Advent 4B Series: "From Humbug to Hallelujah!"

How do you want to be remembered?

I’m going to tell you what you already know. You WILL die one day. There’s no escaping that fact. One day you WILL be put into the ground and dirt WILL be thrown on your face. There WILL be a day when tomorrow won’t come.

And when they put you in the grave, what will people then say about you? How will those you love describe your life? What words will the community use to describe your contribution? What will the obituary in the paper include? What stories will be told?

Will your life be a story of inspiration or a cautionary tale? Will the preacher lift you up as an example to follow or as a warning to heed?

As a pastor, I’ve presided over hundreds of funerals. And, to be honest, funerals are one of the most rewarding parts of my job. People are often surprised when I say that. But it’s true.

I find funerals rewarding because they remind me what a gift life is. Funerals are the only time when we stop and reflect on our mortality. My guess is that 99.99% of the people attending a funeral, at one point in the service, picture themselves in the casket.

I consider it an honour and a privilege to preside over burials, to facilitate sacred good-byes, to preach good news to hurting people, and to lead the congregation in prayers of thanksgiving for the person’s life. 



Who else but the preacher is allowed to be present at life’s most important moment, where a lifetime of memories and experiences are gathered together in a moment of grief and celebration. Where else, but at a funeral, does the rubber of life hit death’s road?

Funerals are a confrontation with our own finitude, where we come face to face with the fact that one day we will close our eyes and never open them again. Which is why I’m glad to preside at them. No other question is greater in peoples’ minds than the one of death. What happens after our bodies shut down? What will happen to ME when the inevitable arrives?

Those of us who call ourselves Christians trust that we will - somehow - live on after we’ve died.

Others believe that this is the only chance we get at existing, and that after our heart stops and brain functions shut down, we’re done. Finished. We’re maggot feed.

But whether you have faith that there is a life after this one, or if you believe that this life is the only one we have, death marks an end, a period after a sentence. After which people will begin to add up your life.

Funerals help us reflect on what happens after we die. And more importantly, funerals help us explore what happens BEFORE we die.

What did you do on this planet while you had the chance? What did you build? Whom did you love? Who loved you? Did you contribute something or did you simply take up space? How is this world different because you walked on it?

Those were the questions Scrooge found himself asking as the spirit of the Christmases yet to come showed him how he will be remembered after he died, if he continued on his path of cruelty and selfishness.

No good word was said about him. Servants stealing from him as he lay dead without a thought to the dignity of his body. Joyous relief at being liberated from his financial stranglehold. No one shed the smallest tear at this man’s passing.

And when Scrooge found himself face-to-face with his death, he saw his life through other people’s eyes. He saw the futility of a life ruled by the ledger. He saw the waste of relationships left to disintegrate due to his selfishness. He saw the missed opportunities to love. He saw that the way he protected his wealth only made everyone else hate him. He could see that his life was a devastating failure.

Let’s watch....

[SHOW MOVIE CLIP]

It was at that moment of rock bottom futility and failure, that his past, present, and future converged, challenging his life of frivolous wealth acquisition, that he sees clearly that his life could be so much more, and so he cries out in panic,



“Spirit! Hear me! I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this [visitation]. Why show me this if I am past hope? ...Assure me that I yet may change these shadows you have shown me, by an altered life!”

An “altered” life. 

In Christian term we’d call that “repentance.” “Repentance” isn’t just turning away from sin. It’s a chance to re-write the story of your life if you don’t like where the story is headed. It’s God speaking into your life when some wholesale revisions need to be made.


What is God saying to you? How is your story being written? What ending are you headed towards? What needs to be re-written? If you could write your own ending what would it be? What can we learn from your life?

The good news of Christmas is that God does change the ending. God re-writes our story. When the story we’ve written on our own takes a turn away from the ending that God wants, God takes out a pen and re-writes it. 



When the characters take over and create an ending we don’t expect, God steps in and and moves the story back to where God intends. When your story gets stuck in a humbug, God turns that humbug into a hallelujah!

When your humbugs of loss and defeat leave you flat on your back, God lifts you up with the hallelujah of healing and triumph!

When the humbugs of loneliness and grief keep you spinning in a cycle of despair, God breaks the circle of heartbreak with a hallelujah of friendship and comfort!

