Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me."

Sometimes faith is clear. We know what to do, we know where we are heading. It’s like finding buried treasure in a field, or a tiny little bit of yeast leavening a huge quantity of flour. But other times it is mysterious, dark, complex. It is more like wrestling with God than it is like doing science.

The lectionary passage for this week introduces us to one of the strangest stories in Scripture.

Every Tuesday evening we gather together to talk about what it means to be Jesus’ disciples in contemporary Melbourne. Sometimes that’s a Bible Study, sometimes something more thematic, and sometimes something more reflective.

We eat together at 7pm - bring your own dinner, or buy something from one of the many takeaway options on the street - and the “serious bit” begins at 8. We’re done by 9:15

Read more about how we meet on Tuesday evenings.

Image: Moyers, Mike. Israel, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt University Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://act.library.vanderbilt.edu/artworks/57141 [retrieved July 30, 2026]. Original source: Mike Moyers, https://www.mikemoyersfineart.com/.