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The First Sunday In Lent
Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted of Satan; Make speed to help thy servants who are assaulted by manifold temptations; and, as thou knowest their several infirmities, let each one find thee mighty to save; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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The First Sunday In Lent
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Scripture citation(s): Genesis 28:10-17
A Sermon by
The Rev. Dr. Alison Turner
on
Genesis 28:10-17
✛
Jacob's Ladder 'Heaven in Devon'
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Sermon Audio
Today, we begin our Lenten sermon titled ‘Dreams and Visions.’ A title which may well evoke memories of vivid stories where God makes himself known in unexpected and surprising ways.
The Bible contains many dreams and vision in which God reveals something of his nature and his plan for humankind. Often, these dreams and visions are extraordinarily personal, and can have mystical imagery. Over the next five Sundays, we will explore just a few of them. Today, we think about Jacob’s dream in which he sees a ladder set upon the earth and that reaches as far as the heavens.
Back in 2009, the Diocese of Exeter in the United Kingdom celebrated its 1000-year anniversary of a Bishop coming to the South West of England with a theme titled ‘Heaven in Devon.’ An appropriate title for a county that has a stunning coastline, dramatic moorland, and medieval towns. Not long before this milestone anniversary, I used to listen to a local radio program, Devon Glorious Devon, on my drive to work at a school at the heart of the Devon countryside. Each day, celebrities would discuss inspirational stories of their personal favorite heavenly sites across the County of Devon. One such place is a strange, land-marked structure on the Jurassic Coast which is now a World Heritage site. It’s one of my favorite places in all the world and I’ve been thinking about it a lot of late, for it is called none other than Jacob’s Ladder.
This simple, multi-storey structure in Sidmouth, East Devon enables one to descend and ascend a very steep cliff to an unspoiled non-commercial beach with its dramatic red sand and where locals and grockles (the Devon term for holiday-makers) and their numerous dogs gather, come rain or shine, to paddle in the water, collect stones, walk and talk, and take in the sea air without a care in the world.
Now, I should say that the term ‘ladder’ is a bit of a misnomer. It is true that the original Jacob’s Ladder, was a narrow, almost vertical, and somewhat precarious ladder tied to the cliff in the 19th century, but the ladies in their crinolines found it especially dangerous to navigate.
In time, the ladder was declared too much of a risk, and was replaced instead by a stairway with broad steps and two large landings where you can pause to catch your breath. The restored stairway of the 1930’s is a bold structure, painted white and can be seen from afar. It is still called ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ and it still does cause some fear in those using it, for there are wide gaps between the steps, so wide that as one descends, one can glimpse a snap shot of the beautiful beach and coastline ahead. You have to hang on tight to the handrail, as these gaps can be disconcerting, to the point that our usually adventurous dog Bertie used to shake in trepidation of the descent and needed to be carried.
Unfortunately, there really is no direct way to descend to the beach with the exception of a steep winding path that has now been cut into the cliff to enable people in wheelchairs or strollers to descend.
After a wonderful time spent on the beach, the changing tide would dictate that all must leave, but the ascent up Jacob’s Ladder is particularly challenging on a hot summer’s day, as the salt water makes you feel disheveled and hungry, and with the sand sticking between your toes when everyone is tired and ready to go home. The path, although smooth, is even more exhausting.
Jacob was exhausted. He also needed a new home. In our Old Testament Lesson this evening we pick up the story of Jacob after he has fled from the wrath of brother Esau, from whom he has stolen his birthright. His father, Isaac, has arranged for him to find a new home with his brother-in-law, Laban. Now, alone, and fearful, Jacob beds down for the night in the wilderness with only a stone for a pillow. And he dreamed a dream of a great ladder set upon the earth and its top in the heavens. The angels are ascending and descending upon it. Unlike Jacob’s ladder in East Devon, we assume that these angels had no difficulty using it – these ministers of God are entering the earthly realm and ascending to the heavenly one to worship the Almighty.
My bible has a footnote at this point; it seems that the Hebrew word can be translated in different ways – it is not only a ladder, it could be a stairway, or even a ramp. Perhaps God intends easy access for the angels!
However, Jacob is on his own, in the wilderness, and with a rock for his pillow. Yet, in spite of this lonely and wilderness experience, Jacob hears a promise from God himself:
- I will give this land to you and to your offspring.
- Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth because they will spread abroad.
- All peoples on the earth will be blessed through you and your children’s children.
- I will be with you and will watch over you wherever you go.
- I will bring you back to this land.
- I will not leave you.
This is exactly what Jacob needed to hear – a promise of home-coming and an assurance that not only are the angels there to minister to him, but that God would journey with him. Even though Jacob had stolen his brother’s birthright and acted treacherously to his family, yet God reminded him that he was the God of his family – “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac.”
Jacob, grandson of Abraham, son of Isaac, brother of Esau, would eventually have his name changed to Israel – ‘one who strives with God’ – and would become the father of 12 sons, including one, named Joseph, also known for his dreams.
When Jacob awoke from his dream, he was a changed man. No longer a fugitive, he had a purpose and a vision. In his desert-wilderness experience, he discovered the presence of God: “Surely the LORD is in this place—and I did not know it!” He is afraid – that is, in awe of God: “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
Jacob named the place of his dream Beth-el which means ‘House of God.’ For a moment, he had encountered the presence of God and gained a new purpose for his life. He received a second chance and the same promise that God had originally given his father Isaac, and his grandfather, Abraham. God believed in him and Jacob’s faith was strengthened with the assurance that God would be with him as he journeyed from Beersheba to Haran and that, one day, he would bring his descendants back to the Promised Land.
And for us, too, in the times when we assume God to be distant or out of reach; when we are in a wilderness experience, or escaping from the reality of the brokenness of our lives, God is there – calling us and helping us recognize that the House of God and the Gate of Heaven is not always where we might imagine it to be.
Nathanael said to Philip, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” And here was no dream, no vision; the veil is drawn back. There is no need for a ladder, a stairwell, or a ramp to connect earth and heaven because God had become that ladder, that stairway, that ramp in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. “Very truly, I tell you,” said Jesus, “you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” Suddenly, in another wilderness, Nathaniel discovered the House of God and the Gate of Heaven in the very person of Jesus – the one who gives access to God’s grace. That same Jesus repeated the promise that was originally given to Jacob to his own followers and, today, he gives it to you and to me: “remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Amen.” (Matthew 28:20b)