When the humbugs of lostness keep you disoriented, and you don’t know which way to turn and you find yourself alone in the dark, God finds you and leads you back to the hallelujah of home!

When the humbugs of fear and insecurity keep you from being your best self and living your most authentic life, God gives you an hallelujah of courage so you can face with confidence anything that life throws at you!

When the humbug of death hovers over you, and you worry about what comes next, God declares the hallelujah of resurrection!

Your story is still being written, but not just by you, but by the Author of LIfe. God’s Living Word is speaking your destiny into being, God’s Word is being made flesh in YOU and YOUR life, since you bear God’s name. 

You are God’s child! You are a follower of the King of kings! You are a citizen of heaven!  You are becoming the the person God has created you to be because God is doing a great work in you! God is telling a story of healing and redemption in YOUR life!

And the ending of that story is always the beginning of another. Another chance to start again. Another fresh start. Another entry way into a new life. Another opportunity to revive what was sleeping. The grace of an altered life.

The Christmas story isn’t just the tale of a miraculous birth of a divine king to an innocent young woman, but the Christmas story is a reminder that you have the power - God’s power - to transform your humbug story to a triumphant tale of Hallelujah! 



The Christmas story tells us that the God revealed in Jesus Christ has shared our brokenness, so that we can share God’s strength. 



The Christmas story declares that the God revealed in Jesus Christ has immersed himself into deepest human defeat, and rose victorious over the powers that would destroy us.

And you have that same power. In baptism, when you were joined to Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection, God has give YOU that renewing power. YOU have the power over anything that seeks to destroy you.

You have the power to live the life that God wants for you.

You have the power to reverse any defeat.

You have the power to reach out in kindness.

You have the power to be generous with your care.

You have the power to live your best self, rising when you fall, healing when you break, transforming your wounds into wins, loving the way God loves. 



Forgiving those who hurt you. Comforting those who grieve. Converting hurts into compassion.



Using the gifts, skills, and talents that God has given you, getting your hands dirty in service to Christ’s church and for the good of others, so that you can bless the world with your unique brilliance!

You have the power to live Jesus’ risen life!

So that all the groaning humbugs of our lives and the world will be transformed into a triumphant song of Hallelujah!

May this be so among us! Amen!

Sermon: Epiphany 7A

So this isn’t just some hippy-dippy, airy-fairy, idea that sounds good on paper, and preaches well in a sermon. 

But these tools have been used in real-world, flesh-and-blood, life-and death situations, and have brought freedom to oppressed people.

While Jesus doesn’t provide a solution to every oppressive encounter, he’s pretty clear about what it means to be different.

When the world lashes out in anger, you respond in love. When others demean you, you have creative solutions to maintain your dignity.

You will not let other peoples’ destructive behaviour turn you into your enemies. You will not become who THEY are.

Your behaviour will be different because you ARE different. You are God’s holy temple, whose foundation is God’s grace in Christ Jesus.

You are a people of mercy and love. You are a people of peace and justice. You are a people of forgiveness and freedom.

You are a people chosen to be set apart to be a light to the world. Your lives bear witness to the love God has for the everyone and everything.

You are a resurrection people whose eyes are fixed on God’s new horizon, where all sorrow, pain, and suffering is transformed into abundant life for all.

You are perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Or to perhaps the best translation is, you are...(complete post here)

Sermon: Pentecost 17C

It’s no wonder why so many people are turned off by Christianity, when there’s so many negative voices dominating religious discourse. 

When I encounter an atheist, or agnostic, or someone who simply walked away from Christianity, I usually encounter someone who’s been hurt by Christians. And I hear all sorts of stories of Christians behaving badly.

I hear stories about the mean Sunday School teacher who scolded them for asking uncomfortable questions about the creation story, saying questions reveal doubt and that doubt is a sin.

I hear stories about the angry preacher who condemned them for walking away from an abusive marriage, because, they say, divorce is a sin.

I hear stories about the overly pious aunt who said that science was from the pit of Hell when they told her they were studying biology at school.

And when they drive past churches, they don’t see places where God’s people dwell. They don’t see places where they feel they can walk through the door without wearing spiritual body armour. 

