Once upon a time, long ago, and far away there was a man.
He’d been following the intimate way for many years. Eventually this led him on a pilgrimage. On that journey he encountered many teachers, and experienced things that captured his heart and redirected it from what he had long thought was true.
Finally he was living in the desert, making his living by weaving baskets out of reeds, and selling them to passersby on the road between two great cities. He prayed and worked, and throughout he tried to pay attention. He noticed his body. It’s discomforts. It’s small pleasures. He noticed the heat and the dryness. He heard distant birds and other animals. At night he contemplated the starry sky.
Always, always, he tried to be present.
One night he dreamed a dream.
A stranger entered into his hut and grabbed him by the arm. They began to wrestle. He couldn’t understand what was happening, but he knew it had something to do with life and with death. There was nothing more important. So, he threw himself into the struggle with all the energy he had.
At some point the stranger put his knee into the man’s hip and disjointed it. The pain was excruciating. He felt like stars were exploding. But, he continued to struggle.
Finally as day light began to pour through the open doorway of his hut, the stranger said, “It’s now morning. Let me go.”
Not knowing what this was supposed to mean, but also sensing that something to do with life and death was now birthing into the moment, the man replied, “I will not release you unless you give me your blessing.” After he said this, he realized he had no idea where the question had come from.
The stranger said in a husky voice, obviously tired from the night’s struggle, “What’s your name?”
The man replied, “My name is Supplanter.” He felt a wave of shame, knowing his name came from his aggressive nature, and his desire to take the first place.
The stranger replied, “This is no longer your name. You are now “Wrestles with God.”
This sent a current of fear through the man’s body. And shivering despite the morning heat Wrestles with God responded, “So, what is your name?” Although in his heart he had a sense he knew. The starry sky, the desert, the calling of distant birds, the smell of heat and sweat. And he shivered.
The stranger laughed and said, “Why do you want to know?” And then gave Wrestles with God a blessing.
The world opened up. That sky. That desert. The distant birds. The smells. All were open. All gates to walk through. And all had been walked through since before the birthing of the first dream.
The man and the stranger let go of each other and the stranger walked out the door into the dawn.
Later Wrestles with God called that spot, “Encountering the Intimate.”
And for the rest of his days he walked with a limp.
Genesis 32:24-31
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