Jacob's Holy Limp

What has always attracted my attention about this story is the limp – the fact that in his wrestling with God, Jacob emerges blessed, but limping; limping, but blessed. Limping and blessed! Sometimes when we wrestle with God these things emerge in the course of our wrestling. We are left limping, a holy limp, holy because to be blessed is to incorporate all that has been a part of our lives into our lives, in a way that that even the painful parts – the sources of our limp – can become sources of strength, wisdom, blessing. Rev. Larry Hayward preaches on the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time as part of a sermon series on Genesis. The Scripture lesson is Genesis 32:22-32.