Thought for the day – Friday 5 June

Dear All

To the great relief of many, some sports have been given the ‘green light’ to resume, albeit under the tiresome phrase ‘social distancing’. It is a necessary requirement of course, and for some sports, it might not make that much difference to the participants. For spectators, though it’s quite a different matter but in time things will, I believe, get back to something resembling normal.

On the sporting theme, most boys of my age were used to watching wrestling on TV on a Saturday afternoon and we all had our favourite stars. Some names that I recall from then, are Mick McManus, Adrian Street, Les Kellet, Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy, there were many others. We used to think they were terrific. Looking back though, they looked more like overweight Grandads squeezed into very tight swimming trunks with big overhanging bellies. They had a kind of ‘Benidorm look’ from a crowded beach. Some of them did anyway.

In the Nineties there appeared on TV, the American version of wrestling. It was called the WWF, that outdid the ‘British town hall in black and white version’, by a long stretch. Sometimes in the town hall, usually, you would see frustrated old Grannies who would batter with their umbrellas any unfortunate ‘combatant’ who happened to get tossed out the ring. It was great fun for us to watch, it really was! I guess the ‘grannies’ were in their minds, knocking seven bells out of their imaginary husbands. ‘Take that!! you lousy, lazy rascal’, maybe a bit like Flo and Andi Capp.

(Why are rings called rings when they are square, never figured that out yet?)

Anyway, the WWF TV presentation was much more glamorous and slick and had a huge global audience. I only know this because my sons used to watch the wrestling. One of their favourite stars was called the ‘Undertaker’ along with many other spectacular wrestling heroes. The wrestling was, in fact, more of a show and a very spectacular one at that.

Real wrestling however different, it is a proper sport that has existed for thousands of years and ancient bouts have been depicted in writings, pottery, and paintings for example in various parts of the world. Wrestling is also an Olympic sport but not very exciting to watch in my view. It’s certainly no ‘show’.

Today we encounter a fight in the book of Genesis and the contestants are Jacob and a mysterious figure. We read of the bout going on all night without either scoring an outright victory. Jacob, however, sustained a hip injury that for Jews to this day has dietary significance in the same way as not eating pork does. What was the fight about?

Jacob was a bit of a trickster, the modern term for supplanter. Anyone with a name like mine, ‘James’, won’t be pleased to know that’s what their name means. Followers of King James were known as Jacobites and again you can see the connection. Jacob, James and Jacobites.

Anyhow Jacob was not a nice guy it seems but he was a determined character and didn’t ‘give in’ in his contest. The result of this battle tells us something about the name ‘Israel’ and the name Peniel that you might want to research for yourself. It was a very significant wrestling match.

Jacob was a cheat, he had dreams and now he is in a wrestling match. I like to think of this wrestling with God in terms of ‘conscience’. It may, however, have other significance. In considering this passage I ask do we not all wrestle in our thoughts.? Do we not fight imaginary opponents? I think we do. We wrestle too when we have decisions to make and lie awake all night pondering the possible options and outcomes.

With that in mind we should remember that much of the bible is better understood in terms of stories and moral teachings and some of the content is historical too. Learning which is what helps us in our understanding of God and our dealings with one another. The bible is the word of God and in prayerfully reading it we live and learn and learn to live.

Today I ask you to think meditate on these things

God bless you!

Jim
JBoag@churchofscotland.org.uk

That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 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. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, 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.

So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day, the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.