Genesis 32: 22 – 32

Jacob took his two wives, his two concubines, and his eleven children, and crossed the Jabbok River. After he had sent them across, he also sent across all that he owned, but he stayed behind, alone.

Then a man came and wrestled with him until just before daybreak. When the man saw that he was not winning the struggle, he hit Jacob on the hip, and it was thrown out of joint. The man said, “Let me go; daylight is coming.”

“I won't, unless you bless me,” Jacob answered.

 “What is your name?” the man asked.

“Jacob,” he answered.

The man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob. You have struggled with God and with men, and you have won; so your name will be Israel.”

Jacob said, “Now tell me your name.”

But he answered, “Why do you want to know my name?” Then he blessed Jacob.

Jacob said, “I have seen God face-to-face, and I am still alive”; so he named the place Peniel. The sun rose as Jacob was leaving Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip

Picture

Today’s painting is by the artist Gaughin, and is inspired by this story

Prayer

I have long loved the idea of ‘limping with the Lord’ – the consequence of having wrestled with God, or with God’s angel, and then walking into the future with God.

God of Jacob, who not only allows, but seems to appreciate our wrestling with who you are, and what your require of us, help us in this Advent journey to have the courage to ask our questions, voice our concerns and to do the work of grappling with ideas, so that, as we limp towards Christmas, may do so assured of your accompaniment and blessing.  Amen.  

Genesis 28: 1 – 19

Jacob left Beersheba and started toward Haran. At sunset he came to a holy place and camped there. He lay down to sleep, resting his head on a stone. He dreamed that he saw a stairway reaching from earth to heaven, with angels going up and coming down on it. And there was the Lord standing beside him. “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham and Isaac,” he said. “I will give to you and to your descendants this land on which you are lying. They will be as numerous as the specks of dust on the earth. They will extend their territory in all directions, and through you and your descendants I will bless all the nations. Remember, I will be with you and protect you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done all that I have promised you.”

Jacob woke up and said, “The Lord is here! He is in this place, and I didn't know it!” He was afraid and said, “What a terrifying place this is! It must be the house of God; it must be the gate that opens into heaven.”

Jacob got up early next morning, took the stone that was under his head, and set it up as a memorial. Then he poured olive oil on it to dedicate it to God. He named the place Bethel.

Picture

Today’s picture is a painting based on this story

Prayer

As our prayer tonight, we use the words of an old hymn inspired by this story…

O God of Bethel, by whose hand
your people still are fed;
who through this earthly pilgrimage
your people safely led;

Our vows, our prayers, we now present
before your gracious throne;
as you have been their faithful God,
so always be our own!

Through each perplexing path of life
our wandering footsteps guide;
give us today our daily bread,
and for our needs provide.

O spread your covering wings around
till all our wanderings cease;
and at our heavenly Father's home
we shall arrive in peace.
Amen

Some people think that the three visitors on this story are the archangels Gabriel, Raphael and Michael, but actually no one knows who they were…

Genesis 18: 1 – 10

The Lord appeared to Abraham at the sacred trees of Mamre. As Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day, he looked up and saw three men standing there. As soon as he saw them, he ran out to meet them. Bowing down with his face touching the ground, he said, “Sirs, please do not pass by my home without stopping; I am here to serve you. Let me bring some water for you to wash your feet; you can rest here beneath this tree. I will also bring a bit of food; it will give you strength to continue your journey. You have honoured me by coming to my home, so let me serve you.”

They replied, “Thank you; we accept.”

Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick, take a sack of your best flour, and bake some bread.” Then he ran to the herd and picked out a calf that was tender and fat, and gave it to a servant, who hurried to get it ready. He took some cream, some milk, and the meat, and set the food before the men. There under the tree he served them himself, and they ate.

Then they asked him, “Where is your wife Sarah?”

“She is there in the tent,” he answered.

One of them said, “Nine months from now I will come back, and your wife Sarah will have a son.”

Picture

There is a very famous icon based on this story by an icon painter called Rublev.  Our picture today is a modern version of that icon by an artist called meg Wroe.  It was painted for the Iona Community, and the three figures are a Methodist minister, a student volunteer and a visitor from Africa.

Prayer

The scriptures speak of ‘entertaining angels unawares’ and that might be what happened in this story.

God of Abraham and Sarah, we thank you for the stories of this elderly couple who followed your call to set out on an unchosen adventure.  We thank you for the way their story is very real – of hope and disappointment, of faith and doubt, even of dishonesty and disobedience, and yet you loved them so very dearly.  Help us to be open to the possible that people who come into our own lives unexpectedly might be, of us, your messengers of hope and encouragement.  Amen.

This morning people were invited to colour in tea-light holders shaped like angels (or at least as the way angels are often imagined).  For our prayers, we used tealights (albeit the fake LED ones as some people are anxious about flames) some of which were popped inside the angels.  Overall it seemed to go okay,

We are now a third of the way through Advent... it certainly whizzes by.

Isaiah 6: 1 - 8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. He was sitting on his throne, high and exalted, and his robe filled the whole Temple. Around him flaming creatures were standing, each of which had six wings. Each creature covered its face with two wings, and its body with two, and used the other two for flying. They were calling out to each other:

“Holy, holy, holy!
The Lord Almighty is holy!
His glory fills the world.”

The sound of their voices made the foundation of the Temple shake, and the Temple itself became filled with smoke.

I said, “There is no hope for me! I am doomed because every word that passes my lips is sinful, and I live among a people whose every word is sinful. And yet, with my own eyes I have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

Then one of the creatures flew down to me, carrying a burning coal that he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with the burning coal and said, “This has touched your lips, and now your guilt is gone, and your sins are forgiven.”

Then I heard the Lord say, “Whom shall I send? Who will be our messenger?”

I answered, “I will go! Send me!”

Picture

The photo today is of the Christmas lights in George Square, Glasgow taken in 2020 – the angels brought hope and joy in the darkness of winter and amidst the restrictions of the pandemic.

Prayer

Seraphim are the winged creatures that perhaps we most often imagine when we think of angels.  Their main role is the worship of God, so as our prayer tonight, we borrow words from the scriptures which may well be theirs:

Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests

Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honour
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!