Ladders & God
In Genesis 28, we hear the story of Jacob stealing his brother Esau’s birthright and fleeing to live with relatives in a foreign land. Along the way, he had a dream where he saw a ladder from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending. In the dream, God introduced himself and promised that his descendants would be blessed. When he woke, Jacob was afraid and in awe, so he marked the spot with a stone and gave it a name (Bethel). The vision allowed Jacob to preserver through times of trial, knowing that God would ultimately bring him back to his father’s house in peace.
Perhaps this dream is one reason many Christians continue to imagine heaven as something in the sky as we look upward in prayer. Popular Christian theologians suggest that sin keeps us from reaching the top of the ladder and that the role of Jesus is to bridge the gap. Heaven seems inaccessible to humans on their own power.
But Steven Charleston offers a different vision in his book “Ladder to the Light”. Fr. Charleston, is a member of the Choctaw Nation and a former Episcopal bishop who has taught at Episcopal and Lutheran seminaries. Charleston uses the metaphor of a kiva to describe what he calls “our contemporary spiritual situation.”
A kiva is a sacred room built into the ground. The spiritual journey begins inside the kiva which is compared with a womb. It is dark and scary at first. But Charleston explains that the Kiva is like a waiting room. We are more like a seed in the ground preparing to sprout. Here, under ground we are closer to the generative Spirit of God which brings new life throughout nature.
In his book, Fr. Charleston describes eight rungs of a ladder that lead from spiritual understanding to freedom. The rungs beginning at the bottom are: Faith, Blessing, Hope, Community, Action, Truth, Renewal and Transformation. In the kiva, we are nourished, renewed, and reformed and so that we can return up the ladder to our home above transformed. We begin by trusting enough to take the first step. This is the first rung of faith. The rest flow from there.
The ladder is called a ladder of light because it goes from the nurturing dark of a womb toward the light in the world. This ladder of light exists within each of us. We must decide to climb the ladder and do so with intention.
“Each rung is a lesson, an experience, a part of your formation. As you grow in each step, you become stronger and more effective in making change happen.” (p. 153) This is not a journey for mystics or saints, this is a call to each of us. “We are all called. We are all worthy.”
Rather than emphasizing achievement of spiritual wisdom or reaching a destination, this tradition strives for balance or equilibrium where people can be whom they are while also living into a communal vision. This spiritual equilibrium is something we achieve together as we climb together growing closer to one another and to peace along the way.
The more I contemplate the image of the kiva and ladder, the more I resonate with its message of hope and wholeness. Think about your own image of the spiritual journey. How does the kiva image sit with you? What parts are comforting? What are challenging? Please let me know.
