Far From Home (Genesis 28:10-19)

The movie “Spiderman: Brand New Day” is scheduled to be released on July 31. Who’s excited about that?

The previous Spiderman movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe were titled:

“Spiderman: Homecoming”

“Spiderman: Far From Home”

“Spiderman: No Way Home”

The titles of these three movies all use the word “home” in some way.

“Homecoming” (the title of the first movie) sounds great. We all love a good homecoming. In September, here at First Christian Church, we have a fall kickoff Sunday, but in some churches, they call it “Homecoming Sunday.” 

It’s a day when those who have been away from their church home, due to summer vacations… or perhaps have been away from their church home for longer than that… are invited to return, to be welcomed back, and take their place in church.

“Far From Home” (the title of the second movie) doesn’t sound quite as positive. But it does make it sound like a return home is still possible. It might be challenging, but it’s still possible.

But “No Way Home” (the title of the third movie) makes it sound like you’ve gone past the point of no return. If there’s “no way home,” then you’ve essentially become homeless. That phrase, “No Way Home,” gives one the impression that this movie is neither history nor comedy, but tragedy.

Indeed, in the final scene of “No Way Home,” Spiderman—aka Peter Parker—finds himself in a familiar place, surrounded by familiar faces—so it looks like home—and yet… he’s actually a whole universe away.

And you think: maybe… just maybe… he can cross that universe, and return home… or, at least, that maybe there will be a hint that that will happen, in the future…

But no. There’s no hint of that. He remains a universe away. Far From home, with no way back.

Whether he is indeed able to cross that universe and return home in the movie that comes out at the end of this month, I have no idea. But one can hope…

*******

Jacob had left his home in Beer-sheba.

His leaving was not by choice. Jacob didn’t want to leave home. Heck, most days, Jacob didn’t even want to leave his tent. 

While the other men went out and hunted, Jacob preferred to stay among the tents, with the women. 

What can I say? Jacob wasn’t like all the other boys. Jacob was built different. He was created by God different.

…and Jacob liked to stay close to home.

“Close to Home” is not the title of any Spiderman movie. As much as we might like to stay close to home, and as much as Jacob liked to stay close to home, I guess staying close to home doesn’t make for a very exciting movie. 

And in the Bible, there are many stories of people leaving home, going far from home.

Abraham, Jacob’s own grandfather, left his home, and took his whole household on a very long journey to a new home.

Now, Jacob himself was being forced on a long journey. “Close to Home” isn’t the title of his story, either, as much as he would have liked it to be.

No. Like Abraham, Jacob was also sent “far from home.”

******

The reason Jacob had to leave home was his twin brother Esau. 

Esau was everything Jacob was not. Esau was strong, manly, hairy…, and a good hunter. 

And because he was born first, Esau was in line to receive the birthright and blessing reserved for the first-born son.

But Jacob successfully stole from Esau the birthright and blessing of the first-born son. Because of this, Esau was determined to kill Jacob.

So Jacob fled.

He had an uncle who lived in Haran. Haran was 500 miles away. In an age of no internet and no high-speed travel, it must have seemed a whole universe away.

But it was the only safe place for Jacob to go.

So Jacob left Beer-sheba, and began his long journey away from home.

After a day or two of travel, Jacob reached Bethel. It was at this point, I think, that Jacob asked himself: Am I really doing this?

It may have felt to him like the point of no return. The point when he realized that this is really happening. The point when he realized that he may never see his home and his family again.

And what about God? It was a common belief in ancient times that the god of a people lived where those people lived; that God was the God of this land, and that other lands had other gods… or no God at all.

So not only would Jacob be cut off from his family… far from home… but would he also be cut off from his God?

With these thoughts in his head, Jacob lay down for the night, to get some sleep. Back home, he would have been in his comfy bed, with his comfy pillow, but out here, far from home, all he had was the ground.

He grabbed a stone and placed it under his head, trying his best to imagine the comfort of the pillows he had at home, but a stone was a poor substitute. 

And there he lay, far from home, trying not to feel so desperately alone…

Eventually, Jacob fell asleep. And he had this dream. This vision.

He saw a stairway, or ladder, reaching up to heaven; and angels were ascending and descending it. 

And God appeared, and (as we already heard), God said to Jacob:

“I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring, and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. 

“Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

And Jacob awoke. And Jacob realized that, no matter where he went, no matter how far from home he was, that God would be with him, that he would never be left alone. Even at the end of the universe, God would be there, with him. 

******

As the psalmist wrote: “Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?... If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.”

When Jacob woke up, he realized that all this was true. And because God would be with him no matter where he went, no matter how far from home he traveled, then, in a very real sense, wherever he went would be home. He would never truly be “far from home,” because he was always at home with God… no matter where he lay his head.

******

With God, we always have a home. God—the one in whom we live and move and have our being—is our home.

