Genesis 32:27-32: a reflection

27He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob”. 28He said, “Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have fought with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” He said, “Why is it that you ask what my name is?” So he blessed him there. 30Jacob called the name of the place Peniel; for he said, “I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” 31The sun rose on him as he passed over Peniel, and he limped because of his thigh. 32Therefore the children of Israel don’t eat the sinew of the hip, which is on the hollow of the thigh, to this day, because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip.

After a night of wrestling with a mysterious figure, Jacob is given a new name and a lasting mark. Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, he is told. And when he crosses over, having said, I have seen God face to face, the sun rises on him as he limps, for his hip had been touched in the struggle. The encounter with God changed Jacob: it gave him a new name, a new identity, but it also left its mark on him, the limp he would carry from then on. He came away transformed, and marked.

Notice the two things the encounter left: a new name and a limp. Jacob wrestled with God, and did not come away unchanged; he was given a new name, Israel, a new identity marking a transformation. But he also came away limping, marked by the struggle, no longer the same, bearing in his body a sign of the encounter. The meeting with God transformed him, giving a new name; and it marked him, leaving a limp he would carry. He did not wrestle with God and walk away untouched; he was changed and marked by it, both blessed and humbled.

That is worth taking to heart, for a real encounter with God changes us, giving a new identity, and often leaving its mark. We may want an encounter with God that leaves us comfortable and unchanged; but Jacob wrestled with God and came away with a new name and a limp, transformed and marked. A real meeting with God does not leave us the same; it changes our identity, and may humble us, leaving its mark. Do not expect an encounter with God to leave you unchanged; like Jacob, you may come away with a new identity and a mark that humbles you. Let your encounters with God transform you, giving you a new identity in him, even if they also humble and mark you, as Jacob came away from wrestling with God renamed Israel and limping; for a real meeting with God changes us, and the new name and the limp both bear witness that we have been with him.

Lord, after a night of wrestling with a mysterious figure, Jacob is given a new name and a lasting mark. Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, he is told. And when he crosses over, having said, I have seen God face to face, the sun rises on him as he limps, for his hip had been touched in the struggle. The encounter with you changed Jacob: it gave him a new name, a new identity, but it also left its mark on him, the limp he would carry from then on. He came away transformed, and marked. Show me the two things the encounter left: a new name and a limp. Jacob wrestled with you, and did not come away unchanged; he was given a new name, a new identity. But he also came away limping, marked by the struggle, bearing in his body a sign of the encounter. The meeting with you transformed him; and it marked him. He did not wrestle with you and walk away untouched; he was changed and marked by it, both blessed and humbled. Take that to my heart, for a real encounter with you changes me, giving a new identity, and often leaving its mark. I may want an encounter with you that leaves me comfortable and unchanged; but Jacob came away with a new name and a limp. A real meeting with you does not leave me the same. Keep me from expecting an encounter with you to leave me unchanged; like Jacob, I may come away with a new identity and a mark that humbles me. Let my encounters with you transform me, Lord, giving me a new identity in you, even if they also humble and mark me.