Many months ago, someone decided to store the long extension ladder in the chancel – not where anybody could see but hidden beyond where the piano is behind the baptistery. However, it is not hidden from me where I sit in the center front. I can look at it and mediate on Jacob’s ladder. You all know the story in Genesis 28. Jacob with his mother Rebecca’s help, contrived to steal his brother Esau’s birthright and his father’s blessing. He has to flee their wrath and sets out to take refuge with his mother’s brother Laban. On his journey, when night time comes Jacob picks a stone for a pillow, lies down and falls asleep. Then he has a dream. He sees a ladder stretching from earth to heaven and there angels were going up and down. We read in Verse 13 “the lord stood beside him” – how wonderful! Then God revealed to Jacob all the things he had prepared for his future. When he awoke from his sleep, he was overcome with awe and fear “This is none other than the House of God and this is the Gate of Heaven” he declared. He took the stone pillow, poured a libation over it and declared it to be God’s place. This somehow reminds me of the stone Inukshuk our Inuit people build to say “I was here”. Jacob’s stone says “God was here”.
The first part of Jacob’s journey was one of running away in fear. The second part was one of going forward in faith. God had been with him before. Now he knew God was with him and he responded to him in his love and strength.
We all have points in our journey where we stop at God’s place and he intervenes. It may be an actual physical place but more than likely it is a place of crisis. We become aware of him, know he is there, feel his arms around us. In this renewed strength, we go forward.
Last Sunday, I came to church. My ladder was gone. Walter offered to put it back when I said I missed it, but I really do not need that particular symbol to be reminded of God’s presence or his gate to Heaven. I am surrounded by my brothers and sisters in Christ. We together are his body. Let us surround each other in support and love. Let us get to know each other that as we strengthen each other in the body of Christ here at Trinity and throughout the world, we may respond to his presence through the power of his Holy Spirit. Let us be assured of his forgiveness for past mistakes and go forward together on our journey.
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| Alter for Harvest Thanksgiving Service |
Frances I really appreciated your thoughts on this great story. Thank you. Today we visited St. Giles where Canon John Speers was celebrating his 95th birthday and preaching on the same scriptures. With John’s preaching and teaching gifts he was able to link that furthermore, Jesus can be seen as being the ladder, in that Christ bridges the gap between Heaven and Earth. Jesus presents himself as the reality to which the ladder points; as Jacob saw in a dream the reunion of Heaven and Earth, Jesus brought this reunion, metaphorically the ladder, into reality.
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