They see places where they have to become someone they know they aren’t nor who they want to be, before they can even start looking for a parking spot...(whole thing here)

UPDATE: Link added.

Sermon: Christmas 1C

...what if you were Mary or Joseph? What would you have done when you finally caught up with Jesus and found him lecturing the finest religious minds of your generation about the intricacies of the Almighty?

While I’m sure that Mary and Joseph were used to strange things happening since this boy came into their lives. I also think they wondered what their jobs as parents were.

How do they guide a child into adulthood who has God’s wisdom living inside of him? How do they prepare him for a future that is so different from anyone else’s and nothing like they’d ever seen?

The story says that “When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” Jesus said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

I’m sure that their frustration was aimed both at this runaway kid and at their own feelings of inadequacy as parents. And while they were relieved to have him back, they probably looked at what was happening at the Temple and quietly asked each other, “What do we do now? Where do we go from here?”

And what kind of glib answer was that that Jesus gave his frantic parents? “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

How would you have answered that question? It’s not as clear an answer as it first appears.

Yes, he was...(whole thing here)

Sermon: Reformation Sunday

(NB: You can listen to the sermon by clicking here)

If someone asked you what a Lutheran was, how would you respond?

I ask that question to most of the congregations for whom I’ve been a pastor, they looked as blankly then as you do this morning.

For most of us, that’s a tough question to answer. Lutheranism has such a rich and diverse tradition. But it’s also very specific. How do you sum up a whole faith history in a few words?

Those of us initiated in the deeper workings of the Lutheran theological tradition would throw around weighty words such as “justification” and “sanctification” before lapsing into Latin spewing phrases such “sola fide” “sola gratia” “sola scriptura;” high sounding words to explain what is really a tremendously personal faith. “Why,” ask Lutherans, “would you use a 50 cent word when a $100 word will do just as well?

Others, more narratively minded, will tell the story of Martin Luther, from whom we derive our name “Lutheran.”

You’d mention his beginnings as a law student, before being caught in a thunderstorm, and thinking he’s going to die, he cut a deal with St. Anne that if she helps him survive the storm, he’ll devote his life to God and become a monk.

She did. And he...(whole thing here [link fixed: kgp)

Sermon: Pentecost 18B

(NB: You listen to the sermon by clicking here)

It’s the kind of headline that boils your blood. Perhaps you saw it. “Parents Get Probation for the Negligent Homicide Death of the Their Son.”

According to the Huffington Post.

“An Oregon couple whose teenaged son died from a burst appendix because they don't believe in modern medicine accepted a plea deal to avoid jail.

“Last December, Austin Sprout became sick with flu-like symptoms. Instead of taking the 16 year old to a doctor, his mother and stepfather chose to pray for his recovery.

“In exchange to pleading guilty on Tuesday to negligent homicide, ‘faith healers’ Russel and Brandi Bellew will be on probation for five years...”

While we rightly look aghast at such abusive parenting, they might turn around and ask us if we believe the promises of scripture, or do we not? After all, they believed that they were following the bible’s guidance.

And the passage that they were following happens to be our second reading for this morning in the Letter of James:

“...are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. 14Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.”

Sounds good doesn’t it? And it is a passage we take seriously because we pray for the sick and the suffering every time we gather. And when I visit people in the hospital, it’s not uncommon for me to take a little jar of olive oil with me so I can anoint the poor soul in the bed. It’s an ancient ritual that began with the people of Israel and adopted by the early church. Olive oil was seen as the lifeblood of society, and therefore a symbol of God’s blessing, and the promise that God will provide all our needs.

But, of course, the fact that I am praying in the hospital - the very heart of modern medicine - puts me at odds with those who would deny the value of doctors and nurses in peoples’ healing.

You’re probably wondering why I’m bringing this up. After all, we’re not a church that denies the power of modern medicine in favour of prayer. I think I’m safe in saying that all of you take your family members to the hospital should they break a bone, come down with a nasty fever, or burst their appendix. At least I HOPE that would be the case...

But I bring this up because...(whole thing here)

Sermon: Epiphany 3B

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

Repentance. I think the Christian proclamation has twisted this word into so many knots that it would be unrecognizable to Jesus’ first listeners. And now, the mere utterance of that word evokes strong feelings of shame. At least it does for me.

