July 21, 2002

"How Did This Ladder Get Here?"
Sermon by Rev. Sherry Parker
Dundee United Methodist Church
9th Sunday after Pentecost

Please note: Because I do not use notes when I preach, the text in the written sermon may vary slightly from the spoken sermon. My prayer is that in both my writing and my speaking the Holy Spirit works to make this message worthy of God's purpose.

Scripture Text: Genesis 28:10-19a; Psalm 139

What does a pastor preach on her last Sunday? I've given this question a lot of thought. Should I take this opportunity to give advice one more time? To tell stories of how my life has been touched by this church community? To find some way, although woefully inadequate, to say "thank you"? I dug up the sermon that I preached here on July 6, 1997, my first Sunday here in Dundee (back when I was in my 30's!). I wanted to read the "words of wisdom". What I found was that on that July Sunday we looked together at a text from the Gospel of Mark, and in the sermon I humbly worked, but grace of the Holy Spirit, to preach God's Word. What does a pastor preach on her last Sunday? God willing, what pastors should preach every Sunday: the truth and wisdom of God's holy word. Join me as we look again at Holy Scripture.

This morning we will hear a portion of the story of Jacob from the book of Genesis. As this text begins Jacob is fleeing his family home in fear. With the help of his mother, Jacob tricked his older brother Esau out of his father's blessing, which rightfully belonged to Esau. Esau plotted to kill him. Jacob's mother Rachel told Jacob and Jacob was on the run. Genesis 28:10 describes Jacob's first night away from home. Read Genesis 28:10-19a.

Jacob, who lay down in exhaustion and fear, had a vision. Our scripture translation this morning reads that a ladder stood before him. Many scholars believe that his vision was more like a staircase. Either way, the steps touched the earth and reached the heavens. God's workers, angels, ascended and descended the ladder. And in his vision Jacob heard the voice of God. God reminded Jacob of the holy covenant made with his grandfather Abraham. Jacob would be the father of a great nation that would inhabit the land on which he lay, and all the families of the earth would be blessed in him and his offspring. And then God said this, "Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you (Genesis 28:15)." And then Jacob awoke from his sleep.

There's a song, "We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder". The verses begin, "Every round goes higher, higher. . . Sinner do you love my Jesus? . . ..If you love him why not serve him?" And the song implies that God tells us to get on the holy ladder and start climbing. But listen again to Jacob's response to the vision. He awoke and proclaimed, "Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it." Jacob's vision of a ladder with angels doing the work of God, ascending and descending, is a clear and certain proclamation of God's activity on earth. The ladder (or stairway) is a symbol of God's presence. And if we are climbing a "spiritual ladder", it doesn't matter on which rung we stand. God is present.

When I served First United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor I had a wooden step ladder at the parsonage. I remember it because it was a Christmas present from my mother. (And some people get jewelry!) I thought that the ladder came with me when I moved to Dundee, but somehow it got left behind. When the moving truck was unloaded and everything was unpacked there was no wooden ladder. Instead, this aluminum ladder leaned against the wall out in the garage. It was the same height and had the same number of steps; it served the same purpose. I didn't miss the wooden ladder at all. I needed a ladder and there it was.

In some ways God's presence is like the ever present ladder. The form might change. The way we find comfort or hear conviction might change, but it is still the Spirit speaking. Jacob saw God's presence in a ladder and heard it in the assuring voice of God. For us, that presence can be evident in the love of our family and friends, in the music, literature and art that give us joy. God's presence is in the baking warmth of these summer days, in a child's grimy hands after hours of play, in those fat, warm tomatoes ripening on the vine. God's presence is in the bubbling laughter of good conversation and in the quiet sighs of those who sit alone. And perhaps, God's presence is in a ladder that appears at the right place, at the right time.

Jacob left Canaan, the land of his birth, and discovered that even as he journeyed God was with him. The home he left changed in his absence, but God abided there. He went to the land of Haran to find a wife, and God was there. Many years later Jacob returned on the chance that he might be reconciled to his brother Esau and God was there. God said, "Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go." Jesus, our Lord and Savior, knew the assurance of God's presence. He walked so closely with God that he was able to proclaim the kingdom of heaven come to earth. He was baptized, climbed into the Judean wilderness, and God was with him. In the region of the Sea of Galilee, he healed and taught and it was the touch and voice of the Creator in him. Friends used a ladder to climb to the roof of a house to lower their bedridden friend to Jesus the healer. Zacchaeus used a sycamore tree as a ladder so that he would catch a glimpse of Jesus, climbing up and down in the presence of God.

Jesus came to the center of religious life for the people of the covenant, Jerusalem. He climbed the steps to the courtyard of the mighty temple and God spoke through him. When Jesus was arrested, climbed with the temple guard to Ciaphas' house and he was beaten and denied, it was God present. God was crucified, and a soldier climbed a ladder to remove Jesus' body from the cross. "Surely the Lord is in this place--and I did not know it." And when the living Christ who could not be kept down by death ascended, climbed, to heaven before his disciples he said, "Remember, I am with you always."

By the power and grace of God, Jesus lives. Jesus lives and is present, ascending to heaven, descending to comfort and guide, transcending by the Holy Spirit our time and our places, and Jesus lives here. "Know that I am with you and will keep you where ever you go." The Psalmist asked, "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. (Psalm 139:7-10)." Will this church be different because I no longer serve as pastor here? Sure it will. Change is inevitable. Change is good. But this is the thing that will not change: God's presence through Jesus Christ. And it is by that promise that we stand in a holy place. Jacob named the place where he first encountered God, Beth-el, "The house of God". This community of faith is Beth-el, a sacred place of God. And it is not so because you or I have created it, but because we have, through worship and attentiveness to the Holy Word recognized, God here. Keep on praying. Keep on worshiping and participating in community as faithful people. Keep God's Word open for your heart and your head, and don't lose sight of the ladder.

About a year after I'd settled here, Roger Adams asked me if I still had his ladder. I said, "Well, I have someone's ladder. It's probably yours. Come and get it." I've had Roger's ladder for five years. He and Donna have been over to the parsonage several times, including one toilet fixing marathon that eventually involved the Proctors that I'm not even going to talk about. But I still have the ladder. Roger, here's your ladder. It's here because I don't want the movers taking it. And somehow, I believe that there will be another ladder waiting for me in Chesaning.

I'll remember the ladder. For you, for this church, for me, God is present.

Resource
Craddock, Fred, et. al. 1992. Preaching Through the Christian Year: A. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Trinity Press International.