A Creative “First-Person” Sermon about Jacob

The Rev. Dr. R. Tim Meadows, Sr. Pastor of The Protestant Community Church, Medford Lakes, NJ

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I have lived and struggled with this name for too long. It has been a burden. Jacob, the trickster, the younger of my parent’s twins. Favored by my mother, but not my father. Likely hated by my brother, from whom I negotiated the birthright of our family. You know my story. Like others in my family and in my time, most of you have an opinion of me that is somewhat less than favorable. I am the perfect example of what you do not want to become. This is what makes my story about God’s dream remarkable.

I was basically on the run, trying to outlast my brother’s furor; at my mother’s suggestion — good ole mom — seems she was the one who got me into this mess in the first place! Oh well, nevertheless I was on the run, making my way to the city of Haran.

I became weary and found a good place to camp for the night and a good stone on which to lay my head. I settled in and then began to see the stairway to heaven. It was a strange corkscrew kind of ladder on which the angels moved with ease between heaven and earth. I might have dismissed the experience as the result of too much goat, too late at night, except for what happened next. An ascending angel caught my attention, as the angel moved up to the top of the staircase, there was a brilliant light, and out of the light I saw a figure — I saw the LORD! I also heard a booming voice which confirmed my visual suspicion. The voice began to speak words I never thought I would ever hear. In the midst of my running away, the God of my Fathers and my God, promised to make me a great nation. Before I could ask if God knew who he was working with, God spoke even more about protection, safety, and vigilance on my behalf.

God would not give up on me. That was the essence of the message. I could become a blessing to others, no matter what I had previously done. That was the hope that came from this dream.

 When I awoke, I knew that I had been visited by God, and I proclaimed this place near Luz, “the house of God”. I took that stone pillow on which I had slept, and dedicated it as a memorial to God. I was still a little confused and overwhelmed by the experience, so the promises I made the morning after that dream, now seem weak to me. They all began with the word “IF”. They all hedged the possibility that the entire dream was simply a bout of indigestion from too much goat.

Looking back now, I think I understand that the presence of God often comes to us in these ordinary, harried, on –the-run, kind of ways. We are so unaware of our access to God. We are so unaware that when we feel most alone, is often when God is closest to us.

Looking back now, I think I understand that the promise of God is always unconditional. God wants to bless us even when all we can do is say “I will follow God, “IF”!

Looking back now, I think I understand that what is important is not so much what I dream, but what God dreams for me.

Looking back now, I think I understand that God’s desire to bless and protect me, was so that I could bless and protect others. The blessing of God was not mine alone, but a gift to be shared.

Looking back now, I think I understand that more than a stone memorial to commemorate the event, what God wanted from me, was a life well lived!

So how about you today?

What is God promising you in your dreams? How are you responding to God? How will the promises of God in your dreams, help others?

May God grant us the grace to dream boldly, and to share widely, the gifts God promises in our dreams!

AMEN!