Musings for Pentecost 21

Sunday, October 17, 2010
Lectionary 29
Proper 24
Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Pastor Macholz

INTRODUCTION
Pray always. Do not lose heart. This is the encouragement of the Christ of the gospel today. Persistence in our every encounter with the divine will be blessed. Wrestle with the word. Remember your baptism again and again. Come regularly to Christ’s table. Persistence in our every encounter with the divine will be blessed.

Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, martyr, died around 115
Ignatius was the second bishop of Antioch in Syria, the city where the name "Christians" originated. Ignatius is known to us from his letters, which encouraged Christians to live in love, yet stand firm in true doctrine.

Prayer of the Day (ELW)

O Lord God, tireless guardian of your people, you are always ready to hear our cries. Teach us to rely day and night on your care. Inspire us to seek your enduring justice for all this suffering world, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

First Reading

Genesis 32:22–31

Returning to the home he had fled many years before after stealing his brother's birthright and his father's blessing, Jacob wrestles all night long with a divine adversary who ultimately blesses him and changes his name to "Israel," a name that means "he wrestles with God."

²²The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. ²⁴Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. ²⁵When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. ²⁶Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." ²⁷So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." ²⁸Then the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed." ²⁹Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him. ³⁰So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved." ³¹The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

Psalm (ELW)

Psalm 121

My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth. (Ps. 121:2)

¹I lift up my eyes ^| to the hills;

from where is my ^| help to come?

²My help comes ^| from the LORD,

the maker of heav- ^| en and earth.

³The LORD will not let your ^| foot be moved

nor will the one who watches over you ^| fall asleep.

⁴Behold, the keep- ^| er of Israel

will neither slum- ^| ber nor sleep;

⁵the LORD watches ^| over you;

the LORD is your shade at ^| your right hand;

⁶the sun will not strike ^| you by day,

nor the ^| moon by night.

⁷The LORD will preserve you ^| from all evil

and will ^| keep your life.

⁸The LORD will watch over your going out and your ^| coming in,

from this time forth for- ^| evermore.

Second Reading

2 Timothy 3:14—4:5

Paul continues his instruction of Timothy, his younger colleague in ministry, by emphasizing the importance of faithful teaching despite opposition.

Chapter 3

¹⁴But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, ¹⁵and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

Chapter 4

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: ²proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. ³For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, ⁴and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. ⁵As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

Gospel

Luke 18:1–8

Jesus tells a parable of a hateful judge who is worn down by a widow's pleas. Jesus is calling God's people to cry out for justice and deliverance. For if an unethical judge will ultimately grant the plea of a persistent widow, how much more will God respond to those who call.

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. ²He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. ³In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, 'Grant me justice against my opponent.' ⁴For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, 'Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, ⁵yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.'" ⁶And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? ⁸I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

Reflection

Ever wrestled with God? OK, that was a rhetorical question. I think it is safe to say that all of us have at various points in our lives. We ask questions for which we seek answers and more often than not don’t receive them. Why did they have to die? When will I find a job? Why me? Why now? What do you really want me to do, I can’t believe it’s that!? What does grace truly mean?

You can add questions of your own with some ease I would guess. Yet sometimes I wonder if it’s not so much that we wrestle with God as that God wrestles with us. Is that possible? At the Jabbok he wrestled with Jacob whose name, because of his persistence, was changed to Israel. God wrestles with us at the crossings of our lives as well, not to beat us into submission but rather to help us understanding that God is in control and if we let God be God we can move forward in trust and hope.

Wrestling with God is a good thing for when we do we walk away with a blessing and not a limp. Ask the tough questions, push the limits and know that God is ready, willing and able to respond in helpful fashion.

Let Us Pray

For an openness to ask the tough questions

That all who mourn might be comforted with the promise of the Gospel

To be light in the darkness of this world

For generous hearts and lives

For all who serve in our armed forces

Quote

People wrestle with God for one of two reasons:

1. They don't know God's will and are trying to find it.

2. They know God's will and are trying to decide whether or not to do it. Kent Crockett