel. To understand the meaning of this encounter – this JIHAD – perhaps we first need to look at the situation leading up to it. Jacob, after spending more than fifteen years in Mesopotamia, was now returning to his own country of Canaan. More to the point, he was about to meet his brother Esau. Indeed, the very reason why Jacob had left Canaan in the first place was because he had tricked his father Isaac into giving him the blessing that had rightfully belonged to Esau – and when Esau had learned about that he had vowed to KILL him! So Jacob had fled in fear for his life! Jacob’s very name describes who and what he was. In Hebrew, the name means “heel grabber” or “over-reacher” or “trickster”. All three of these meanings give a pretty good indication as to what Jacob was like in his life. To say that he had a checkered past is almost an understatement. He had twice cheated his brother out of what was rightfully his. He had tricked his father. And then later in Mesopotamia he had cheated his uncle Laban out of many of his flocks and other possessions. But now Jacob’s past was about to catch up with him. As he drew near to the land of Canaan, he learned that his brother Esau was coming to meet him – along with four hundred armed men! To Jacob this can only mean one thing: that Esau is coming to carry out his vow of vengeance to kill him. Needless to say, Jacob got little sleep that night! He sent his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children across the Jabbok stream so that he could be alone to pray and struggle with his fears. Suddenly, a mysterious being came upon Jacob in the darkness and wrestled with him all night long. Who this being was we do not know. It is obvious that this is some kind of a supernatural being – a “night demon” – who for some reason must not be around in the daylight. This story probably has its roots in a pre-Israelite folk tale, but its implication is timeless. Who among us has not at times lay awake at night – unable to sleep – because of some deep, disturbing, and even tormenting issues that we have been struggling with? It is in the still darkness of the night that we tend to be most haunted by our guilts and fears. Jacob’s wrestling may have been physical, but even more importantly it was also spiritual. During the struggle he was confronted with all of his past sins and shortcomings. I am sure that the night demon also must have taunted him that his brother was coming to kill him and destroy his family. The physical and emotional anguish that Jacob was experiencing was incredible. But Jacob refused to give up! The night demon tried everything possible to break Jacob’s spirit – even to causing him terrible bodily pain by putting his hip out of joint – but Jacob still would not yield. Sometimes that is what faith comes down to – it means just hanging on, digging in, and refusing to yield. Many of us have had times in our lives when we were about ready to throw in the towel, but yet did not. We may have had nay-sayers from without, and doubts and fears from within, but still we hung on, determined to make it through, and hoping that somehow God would yet bring something positive out of our bad situations and change our lives for the better. Sometimes we just hung on by our fingernails because that’s what life demands – what God demands. Winston Churchill once gave a commencement address during the height of World War II. He stood up and repeated only one message: “Never, never, never, never, never. Do not give up. Do not ever give up. Never give up!” Then he sat down and that was it. But people remembered what Churchill said and were inspired by his words because they knew that they were true words – both for them as a nation during that difficult period and also in the situations of each and every one of their individual lives. Never give up! Jacob would not give up his struggle until he had received a blessing from it. Somehow he knew that God was going to bring good out of what he was going through even though he did not deserve it. Somehow he knew that God loved him despite all of his past and present sins. Has that ever been true for any of us in our lives? I know that it has for me! During my darkest days – when I was going through a divorce and then later having to resign from my ministry, the one thing that kept me going was a “hanging on by the fingernails” kind of belief that somehow God was going to bring some good out of this – that he would bless me and then also somehow use me to be a blessing to others. Jacob was like that in his wrestling with the night-demon…and in his wrestling with all of his doubts and fears within that this represented. He did not try to hide from nor escape from what assailed him. He would continue to struggle and struggle and struggle some more until he received a blessing. And because of that, he was given the new name of ISRAEL – which means “The One Who Strives With God” – for, as the being told Jacob, “You have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” What about us? It seems to me that this is a part of faith that many people do not want to hear. Many people want what I have heard described as “GOD-LITE” – a God who instantly answers their prayers and who never places any demands upon them. When they think about “religion” at all, they think of it as a balm that will ease all of their fears and woes. They do not want to hear about a God who forces them to wrestle with the darkness within their souls and who challenges them to grow and change. But the God of Israel is a God who STRIVES with us – and who also wants us to strive with Him! God does not just leave us alone, nor does he make things easy for us. Rather, because he loves us, he continues to bring us face to face with our sins and shortcomings so that we will desire his mercy and grace. So that we will each and every day continue to recognize our NEED for having a relationship with him as our Lord and Savior. And yes, like the being did to Jacob, our wrestling with God may even sometimes cause us to experience pain in our lives so that we will limp – if not physically then at least spiritually. True growth and Godly maturity comes at a cost and often, even pain. And as I have said earlier, that has certainly been true for me personally. Jacob may have been limping at the end, but his struggle was worth it. He emerged into the dawn of a new day as a changed man and a far better person than he was before. No longer was he the conniving, over-reaching, scheming trickster that he used to be. Jacob became a person filled with dignity and humility, and most of all with an UNSHAKABLE FAITH that God would bless him and keep him in his care. He emerged from that wrestling match ready to meet his brother Esau the next day in a humble and joyful reconciliation. During that nighttime struggle, Jacob truly became a saint whose life would become an inspiration to his family and to generations yet unborn. I pray that the same may be true with us in our lives. We all like Jacob need to be constantly engaged in a JIHAD - a HOLY STRUGGLE – with the dark side of ourselves. With the help of our Savior Jesus Christ, we can face and overcome all of the fears and guilts and failures that are a part of who and what we are. This Jihad is not easy, and it is often even painful at times – but it is certainly worthwhile. For through our struggles God can change us into becoming the kind of people – the kind of SAINTS – that he wants us to be. God will then bless us, so that that we can be a blessing to others. May it be so for us today and always, in Jesus’ name! Amen! -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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