Wrestling with God

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Memorial of St. Benedict, Abbot, 11 July 2023
Genesis 32:23-33   <*((((>< + ><))))*>   Matthew 9:32-38

Your words today, O God,
evoke of deep strength within us,
so powerful it can only come from
you to effect changes so radical,
shaking our very roots.

Jacob was left alone there. Then some man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. When the man saw that he could not prevail over him, he struck Jacob’s hip at its socket, so that the hip socket was wrenched as they wrestled. The man then said, “Let me go for it is daybreak.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go until you bless me.” The man asked, “What is your name?” He answered, “Jacob.” Then the man said you shall no longer be spoken of as Jacob, but as Israel because you have contented with divine and human beings and have prevailed.”

Genesis 32:25-29

What a beautiful image of Jacob
wrestling with you, O Lord,
and prevailing over you not because
he was stronger nor you were weaker;
Jacob had always been so determined in life
and with your grace, unknown to him, 
had always prevailed.
Very often, you do the same with us;
you invite us to wrestle with you
as our trainer to make us
stronger and more determined
and matured in prayers,
in openness,
in oneness and unity in you.

In the gospel, O God,
you have shown us in Jesus Christ
the same inner strength
when his heart was moved with pity
upon seeing the crowds who were
abandoned and troubled 
like sheep without a shepherd (Mt.9:36);
it was more than a feeling,
a determination within Jesus
who had come to save us from sins
and bring us to fulfillment in him;
grant us the same grace,
to be moved with pity,
or literally, to stir our hearts
into concrete actions for 
those lost and troubled.

Like St. Benedict whose feast
we celebrate today,
grant us the patience and perseverance
to draw that inner strength from you,
to wrestle with you in prayers,
to wrestle with the Sacred Scriptures
to hear you speak to us,
to wrestle with one's self to be still
and silent amid the world so wild
and noisy;
Jacob, Jesus, and Benedict
all were stirred deep within,
shaken to their very roots,
have all prevailed
in making this a better world
through ora et labora.
Amen.