Sunday, June 17, 2012

Jacob's Ladder


Gen. 28:10-19a; 

                                We are climbing Jacob’s ladder,
                                We are climbing Jacob’s ladder,
                                We are climbing Jacob’s ladder,
                                Brothers, sisters, all.

What on earth did Jacob see?  Lying there, suspended between earth and heaven, watching those angels parade on the holy escalator, this Biblical Jack had a vision of a beanstalk that led to more than a pot of gold.  And yet we are never told what Jacob saw at the top of the ladder? Was it the throne of God?  Was it a place where all our loved ones are waiting for us?  Mary Chapin Carpenter, in her song My Heaven, writes, “Nothing shatters, nothing breaks, nothing hurts and nothing aches.  We got ourselves one helluva place, in my heaven.  Grandma’s up here, grandpa too, in a condo with a to-die-for view. More memories than my heart can hold, when Eva sings, ‘Fields of Gold’, in my heaven.”  What on earth did Jacob see, as he lay on the ground, suspended between earth and heaven?
        We are such a visual people.  Most of us have a huge dose of Doubting Thomas running through our veins.  We have to see or touch. We have to experience before we truly believe.  We want to know what Jacob saw and then we want to see it for ourselves.  We want to leave nothing to chance.  But that is not the way faith works. God’s revelations, God’s glimpses of heaven, are usually auditory, not visual.  Moses begged to see God, but the Lord only offered the phrase, “I am”.   John began his gospel by describing Jesus as, “The Word”.  Our savior reminds us faith is based on what we hear and believe rather than on what we see.  While we focus on the ladder that captured Jacob’s imagination, we are better served by the promise the young man heard, “I am with you and will keep you forever.”
                                Every rung goes higher, higher.
                                Every rung goes higher, higher.
                                Every rung goes higher, higher.
                                Brothers, sisters, all    

        Why Jacob?  God choosing Jacob makes about as much sense as God choosing Israel.  Jacob tricked his brother, lied to his father and was forced to leave home due to his ill behavior.  And yet God recognized his potential. What could God have seen in this young man?  Up to this point in his life the noblest thing Jacob had accomplished was to run away.  And yet here he was at Bethel, looking up into the stars at that stairway to heaven.  Why Jacob?  Why any of us?
        The Psalmist sings, “Lord, you have searched me and known me.  Where can I go from your presence?  Where can I go from your spirit?  You formed my inward parts.  Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.   In your book was written all the days of my life.”
        God knows us because God created us.  God sees the potential in each of us because God placed a particular gift within our souls.  It doesn’t do any good to quarrel with God about whether or not we are gifted.  It’s like arguing with your parents on report card day.  I still remember when I was a kid I would come home and have to face my parents as they evaluated my progress or lack there of over the past six weeks. It would begin with mom.  She was the worst.  It seemed she could only see my failures.  Remember when we used to get grades for penmanship and spelling.  I never had a chance. Mom’s solution for failure, and in my mom’s eye that was any grade below a 90, was to eliminate outdoor activities after school.  There were times I would come home and hand over my ball glove before she saw the report card.  Then she would say, “Sit here until your dad gets home and we can discuss this.”  After a lengthy conversation between my parents, my father would come in and say, “Do you feel you are performing up to your potential?”  What kind of question is that?  I always wanted to say, “Dad, have you looked at your handwriting lately.  You know, this might be genetic.”  But of course I didn’t.  I would always admit that I was capable of doing better.  Then they would say the worst possible thing imaginable.  “All we have ever asked is that you do your best.”  Now that I have been a parent for over 31 years I know that there is a chasm the size of the Grand Canyon between a parent and child’s definition of what constitutes one’s best effort.  And I have come to believe that same gulf exist when it comes to our relationship with God.  Who better than God knows what we can accomplish when we tap into the recourses of our potential.  Jacob the thief, Jacob the liar could not see himself as Jacob the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. But God could.  In the darkness of that hallowed night, God awakened Jacob and said, “Son, look at the ladder.  Pull yourself up rung by rung and become part of my kingdom.”  Jacob must have responded to the voice by saying, “Am I dying?”  And God said, “No my son.  It is time for you to start living.”  Jacob said, “I don’t know what to do.” God responded, “Yes you do.  Listen to your heart.  And remember, I am with you always.”
                                If you love him, why not serve him.
                                If you love him, why not serve him.
                                If you love him, why not serve him.
                                Brothers, sisters, all.

        One of the amazing things that we often forget about Jacob’s ladder is the purpose of the dream was never to show Jacob the gate of heaven but rather to reaffirm God’s promise that the land would belong to the ancestors of Abraham.  It was an affirmation that Jacob was God’s guy.  Can you imagine how alone Jacob must have felt when he laid down that fateful night.  Of course you can.  We all have those moments locked away in our psyche when we were not sure what tomorrow might bring.  Too often we find our lives in juxtaposition with the life of Jacob.  We are moving from one land or one job, or one experience to another.  We are not really sure if the steps we are taking are the right ones.  We can’t go back, but we are nervous about stepping forward.  And in the midst of our uncertainty someone comes up to us and says, “You belong here, we have been waiting for you to arrive.”  In other words, “You are our guy”.
        Sometimes I think we are so busy looking for heaven, we forget God has placed us here for some heavenly purpose. Don’t ever think that your presence here is some grand cosmic mystery.  God knows our coming and our going.  God placed us in the path of others as an opportunity for more than just an accidental collision.  From the beginning God chose Jacob to be the next step in the formation of the tribes of Israel.  Looking up into the sky, Jacob heard a voice that said, “The land on which you stand is the same land which I gave to your grandfather Abraham.  In due time it will be yours.  You will be in charge of a great family and I will be here to help you along the way.”
        I dare to suggest this morning that each of you, in some particular and marvelous way, is God’s guy. God chose you and gave you the gift to fulfill some heavenly task.  I have no idea what it is but I suspect you know.  Maybe it is obvious.  Sarah discovered she was called to involve this congregation with folks in Guatemala.  Lynn has committed her days to working with the sick and disenfranchised in Nelson County.  Pat has decided to minister to the older folks in our neighborhood.  Fred, Cathie, Deb, Olivia, and Phyliss, have dedicated a year of their life to our young folks. Nellie Ray are here but their hearts are always in Southwest Virginia. I could go on and on but you get the point.  God has chosen each of us for a particular purpose.  Sometimes it is obvious.  Sometimes, like Jacob, we need a visual illustration to clear our eyes.   But the bottom line is God has chosen you to create a piece of heaven here in this place.  God has said to you, “You are not alone.  I will be here to help you.  I will be a light when the way looks dark.  I will be lift you up and cheer you on, but you must first trust me enough to grab hold of the ladder and become one of my angels.”
         Close your eyes. Open your ears and you will hear the voice of God.  Close your eyes. Open your mind and you will see a ladder before you. Close your eyes.  Open your heart and grab your opportunity to become someone’s angel.  Close your eyes. Open your spirit to the possibility of God’s kingdom here on earth.  

        When we think of Jacob’s ladder, we think of climbing it and discovering heaven.  But Jacob discovered the ladder has a far holier purpose.  God comes down to us.  God reminds us that we are not here by accident but have been put on this earth for a sacred purpose.  And then God promises, “I am with you now and I will be with you forever.”  If God could see potential in Jacob, imagine what God must see in us.

                                                We are climbing Jacob’s ladder.
                                We are climbing Jacob’s ladder.
                                We are climbing Jacob’s ladder.
                                Brothers, sisters, all.

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