The Face of God

"For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably." Genesis 33:10

The Face of God!
By Rev. William Dohle

"How good it is," the psalmist says. "When brothers live together in unity! It is like oil poured on the head, running down Aaron's bead, down upon the collar of his robes."(Psalm 133:1-2) How true this psalm is! How wonderful it is when everyone is getting along, when all are living in unity. How good it is when brothers and sisters together live at peace with one another.

Of course that doesn't always happen that way. Be with the same people for any length of time and you will quickly find offenses stacking up. Brothers do not live together in unity. Brothers and sisters fight! Arguments arise over the stupidest thing. Mistakes are made. Feelings hurt. Friendships betrayed. Lives fall apart.

"How good it is when brothers live together in unity!"... Seems like a dream. A hope. A wish. Not something real or attainable, but something that we can only hope for.

If only... That's what Jacob must have thought too as he faced his brother across the field that day. Before him stood his brother with over four hundred men behind him. Behind Jacob, was his family and his children and everything he owned in carts behind him.

Can you imagine what Jacob must have been thinking?

Jacob probably remembered the time he tricked his brother out of his inheritance. How stupid that was! Or the time when he let his mother help him rob his brother of his father's blessing. That wasn't too smart either.

His mistakes were running through his mind. As were his brother's final words to him. "The days of mounring for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob."(Gen. 27:41)

No wonder Jacob was afraid.
But something had happened between them. God had intervened. The Holy Spirit had touched Esau's heart. Time had healed the wound. And when Esau saw Jacob cowering before him, "He ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept."

That is forgiveness, my friends. True, pure, and holy forgiveness.

Notice what Esau didn't require. He didn't require an apology. He didn't stand back and demand Jacob recount all his foul deeds. He didn't make him promise not to ever do anything like that again. That's not forgiveness!

He didn't remind Jacob of what he did. He didn't dredge up the past, point fingers at him, make him take the blame. That's not forgiveness either.

And finally, Esau cares more about his brother and their relationship than about any petty wrong done to him. Jacob seems to have a harder time getting over it than Esau does. Jacob keeps calling Esau "my lord" while Esau calls him "my brother." Clearly Esau cares about getting his brother back more than holding Jacob's feet to the fire.

That is why Jacob says: "Seeing you is like seeing God!" For in forgiving Jacob as he did, Esau mirrored to him the love of God! Jacob had just seen God wrestling with him that night. He names the place Peniel saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared." And now, here in his brother, Jacob sees him in the flesh. The face of his brother has become the face of God!

How wonderful it would be if we did the same! How marvelous our churches would be if we forgave people as Esau forgave Jacob. How awesome it would be if we cared more about our relationship with them than about any sort of justice against them.

For we too have already experienced this forgiveness.  This is how Christ Jesus forgives us. Out of the goodness of his heart, caring for our relationship, he forgives us for things we ourselves have forgotten. And he never brings up the past. Instead, like the Prodical Father, he throws his arms wide and runs out to meet us where we are.


How good it would be if we, brothers and sisters in Christ, lived together like this, forgiven and restored, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, caring more about each other than about the offenses we have against each other. May Christ help us live forgiven, renewed, and restored in relationship with each other just as he forgives, restores, and renews us! 

God of Esau, thank you for the forgiveness he gave his brother, Jacob, so long ago. Inspire in us your forgiveness that, when others offend us, we may respond with grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A New Name

The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.
Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[f] because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”
But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

A New Name
By Rev. William Dohle

There's a joy in naming something. People are personal. Animals are special. Even places take on a different meaning when you know their names.

Growing up, I've had more than my share of naming experiences. Mostly for animals. And the animals I've cared for and named have been many and varied. I've had Justin the rat, Kali the cat, Merlin the cat, Arkay the parakeet, Lacey the parakeet, Violet the turtle, Samson the turtle, Tamar the Turtle, and Delilah the turtle, Sunny, Stormy, and Sunny the parakeets, and the list goes on. And of those animals, I've personally named about half of them.

Naming an animal is almost as involved as naming a child. Care must be taken so that the name you give the animal somehow reflects their personality. Animals should have nice names...nothing too complicated. And no name that's going to signal danger(like "killer") before you really get to know him.