“Repent!” we hear preachers say. And what they usually mean is “Stop sinning! Change those parts of your life that is putting you in conflict with God. Cut out those impure thoughts and actions and turn to the purity of God’s will. If you want to be close to God then you have to remove anything that gets in the way with your relationship with God.”

I heard that a lot from too many preachers. For me, when I hear that, and if it`s true, I always wonder if I have repented enough. I always worry that there’s something that I’ve missed, that there might be a spiritual blind spot that is keeping me from growing in my faith.

Luckily, in an old prayer of confession, there’s an escape clause. The prayer confesses those sins “known and unknown.” 

However, while we may be forgiven of those unknown sins with a linguistic sleight-of-hand, practically, we are no better off because we cannot change that which we do not know that we SHOULD change. If being close to God and greeting the kingdom when it arrives is dependent on something that I do, than I’m not sure that really sounds like good news. 

As Christians, we tend to...(whole thing here)

Sermon: Epiphany 2B

New Years day was quite an education for me. I was told that Japanese people are not religious, yet they pray at the shrine. And from the lineups I saw at the various shrines in the area, I could see what people meant.

I would say that makes Japanese people VERY religious. At least in practice if not in belief. It seems that in such a highly ritualized culture, the act of praying at the shrine is a quite a religious thing to do, even if folks sometimes do so out of ritual or simple tradition.

Tokyo is this amazing city where I can walk through blocks and blocks of highly modern landscape, with its massive steel and glass buildings, and stunning architecture. Then I encounter - out of nowhere - a small Buddhist temple. And someone might be praying there. And down the block I’ll stumble upon a Shinto shine, reminding people of the city’s deep history.

And of course, on my way to the office I walk through the Yasukuni Shrine, where there is, often, a crowd gathering. And knowing its complicated history, and the strong feelings it arouses, I make my way as quickly as I can when the young men in black shirts and sunglasses start shouting into their microphones.

Religion is everywhere here. Yearnings for the sacred are found on every city block.

This wouldn’t have been news to the Christians in Corinth. The Corinthian Christians knew shrines, and they knew temples. They knew that temples and shrines were places where gods and goddesses lived.

Temples were expensive to build and even worse to maintain. Temples were sacred, holy, awe-inspiring places. They were places people went to celebrate life’s special events, those transitional moments that helped them along life’s journey. If they wanted to find the Holy, they went to the shrine and the temple.

So they were probably surprised when Paul asked them..(whole thing here)

Sermon: Baptism of Jesus

As it turns out, Jesus wasn’t the only one being called into a new life that day in those waters. God was calling them into the same life that Jesus was called into. Baptism isn’t just a ritual that we perform as an entry way into the church family. And baptism isn’t just a one-off salvation ticket.

Baptism is about being recruited - drafted - into a movement. In baptism, we are joined to Jesus’ death and resurrection, so we can live resurrection lives in a world so often more interested in death. 

Baptism is about...(whole thing here)

Sermon: Christmas 1B

I rang the doorbell and a young woman answered.

“Hello I’m Pastor Kevin,” I said.

She let me in and we sat down on the couch. The baby was asleep in the crib by the window.

I got straight to the point.

“So, why a baptism?” I asked.

“Well, I think it’s important to have God in my child’s life,” she said.

“What’s the baby’s name?” I asked looking over the crib.

She muttered something I didn’t recognize.

“That’s an interesting name, “ I said. “What’s the story behind that? Is it a family name?” I asked because I hadn’t heard that name before.

“No, it’s not a family name,” she answered.

“Do you know what it means?” I asked.

“No, it doesn’t have any meaning. It’s just...(whole thing here) 

Sermon: Advent 3B

To prepare for my ministry with and among you I read a series of books on small churches, and how they’re different from large churches. Many of the authors noted that many small churches function like they’re large churches. Especially if they’re part of a denomination that requires them to have certain core programming. They rightly note that when small churches mimic the programming, staffing, and worship of larger churches, resources are stressed to the snapping point. Members burn out. Bank accounts get emptied. And morale plummets.

And that’s true.