It’s so easy to feel lost in this world. To feel without a home. To feel disconnected from our values, from ourselves, from humanity… To feel beyond the reach of love.

Even if you have a shelter, a safe place to hide, a place to sleep at night, with a comfy bed and soft pillows, you can still feel as though you are without a home.

But God is never far away. 

And in God’s presence, we always have a home.

How are we at First Christian Church proclaiming and living out this message, this truth? How are we helping others find their home in God?

I sometimes wonder if some of the things we do to make ourselves feel at home here keeps others from feeling at home here. Are we unknowingly or unintentionally making others feel less at home just so we can feel more at home?

What would happen if we discovered that some of what we do to feel at home here is actually keeping others from feeling at home? Would we be willing to give up those practices and patterns of behavior so that others can find a home here?

Hospitality and welcome are not always easy things. We like to say that we are a church that welcomes all, as if that were an easy thing.

It’s not. 

It requires that we put the needs of others ahead of our own needs; that we consider what extra effort it might require of us to make others feel truly welcome. 

I know that, for me, as an introvert, it can be easy to just hide in my corner and not bother anyone, and think I’m doing a good job of welcoming others, simply because I haven’t got in the way. 

But true welcome requires more than that. Especially from the pastor! But from any of us, really.

And I sometimes think that the Disciples of Christ, as a denomination, is an introverted denomination. 

We’re not as loud as some other denominations.

That’s not entirely a bad thing. I appreciate my quiet moments, and sometimes grow weary of those who don’t ever stop talking, or who always insist on being the center of attention.

But I think that we, as a church, do need to step out of the shadows where we’ve been hiding, into the light, with open arms, and a big sign saying, “Welcome Home!”

Or something like that.

Because I really do believe that we are just the type of church that many are looking for. That many need.

A church committed to following Jesus. 

A church that believes that Jesus is not supposed to be a tool of any political party, but instead is a challenge to every person and every political party to do what is right, to work for justice, free the oppressed, care for the poor… 

A church that allows the gospel to challenge us and change us. 

A church where questions are encouraged. 

A church where we engage in respectful conversations with people with whom we may disagree, and through those conversations, and by listening to one another, we may learn and grow into a deeper sort of faith.

I’ve heard people tell me, in various places I’ve lived, that the Disciples of Christ denomination is one of the best kept secrets around. 

The problem is, if our church is a secret that no one knows about, how welcoming is it, really? If it’s a secret, isn’t that more like a private club, the type of place where you maybe have to have a password to get in, or be on a VIP list? The type of place where you walk down a narrow street to an unmarked door, and tap out the secret knock, in order to gain admission?

If we’re not letting people know that we are here, and if we’re not letting people know that they are welcome, then how welcoming are we, really?

Somehow, we all have found this place. We all have found a welcome here. We all have found a home.

And we have learned to see God as a God who welcomes us and who welcomes all, and who invites us to take our place, to make this our home.

What a joy and what a blessing that is, to have a home, to be welcomed, to know God’s love…

It’s too good a thing to keep to ourselves.

Especially in a world where so many feel far from home… a world where so many feel that there is no way home… a world where so many are spiritually homeless…

This is our home, but it’s not just our home. It is a home for all people. Including those who haven’t yet made their way here.

Let’s let the world know that this is their home. Let’s welcome them in, just as God has welcomed us.

Bethel (Genesis 28:10-19)

 Last week in worship, we heard part of the story of Jacob: how he tricked his brother Esau into giving up his birthright, and how he stole from Esau the blessing meant for the first-born son. 

Because Jacob took Esau’s birthright and stole Esau’s blessing, Esau hated Jacob. Esau said to himself, “the days of mourning for my father are approaching; when they are over, I will kill my brother Jacob.”

Rebekah, the mother of Esau and Jacob, found out what Esau was planning to do. She called for Jacob and then said to Jacob: “Your brother Esau is planning to kill you. So run away. Go to my brother, Laban in Haran, and stay there until it is safe to return.”

I was curious, how far of a journey it was, for Jacob to travel from his home in Beer-sheba to Haran. I looked it up, and I was surprised to discover that Haran was way up near the modern-day border between Syria and Turkey. Jacob’s journey was about 500 miles! 

Many years later, after marrying and having kids, Jacob would return to his homeland, which means Jacob not only walked 500 miles to Haran, he walked 500 miles more, back from Haran. 

Knowing this means I will never hear that song by the Proclaimers (“I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more”) without thinking about Jacob, walking 500 miles to Haran, and walking 500 miles back. 

But as far as our story goes, I’m getting ahead of myself. The part of our story today is about when Jacob was first starting out on his long journey.

Imagine what he was feeling. Imagine what was going through his mind. Imagine what emotions were present in his heart.

Remember from last week that Jacob wasn’t really the adventurous type. He didn’t even like to go out and hunt; he preferred to stay in his tent. He liked being at home, where he felt safe, secure, and comfortable. 