Naming an animal...or a person...is important because names mean something. Each of our names carry with it a different meaning, known or unknown, which some say reflects our personality too. We like the animals we care for are shaped by the names we've been given.

As Jacob was too.

After Jacob wrestled with God, God asked Jacob what his name was. Strange, you might think, doesn't God KNOW who Jacob is. But God wasn't asking for his name, he was asking Jacob about who he is. The name Jacob means "deceiver." So when Jacob says: "I'm Jacob"... He's actually telling God... "I'm the deceiver! That's me! I deceived by brother, my father, and my father-in-law. I'm that good-for-nothing son my father thought I was."

Only God doesn't accept Jacob's name. Instead he gives him a new one!

"Your name will no longer be Deceiver(Jacob) but Israel..."

Israel! What a name. Literally it means "God Strives." Now, Jacob is given a name that reflects, not his actions, but God's. He will no longer be called "Jacob the Deceiver" but "God Strives, God Wrestles, God Fights, God overcomes!" He's being called...by God's name!

We too have been given a new name in the waters of Baptism. Here God calls us by our new name "Child of God." It's not a secret name. There are no secret handshakes, hidden names, or whispered commands in the kingdom as some think. No, the name that God calls you by is the one he's called all his children by. The one he called Jesus by.

"You are my son, the Beloved!" God says. That's the name he's given you too. Beloved! You are God's son, through Baptism. Baptized into Christ's death, you have been raised with him in new life and YOU are God's son! That's your name!

So the next time you're feeling down about who YOU are...as Jacob was when he wrestled with God. Do this: Go into the bathroom, turn on the water, place your hand under the water, and touch your forehead. Then say to yourself in the mirror: "You are my child, the Beloved! You have been baptized into Christ! That's who you are! Now...live in that life!"

Heavenly Father, you have called us by a new name, as you called Jacob so long ago. Remind us of the love we have with you in baptism. Call us by a new name and give us hope for all of life's journey, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Ready to Wrestle...with God?

"So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak." Genesis 32:24

Ready to Wrestle...With God?
By Rev. William Dohle

My boys have come to the age I have dreaded now. Beyond the age of innocent crying. Through the age of getting into everything. They have reached the age of wrestling!

I wish it were not true. But just the other day I found them on the floor, wrestling around. One with the other's foot in his hand. The other with the other's arm. Both in the classic amateur wrestling pose that raises the octave parents speak two or three times.

I hear it's normal...especially for boys...for wrestling matches to occur between siblings. I hear it's something that happens in other households too.

But why? I mean...why wrestle? What do they hope to accomplish or achieve? What victory comes to the victor? Why get in that terrible position in the first place?

My boys haven't been able to answer the question...so I turned to the internet. There I found a poem titled: "Why Wrestle?" Here's what it had to say...

Wrestling prepares a person to fight the game of life.
The wrester is the one athlete that must meet his opponent and do battle completely on his own; No one can substitute, no time outs are possible.
He has no one to check, screen, block, or assist him in any way;
There is no one to blame for his mistakes. When he wins, he must show quiet pride and modesty. When he loses, the responsibility is his.
Wrestling is a true sport.
In other sports, when contact is made, they blow the whistle to stop the action;
In wrestling, when contact is made, we're just getting started.
No other sport requires more sacrifice then wrestling.
Individual, through self-denied, offers more of his character than can ever be explained.
Through every trial, test, and tribulation.

Wrestling, though, isn't confined to sports...or to little boys out to prove something to their siblings. Wrestling happens in faith too. There, in the ring of life, we face off against our opponent. An opponent that happens to be God!

We circle each other, much like Jacob circled God early that morning. And then we pounce.

"Why God? Why did that happen to me? What were you meaning for me to do or be?" we cry as we jump on God's back.

God doesn't respond.

"Why haven't you blessed me as I thought you should? Why are good times so fleeting and hard times so hard to get over?"

And God falls to the ground.

"And why haven't you done anything with all the trouble and violence and war and pain in the world? Why have you just sat back and watched it happen?"

