That Stairway
People of my generation cannot hear the phrase Stairway to Heaven without thinking of a certain song by Led Zeppelin and the ending, iconic phrase, “…and she’s buying a stairway to heaven. “ I have no idea if Jimmy Page and Robert Plant had Jacob’s vision in mind when they penned this song. It seems doubtful if you read about the song’s roots. Yet, the image of a connection between heaven and earth is an old, yes even an ancient story. In the Old Testament, this image appears in the vision of Jacob’s ladder–many translations describe it as a stairway the rests on the earth, with its top reaching to Heaven… and the angels of God were ascending and descending upon it. [Gen 28.10-12]. The vision continues as Jacob hears the voice of God promising him a vast land, many descendants and special protection. Look, this vision reveals… angels are both ascending and descending, coming and going in what I like to think of as a continuous stream of connection. Jacob’s role in all of this… well, initially, in the vision, he was just an observer and a listener. After he awoke, his own part in the vision took shape. Jacob knew that the connection was genuine, and that the voice of God was speaking directly to him. Jacob’s response to this when he awakes is the crux of the matter for me. Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it… How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven! [Gen 28:16-17]. He built a pillar, and re-named the place of the vision Bethel or El-beth-el- a sacred area of sanctuary.
Ladder, stairway, gate… whatever the image the idea, that we are connected to God in this present life, on this particular day, right at this moment is full of power, and hope, both of which seem in short supply in my life right now. Isn’t it funny how the place of Jacob’s became named and revered as a specific location on the earth (a city remains in that approximate location even today). Near my former home in Western Maine, there is a town named Bethel, the home of skiers, students, Mainers and those from “away.” Yet the vision, the idea of God’s spirit in the form of angels coming and going is not limited to any spot on Google maps. My own stairway to heaven exists every morning that I awaken like Jacob and proclaim: Surely the Lord is in this place. This is none other than the House of God. Unlike the mysterious woman in Plant and Page’s song, I don’t have to buy a stairway to Heaven, well at least not to be a part of God’s vision for my life. I need not be a passive observer in this scenario, however, just as Jacob chose not to be. When he realized the profoundness, the utterly amazing thing he had seen, the fact that he had been given a glimpse of God’s presence in a beautiful way, he created a space to acknowledge the gift in the moment. He thought about the impact on his present life as well as his future. And he made a vow to honor God in a variety of ways. How my own particular stairway to heaven is unfolding in my life today, I cannot say. But I do join Jacob in his excitement, “How awesome is this place!” This place… today… in an upstairs office in a gray house in Western Maine. God shows me the Spirit, ever seeking to connect between “earth and heaven”- and the rest of the story is up to me.