So, one guy - a small church pastor - in an effort to combat this phenomenon used a...(whole thing here)

Sermon: All Saints Sunday

First. Class. Doormat. That’s what I said to myself as a little boy and heard this passage from Matthew for the first time.

And I’m not alone. American civil rights activist, Malcolm X once noted that oppressed people will continue to be oppressed if they follow this teaching. And US comedian Bill Maher likes to make fun of this “crazy” teaching that sets people up for abuse.

Those of us who’ve been around the church for a while might find Malcolm’s and Bill’s comments offensive. After all, they’re the words of Jesus, and their sharp edge might have dulled in our ears from years of hearing them.

But to fresh ears, Jesus’ words can sound astonishingly naive. Or even dangerous to our well being.

Blessed our the poor in spirit....blessed are those who mourn...blessed are the meek, the merciful, the peacemaker, and the persecuted.

Most of these are parts of ourselves that we’d rather keep hidden, aren’t they? These are human attributes that we’re trying to avoid. We don’t want to be on the same city block of mourning, or of meekness, or even of peacemaking.

We spend more time and energy trying to look strong. We put on brave faces to share with others, so we won’t look weak.

And this week, I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out why these readings have been assigned to All Saints Sunday.

To me it seems that we’re being asked to...(whole thing here)

Sermon: Pentecost 17A/Thanksgiving

I have a confession to make: I find preaching on Paul’s Letter to the Philippians really hard. It’s not that there no content to work with. Like all of Paul’s letters, this letter is overflowing with wisdom. And it’s not as if I have trouble understanding what Paul is trying to say, although, I do gain more insight his message every time I read it.

It’s just that Paul seems to be writing with a perpetual smile on his face. He seems abnormally happy. Which is particularly jarring given his circumstances. He’s sitting in jail knowing that, at any time, the cell door could open, and he’d be taken away to die an excruciating death.

But he sounds almost giddy in this letter. Which I find unsettling. I don’t know if I’d be in such a good mood where I in his position. I don’t know from where I’d summon the strength to get through the day, much less write a hope-filled letter to a struggling church that I just founded.

Of course, we can say that...(whole thing here)

Sermon: Pentecost 16A

One of the things they tell us in preaching class is to NOT use ourselves as positive examples of gospel living. The preacher should never be the spiritual superstar in the sermon.

It’s arrogant. It assumes that the preacher is on a higher spiritual plane than the listener. It suggests that its the preacher’s behaviour the listener is supposed to model rather than Christ’s.

It puts the preacher in the centre of the sermon, rather than God. And the pulpit is not the place to show off the preacher’s spiritual prowess.

Paul would have failed that class. He wouldn’t have listened to instructions. He’s not afraid to plop himself down right in the middle of his proclamation. He inserts himself into a story that he did not create.

Just look at...(whole thing here)

Sermon: Pentecost 15A

An article, by American preacher Lillian Daniel has been circulating widely among religious professionals. In fact I think half my clergy friends on Facebook and Twitter provided a link to it because it speaks to a common frustration among church folks.

The article has the provocative title “Spiritual But Not Religious? Please Stop Boring Me.” In it she takes on those who create their own spirituality on their own terms. She scolds those whose heartfelt theological reflections lead people to the deeply profound and radical conclusions that they “find God in the sunset” or “during walks on the beach” or “while hiking in the mountains” as if we Christians never thought of finding God in nature before.

She waves a finger at them chiding them saying “Being privately spiritual but not religious just doesn't interest me. There is nothing challenging about having deep thoughts all by oneself. What is interesting is doing this work in community, where other people might call you on stuff, or heaven forbid, disagree with you. Where life with God gets rich and provocative is when you dig deeply into a tradition that you did not invent all for yourself...”

I understand her frustration. As one who has...(whole thing here)

Sermon: Pentecost 14A

I have trouble believing Paul in today’s second reading. Not because I think he’s dishonest, but because, given his circumstances, I can’t see why he can be in such a good mood. This letter EXUDES joyful praise of God, and offers encouragement to a struggling church that he just started. His worry wasn’t for himself. His worry was for this new church in Phillipi that was trying to keep afloat.