And God's slips on the mat.

"If you planned all this...what sort of God are you that would plan to have so many terrible things occur? And if you didn't plan all this...when did you give up your power?"

And God is pinned.

But just as it seems like God is defeated...God touches the socket of our hip, reminding us of our mortality. Reminding us that we are his creations.

We wrestle more until daybreak, with neither side taking the advantage.

And thus we end the wrestling match...in a stale mate. With neither side winning.

That's how Jacob's wrestling match went that night. Neither he nor God prevailed. The Bible tells us: "When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man."(Gen. 32:25).

God wasn't winning the match...but neither would Jacob.

And so we come to our own stalemate with God, with neither of us winning against the other. Our accusations are valid. God doesn't deny them. But we are creatures in His Creation...a Creation we cannot possibly understand.

The wrestling match might end badly...until God reaches out across the circle, grabs us by the arm, gives us a big bear hug, and tells us "nice job!" Then he blesses us at daybreak and sends us on our way. Our faith...renewed. Our life...restored. We emerge from the wrestling match different people, changed and transformed by a God who is willing to lose in order to win us back.

So... what have you been wrestling with God over? And how's your match going?

God of daybreak, you come to us in the evenings of our lives as we sit, wrestling with our faith in you. Stay with us through the dark and the light that we might see your face in the Morning, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Dreaded Confrontation

"Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children." Genesis 32:11

The Dreaded Confrontation
By Rev. William Dohle

They had come. The one I dreaded.

As if on cue, my pulse raced. My head spun. Butterflies made their home in my stomach. My chest ached. Beads of sweat ran down my forehead to my chest.

I tried to look calm and act like I knew what I was doing. But it was no use. My attention was elsewhere. It was on the one I disagreed with. The one with whom I had fought.

No one ever tells the price you pay for arguing. No one ever says: "Don't even open your mouth. If you don't want stress every time they enter the room, just don't do it! Don't do it!"

Of course sometimes you can't help being at odds with someone. Sometimes they cause the problem.

But most times its also your fault. And you know it. Why else would those butterflies in your stomach be flying around as they are? Why else would you be so worried?

Personal conflicts happen to all of us. Arguments arise between us and someone at work, us and someone at church, us and our pastor, our teacher, or someone else in our lives.

Most times these conflicts are handled easily enough....we avoid them. We move them outside our world and exclude them, pretending they don't exist. Sometimes at our best, we may forgive them and find some way to work through our conflict.

But these conflicts are easy compared to others.

Imagine having such a conflict with a family member. A brother...a sister...a father or a mother...a grandson or some other family member. Then the stress doubles, or triples. Others we can avoid or exclude from our lives, but families really are bound together forever. Brothers are brothers, whether they love each other or not. Children do not choose their parents, nor parents their children. Like it or not, family members remain with us forever.

That is the situation Jacob found himself in as he heard word his brother Esau, the same one he had betrayed not once, but twice, was on his way to "visit" him. These were the feelings Jacob had when he heard that Esau was bringing four hundred men with him to the meeting.

"Why would he need so many," you can almost hear Jacob asking.

Desperate, Jacob prays to God, reminding God of his promise to Abraham and Isaac, and pleading with him: "Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children."

We can relate with Jacob. Not because an army of four hundred men are coming with our estranged brother, but because we too have experienced the hurt of estrangement from our family. We all have brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews and cousins that we do not get along with. Though we are connected by family, we are set apart because of something in our lives.

If you find yourself in that situation, take the time NOW to do something about it! Be the bigger man or woman and apologize. Take that first initiative and go to the relative that you disagree with. Go there under a banner of peace. Find something else to speak about, something other than your disagreement.

Take the advice of Paul to heart. "As far as it depends on you, live at peace with one another."

And PRAY! Pray for your estranged relative that God would give you both the strength to come together. To apologize. Pray that God will help you as you meet together. And pray for his peace.

In the midst of his stomach butterflies, God answered Jacob's prayer. And He will answer yours.

Heavenly Father, give me the strength and courage to reach out to those who I have disagreements with and apologize. Give me grace to forgive and be forgiven, through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.