Jacob . . . is the patron saint of all who dread vulnerability. He spent most of his life plotting and scheming and conniving to become untouchable. Like so many of us today, Jacob panicked at the thought of insecurity and fancied he could protect himself against it by grabbing as much power as he could lay his hands on.
What Jacob learned that terrible night on the Jabbok is what we're being called to learn for ourselves today: that wounds, painful as they are, can also bring blessings — that, indeed, the two are frequently identical. What Jacob learned is the great mystery that the cross taught later generations: insecurity, vulnerability, living and dying on the margins, out on the open, unprotected plains, are all opportunities for blessings if we but allow them to speak to our heart and transform us.