From Burden to Blessing: The Challenge of Change

Genesis 32:24-32
24: And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25: And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26: And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27: And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28: And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob (which means deceiver), but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 29: And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 30: And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. 31: And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. 32: Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.

While camped one night, a strange man attacks Jacob. It is a physical fight, no dream, and the two struggle as to the death. Hour after hour passes, their strength wanes but neither can overpower the other. It becomes plain to Jacob that this is no ordinary mortal, but a special manifestation of God. In the struggle Jacob’s thigh is dislocated, but this mysterious enemy does not defeat him. Jacob, the one who has always resorted to deceit rather than to face a challenge head-on here is forced by God to fight. Suspecting the divine nature of this attacker, Jacob pleads for a blessing. God’s blessing is not given without asking him to say his name. In making Jacob pronounce his name, God is getting Jacob to confess his character.

Jacob encountered God and was wounded in body. Jacob confesses his name and his character and God changes his name from Jacob to Israel. All through the Bible, a name change means marks a new beginning, a transformed character.

What a wonderful irony, that in being attacked by God, Jacob could find the revelation of a respectable self; that in being honest about his past, he found a new future. In being crippled, Jacob, found a new freedom.

A Few Quotes

• Tears will get you sympathy; sweat will get you change. (Jesse Jackson)
• Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. him to change clothes to meet the German Ambassador: they want to see me, here I am. If they want to see my clothes, open my closet and show them my suits. (Albert Einstein)
• Change does not change tradition. It strengthens it. Change is a challenge and an opportunity; not a threat. (Prince Phillip of England)
• If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies. (Unknown)
  Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine. (Robert C. Gallagher)

That's my five minutes!