Genesis 28:10-17 *
In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:
Do you know what today is?
At the beginning of the service this morning
“Reminiscere” is a Latin word that means “to remember,” and the Scripture lessons for the day cause us to remember several important spiritual truths. Paul reminds us that we have peace and joy through Jesus. The psalm refrain repeats the good news that God is our Savior. And in the gospel lesson Jesus points out that the way of the Christ, and the way of the Christian, is the way of the cross.
On this Reminiscere Sunday I am reminded of something that happened to me, an event that I will never forget, an encounter that changed my life forever. I had just set out on a journey, and because I had to leave quickly there was no going away party held in my honor. I was in the beginning stages of a journey that would eventually take me hundreds of miles away from my home. I was alone. I was lonely. And I was afraid.
The setting sun told me that it was time to stop for the night. Without a tent, without a sleeping bag, without any of the gear that makes camping a recreational experience, I was forced to lie down on the cold, hard ground and rest my head on a cold, hard rock. But because I was so weary from traveling, it didn’t take long for me to drift off to sleep.
And then it happened. Sometime during the night I had the most amazing dream. I will do my best to explain it to you, but before I do, I want you to know that it was (at least at the time) the single greatest experience of my life. Why? Because the Lord himself appeared to me in that dream. Because God himself spoke to me in that dream. And I will always remember his words.
Just having a dream like that would have been more than enough for me. How many people are allowed to come into direct contact with the divine? How many people have the chance to hear God’s voice? The sights and sounds were incredible, but the dream itself was only the beginning. Almost four thousand years later, I still stand in awe of my Savior God because I know that my dream is…
A DREAM COME TRUE
I mentioned earlier that I was forced to sleep under the stars with a rock for a pillow. But before you start feeling sorry for me, I have a confession to make. I really have no one to blame but myself.
You could say that it all began on the day I was born. I was the second of twin boys my mother gave birth to that day. And when I came out my hand was holding on to my brother’s foot. That’s why my parents called me “Jacob.” Literally, my name means “heel grabber,” but in a figurative sense it can also mean “deceiver.” And let’s just say that I lived up to my name.
There was that time when my brother Esau came in from the fields and asked me for something to eat. Instead of being a good brother, instead of giving him some of my stew, I struck a deal with him. I told him that I would be happy to serve him…if he would give me his birthright in return. I even made him swear an oath. As opportunistic as I was, as questionable as my ethics were, things would only get worse.
I always knew that my father Isaac loved Esau more than me. And it didn’t really surprise me when my mother Rebekah informed me that my father intended to give him the special blessing even though the Lord had reserved that blessing for me (Genesis 25:23). What did surprise me is my mother’s plan to deceive Isaac and make sure that I got what I deserved.
I suppose I could have blamed her for involving me in her deception, but she didn’t force me to do anything against my will. I was the one who put on my brother’s clothes. I was the one who covered myself with goatskins to cover my smooth complexion. I was the one who said to Isaac: “I am Esau your firstborn” (Genesis 27:19). I am the one who intentionally deceived my father and stole his blessing.
Did you notice all of the “I”s that just came out of my mouth? You see, I was the problem. I used to think that everything depended on me, that I had all the answers, that I could fix any problem. God gave me the most wonderful promises, and I believed them, but I also believed that it was up to me to make them come true.
Well, you can see where that got me. When Esau found out what I had done, he was furious. In fact, he wanted to kill me. And so I fled. After running for a couple days, after I had put some distance between my brother and me, I had some time to think. And as I stared up at the stars, I realized that I wasn’t so sure of myself anymore. I had more questions and answers. I regretted the sins of my past and, to be honest, I was quite anxious about my future.
Maybe you know what I’m talking about. Maybe there was a time when you tried to go it alone. Maybe there was a time when you tried to do everything by yourself. You couldn’t wait for God. Or you thought that you knew better than God. And perhaps you have discovered what my own experience has led me to believe¸ that without God this world can be a very lonely, very scary place.
Even though I didn’t recognize it, even though I didn’t act like it, the Lord never left my side. And he proved it by revealing himself to me in a dream. I saw a long stairway that stretched from the earth all the way up to heaven. Angels were going up and down that stairway, and at the very top stood the Lord himself.
As I looked up he opened his mouth to speak: “I am the LORD, the God of your father
Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will
give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the
earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the
east, to the north and to the south” (13, 14a).
What amazing promises!
What unbelievable promises! I had
nothing except the clothes on my back. I
didn’t even have a pillow. And still
God promised me that the entire
Just in case I had any doubts, to prevent me from falling
back into my old sinful ways, the Lord prefaced his promises with this
important reminder: “I am the LORD, the
God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.”
That was God’s way of saying: “Jacob, I know your father. And I knew your grandfather Abraham too. I was the one who brought him to this land. I was the one who gave him a son when he was one hundred years old. I always took care of him, and I will always take care of you.”
Those were comforting words. The Lord’s words assured me that the future of my people was secure. But at the time I was a little more concerned about my future. I didn’t have any friends. I didn’t have any allies. I still had hundreds of miles to travel, and I was in need of some personal assurance.
The all-knowing God knew that too, and so he said to me: “I am with you and will watch over you
wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I
have promised you” (15).
Even though I didn’t have any traveling companions, God
wanted to remind me that I was never alone. He was always with me. He sent his holy angels to protect me. And the best part of that promise is that it
isn’t exclusive. Even if you never have
a dream like mine, you have the same promise from God: “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go.”
My dream was a blessing on a number of levels, but more than anything else it helped me appreciate God’s grace. He assured me of his divine presence and protection. He pledged to make my descendants into a great nation. Not because I was special. Not because I deserved special treatment. The Lord appeared to me because he loved me.
But God’s love didn’t stop with me. I know that to be true because he made one
more promise, a promise that went far beyond my safety or my family. The Lord said to me: “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring”
(14b).
My grandfather Abraham had heard those words (Genesis 12:3). My father Isaac had heard those words (Genesis 26:4). And in my dream the same wonderful promise was passed on to me: “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you…”(14b). Out of all of God’s promises that was the best promise because it contained the promise of a Savior.
Do you know what the favorite part of my dream was? It wasn’t my vision of angels and a stairway to heaven. It wasn’t the promise that my family would grow by leaps and bounds. It wasn’t even the promise that the Messiah would come from my family. The favorite part of my dream was that it actually came true.
God did keep me safe from harm and danger. God did bring me back to
Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience. Jesus never questioned his Father’s Word. Jesus never tried to circumvent his Father’s will. And then he made the ultimate sacrifice when he gave up his life on the cross. There he died for my sins of selfishness and pride. There he washed away all the bad things I had done and all the good things I had left undone.
Jesus’ sacrificial love fills my heart with wonder and awe,
the same kind of awe I felt when I woke up from my dream, the same kind of
wonder that led me to exclaim: “How
awesome is this place! This is none
other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven” (17).
I hope you learned something from my dream today. I hope you can appreciate how a “heel grabber” like myself learned to cling to the promises of God. And I pray that you will join me in giving thanks and praise to God for the great things he has done.
Because Jesus took your place, because Jesus took your sins on his shoulders, because Jesus took the punishment you deserved, the hope of eternal life is more than just a dream. It is a dream come true. Amen.