The Rev. Sam Hook
St. Margaret's Episcopal Church & School
Genesis 32:3-8, 22-30 | Psalm 121 | 2 Timothy 3:14-45 | Luke 18:1-8a
In the Old Testament reading for today we find Jacob by the river Jabok and he is not getting a good night sleep. We need to go back and find out why he is not getting a good night sleep. Jacob is headed home and Esau, his twin, is coming to meet him. Esau is coming with about 400 of his men.
Jacob and Esau were twins. Their father was Isaac. You remember Isaac was the one who was to be sacrificed by his father Abraham in order for Abraham to show his faithfulness for God. Jacob was brought up in a good religious family but did not have much of a conscience. Esau was the hunter and Jacob was the guy who hung around the tents. Esau had gone hunting one day and came back hungry. He said to Jacob, "Give me some food, I am hungry." Jacob responded, "I will but you must give me your birthright." So Esau gave his birthright away for a bowl of food. As Isaac was getting older he went to Esau and said he wanted to give him a blessing for the first born. Isaac asked Esau to get some wild game and bring it to him. Jacob's mother, Rebecca heard that and told Jacob to go get a couple of goats to fool your father and you will get the blessing. Rebecca dressed him in Esau's clothing so he would smell like him and placed goat hair on his arms and neck. Isaac, who was not seeing well, came and gave Jacob the blessing thinking it was Esau. When Esau came back and heard about it he was furious and threatened to kill Jacob. So Jacob went to his mother's brother's house, Laban and stayed there for about twenty years. Now Jacob is coming home and he finds out Esau is going to meet him with about 400 people. So Jacob sends everyone across the river and he stays on this side of the Jabok and wrestles with God that night. It was a long time coming.
I want to share another story with you this morning. At first you may think it does not make any sense but stick with me and it will. This is a story about Pinocchio. We first see Pinocchio being carved out of wood by his father, Gepetto. As he finishes and puts the strings on him, he dances Pinocchio around and is so excited. The cricket and cat shout for joy. That night he puts everyone to bed and goes over to the window and prays that famous prayer, "Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight. I wish he were a real live boy." This is a fairy tale. The Blue Fairy comes that night and touches Pinocchio. When Gepetto wakes up in the morning, Pinocchio says, "Good morning, father." Everyone is excited. The cat, the cricket and Gepetto jump for joy because their wish had come true. So Gepetto sends Pinocchio on to school to learn what all good boys should learn and he sends the cricket to be his conscience.
On the way to school he runs into the evil fox and the fox says to Pinocchio, "Have I got a deal for you. You can be famous and rich. All you have to do is go to work for the great Stromboli." The cricket says, "No." Pinocchio says, "Yes, I want fame and fortune." So he goes to work for the great Stromboli and he finds himself on stage as a real life puppet and people applaud him. But most of the time he spends his time in a cage and is very unhappy. Finally, the Blue Fairy comes and releases him and Pinocchio heads home. The evil fox confronts him again and says, "I have a place called Pleasure Island that you can do as you please. Swimming pools, movie stars and all the things you want." The cricket says, "No." But Pinocchio says, "I like being at camp everyday." So he goes and meets his friend Lampwick. After being there a week or so he notices Lampwick's ears are growing a bit long and he is getting a tail. He sees that Lampwick is turning into a donkey. He realizes that after you have been there a while you turn into a donkey and they put you on the other side of the island and work the salt mines. So Pinocchio again is very unhappy and the Blue Fairy comes and sends him home.
After returning home he finds that Gepetto and the cat have gone out looking for him. He discovers that they are in the belly of a whale. So Pinocchio risks his own life to get into the belly of the whale and help Gepetto escape. They are struggling in the water and swimming as hard as they can to get away from the whale. Gepetto says to Pinocchio, "Save yourself." He says, "I can't. I came to save you." Finally, the cat, Gepetto and the cricket find themselves on the shore and they see something floating in the water and rush out to find Pinocchio. Gepetto then takes him home. It sounds like Good Friday. They put him on the bed and mourn. That night the Blue Fairy comes again and touches Pinocchio and says, "Because of your courage you have earned the right to be a real boy."
It took courage for Pinocchio to quit thinking of himself and to risk death in order to save Gepetto. It took courage for Jacob to wrestle with God and hold onto God and continue the struggle even to the break of day. If he had seen God's face in the daylight he would have died. He would not let him go until he gave him a blessing. Jacob's courage was to struggle with God and not give up. Some of the same struggles you and I have. Jacob got a blessing out of it and a new name, Israel. God wrestled with Jacob to let Jacob know he cannot rely on himself anymore. Dr. Walter Brugaman, a professor of the Old Testament at Columbia University says this; "In the night, the divine antagonist tends to take on the features of others with whom we struggle in the day." Jacob had to go through it with God before going through it with Esau. And by going through it with God first he knew he could go through it with Esau because God was with him.
When it comes to struggles in daily life we have a God who takes us seriously as sons and daughters. We have a God who will mix it up with us, who will judge us, convict us and challenge us. How many here today have a struggle that you are going through. A parent, daughter, son or spouse. We may have to place our own lives at risk knowing that we who lose our lives will find it. Our God knows our relationship and calls us by name. He calls us sons and daughters for a reason. He takes us seriously and we should take him seriously. Do you have the courage to be that son or daughter? My prayer for you is that you will have the courage to struggle and not give up. To struggle with the issues facing you and realize that if you struggle with God, God will go with you. We do not know what the future is going to bring. Whether it is cancer or death of a loved one. Whether it is our own death but with the courage of either Jacob or Pinocchio we will be new persons because God goes with us.
My mother and I always had at best a strained relationship. When I went off to college, both my parents took me and dropped me off at the dorm. It was the same dorm my father had stayed in when he went to the college. So I had taken all my stuff up there and had come to the big good-bye. I was ready for them to go because I was ready to go get a pack of cigarettes. My mother looked at me and said, "Son, I just have one thing to tell you." In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "Free at last, free at last, great God almighty I am free at last!" Jacob knew that freedom, Pinocchio knew that freedom. Jacob became a new person, Israel. I hope you will know that freedom as well, but it will only come through struggle and your willingness to risk your own life in order to find a new one.
The name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.