I have trouble believing Paul because it sounds like he’s trying to talk himself into not being afraid of being executed. He’s sitting in a Roman jail, chained to the wall, and what does he have to think about all day? He’s thinking about when his end will come, and what it will look like.

“It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death...” he says.

That’s a bold statement. Especially from someone who could be taken away and executed at any moment. Some might say that he’s masking his fear with heroic religious language, trying to convince himself that the promise of new and everlasting life with Christ was not a mere fantasy, but a present reality waiting for him just on the other side of the jail cell door.

Others might say Paul is declaring his strong, confident faith in difficult circumstances, defiantly staring death in the face, proclaiming the mighty acts of God in a world opposed to God’s kingdom.

Maybe it’s a....(whole thing here)

Sermon: Pentecost 13A

I’m not one who believes that God is pulling the strings of a puppet-like universe, but I have to wonder how this gospel popped up on the Sunday which happens to be the 10 year anniversary of the attacks on New York City and the Pentagon. I don’t know if I should read anything inappropriate into the collision of events, as if God had manipulated the lectionary to tell us something about how to process our memory of that September morning.

There are many who believe that there is no divine collusion between this morning’s bible readings and this particular event. Many of the worship planning materials and sermon help websites suggest changing the gospel for this Sunday into something more palatable.

After all, how can we talk about forgiveness after such a terrible and horrific attack? How can we read this passage in light of the hostility, violence, and death that took place that morning? How we hear Jesus’ call to reconciliation with our enemies when our enemies are filled with so much fanatical hatred?

This text cannot speak to this moment, they say. There must be a more appropriate text to mark the day.

Preach about God’s comfort for the grieving. Preach about the need for community and human connection. You can even talk about the human longing for peace. But you cannot talk about forgiveness. Forgiveness opens up a wound that was calloused over. So, they say, find a better text.

But I can’t. This text...(whole thing here)

Sermon: Pentecost 12A

Freedom is something we like to hear about and talk about. But it’s often not something we welcome. We spend more time drawing lines, building walls, putting parameters  around our ordered lives, than we welcome the responsibility of freedom.

It’s easier to know our place, to know what we can and cannot do, rather than trust that God is guiding our lives, working inside of us, transforming us from the inside out.

We’re afraid of freedom because we’re worried it might descend into chaos, rather than build us up, make us grow, and help us reach the potential that God has given us.

We often shun freedom, and stay mired in captivity. We stay stuck in our painful pasts rather than look to God’s future. Our depression and grief can feel like chains we can never break.

Our feelings of unworthiness or shame keep us from grabbing on to the freedom that God has for us. We don’t trust God’s freedom because we don’t trust ourselves. And tyranny is often more comfortable than freedom.

And as the people of Israel found out, freedom isn’t...(whole thing here)

Sermon: Pentecost 11A

"...if you read between the lines on his resume, you’d see a different Moses. A Moses who was conflicted. He was a man caught between two worlds. The Egyptian world he was adopted into. And the Hebrew world he born into, and later embraced.

He was caught between wanting to follow God’s will into Egypt to rescue his people, and living the comfortable life he had built with his wife and family in Goshen.

He was caught between want to do the work that God put in front of him, and knowing that he was wanted for murder back in Egypt, and would probably be tried and executed upon stepping on Egyptian soil.

For Moses, his path was anything but...(whole thing here)"

Sermon: Pentecost 7A

...no one really knows who this attacker is. Some say it’s an angel. Perhaps even Esau’s guardian angel. Others say it’s a demon out to prevent Jacob from reconciling with his brother. Still others see him as the personification of the dangers lurking in the darkness. And yet others say it’s actually God.

But I like what Rabbi Harold Kushner says. Rabbi Kushner notes that Jacob is alone. And that the attacker is exactly as strong as Jacob. No stronger, but no weaker. Which is why they can’t beat each other and they last all night.

The rabbi says, “The attacker, the angel, is Jacob’s conscience, the part of him that summons him to rise above his bad impulses. The struggle is between the part of him that wins by cleverness and fraud, and the part of him that feels summoned by God to climb a ladder to heaven, to become someone exemplary.” (Kushner, Living a Life That Matters p. 26)

In other words, Jacob is at war with...(whole thing here)