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| Image by Justin Kern |
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The Ancestors of Jesus:
Jacob
A GREETING
To you, O God, I lift up my soul.
(Psalm 25:1)
READINGS
Isaac begot Jacob; Jacob begot Judah and his sisters and brothers...
(Matthew 1:2)
In the course of the night, Jacob arose, took the entire caravan, and crossed the ford of the Yabbok River. After Jacob had crossed with all his possessions, he returned to the camp, and he was completely alone. And there, someone wrestled with Jacob until the first light of dawn. Seeing that Jacob could not be overpowered, the other struck Jacob at the socket of the hip, and the hip was dislocated as they wrestled. Then Jacob’s contender said, “Let me go, for day is breaking.” Jacob answered, “I will not let you go until you bless me.”
(Genesis 32:22-26)
MUSIC
Sung in Irish, the lyrics are discussed in the write-up below.
MEDITATIVE VERSES
Turn to me, be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and anguished.
How heavy are the troubles of my heart!
Free me from my distress!
(Psalm 25:16-17)
A REFLECTION
As bees gather honey, so do we reap the sweetness from everything and build God. Even with the trifling, with the unseemly (when it comes by way of love), we begin with labor and with rest, with silence or with a small, solitary joy, with everything that we do alone, without comrades and without assistance. We begin Him whom we will not experience—any more than our ancestors were able to experience us. And thus they, these ancient ones, are for us as ground, as legacy, as our coursing blood, as a birthing that arises from the depths of time. What could ever take from you the hope of being at last in Him, the farthest, the ultimate?
- from Letters to a Young Poet: A New Translation and Commentary
by Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by Joanna Macy and Anita Barrows
VERSE OF THE DAY
May integrity and uprightness protect me,
for you are my only hope.
(Psalm 25:21)
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| "Ocean waves," by Hokusai. (1833) |
In today’s music, Zoë Conway and John Mc Intyre sing a song based on a poem by Irish poet Máirtín Ó Direáin that dreams of a place where the soul can be at peace and at rest. The poet (and the singer) imagine “solace,” on a “sea island” that feels like home. The song reminds us that when we are feeling ‘out of season’ with our lives, praying with nature is a good way to restore us to who we are.
At the same time, we can remember that we ourselves are also nature. We cannot be separated from what is around us: it is a part of us and we are a part of it. Rainer Maria Rilke was an early 20th century Austrian poet who wrote passionately in both poetry and prose about how the soul wrestles, and finds peace, with God. Over several volumes of translation, Joanna Macy and Anita Burrows came to appreciate how much he understood the relationship between humankind and nature: "We are moved by Rilke’s sensitivity to nature and the claim it should have on human behavior."
Macy has said about Rilke that he encourages us (and therefore she does too) to find the transcendent in the everyday ordinariness of life, which holds the sacred as much as our religious rituals do. Rilke's willingness to wrestle with his own waves of faith and doubt found their 'solace' outdoors, among all created life.
Jesus' ancestor Jacob wrestled all night with an unknown opponent. When, in the early hours of day, Jacob is wounded and his opponent wants to leave, Jacob asks for his blessing first. In Jewish tradition, to bless someone is to ask God to draw some of God's divine energy down into the one being blessed. "May God make God's face to shine upon you," we say, quoting Numbers 6. That shining radiance of God, and the struggles of a spiritual journey go hand in hand.
What are the daily moments of struggle and of transcendence that accompany your spiritual journey? How can you feel God blessing you in the midst?
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| Image by Justin Kern |
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Scripture passages are taken from The Inclusive Bible.
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LC† Vigil in Hope is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!