At home, he had his family. At home, he worshiped his God, or at least, went through the motions of worshiping God. His father worshiped God, and maybe Jacob let his father do the worshiping on his behalf. That’s how it is with kids, sometimes.

But if he left his home, where would his comfort be? If he left his home, how would he feel secure? If he left his home, who would worship on his behalf, or teach him how to worship on his own?

Would God protect him, if he ventured away from home? Would God be with him? Was God even present, at all, in that great, wild, unsettled wilderness through which he would be traveling?

So many unknowns. 

How he wished he could just stay home. Home, where his family was. Home, where he had dwelled his whole life. Home, where he had watched animals and people be born and grow up, and where he had hoped to one day watch his own children be born and grow up.

Can you think of a time when you’ve had to leave behind all that was familiar, and face an uncertain future? Maybe you’re facing such a time right now. Maybe we’re facing such a time right now…facing the possibility of leaving behind what’s familiar, and venturing forth into an unknown wilderness…

And yet, as much as Jacob wished he could just stay home… he couldn’t. It just wasn’t possible. He couldn’t keep doing what he had been doing; he couldn’t keep living life the way he’d always lived it. 

He would have to choose another path, and embark on a new beginning.

“So Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place…;” and I can tell you that that “certain place” was less than 50 miles from Haran, a place he could have reached after one really long day of traveling, or if not, certainly by the second day.

But it was far enough away, and in an unsettled wilderness, that Jacob already felt far from home, far from his family, and far from God. He had received his father’s blessing, but did that blessing apply to one who was forced out of his family, away from his home, and into the wilderness? Was the blessing still valid in that new situation?

Would God be with him on the journey that he had begun, and which had such a long way still to go?

These thoughts had been with Jacob all day. Now, as the sun was setting, and as Jacob prepared to rest for the night, these thoughts continued to dwell with him.

It didn’t take Jacob long to get ready for bed. He didn’t have much with him. He was roughing it, that’s for sure. He longed for the nice, soft pillow he had in his tent back home, but he didn’t have it. He didn’t have any of the comforts of home.

So he grabbed a rock, and placed it under his head.

The rock wasn’t comfortable; it was a rock! Couldn’t he have taken off his sandals, and used them as a pillow? (Maybe they were too stinky.)

Could he have taken off some of his clothes, wadded them up, and used them as a pillow? (Nah; he probably needed to keep them on his body for warmth.)

What about using nothing at all? Just laying on his back, his head on the ground. Wouldn’t that have been more comfortable than using a rock for a pillow?

But the rock, being the right shape and size, allowed Jacob to close his eyes and imagine that he was back home, resting on his own soft pillow on his own bed in his own tent, and that did give him a tiny bit of emotional comfort, at least. It made him feel a little less alone, lying there under the sky, the only soul for miles around…

I don’t know how long it took him to fall asleep, but when he did, he had a dream. He dreamed there was a ladder, or stairway, reaching from the earth up to heaven, connecting earth and heaven. Angels were traveling up and down the ladder, traveling between earth and heaven.

And in the dream, God appeared, and stood there, and said: “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. One day you will return to this land, you and your countless offspring. In the meantime, know this: I am with you. I am with you wherever you go. I will not leave you.” 

When Jacob woke up, he realized that even out here in the wilderness, God was with him. In fact, God would be present with him wherever he went.

When Jacob had left home, he wasn’t sure that was true, but now he knew that it was. God was with him at home; God was with him on the journey through the wilderness, through the unknown; and God would be with him wherever this journey led him.

This knowledge, this awareness of God’s presence, made all the difference. When you realize that God is present, it changes everything. It changes your perception, your awareness. It changes your attitude. It changes your behavior…

Pastor and author Emily C. Heath wrote that “The challenge is learning how to really open ourselves up to God’s presence in our lives. God is always with us, always working in our midst. And… sometimes God is waiting for us to take notice and to get to work alongside God. At the heart of Christian spirituality is the capacity to experience God’s presence in our daily life. It’s learning to find that God is indeed in this place, and in every other place to which we go.”

Whatever happens, whatever changes are in store, whatever decisions we have to make, and wherever we go, God is present, and God’s blessings will continue to flow into our lives and through our lives.

As the sun was rising, Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it upright for a pillar, to form an altar; and he poured oil on top of it, consecrating it. 

After all, he wouldn’t need that rock with him anymore. He wouldn’t need that not-at-all comfortable pillow to remind him of his home, the place where he was loved and cared for and blessed, because now he knew that he would be loved and cared for and blessed wherever he went.

Jacob named that place where he had spent the night “Bethel.” Beth means “house,” and El means “God.”

Beth-El. “House of God.”

Perhaps before he only thought of his home, his homeland, as the place where God dwells. Now, he realized that God’s house is wherever he lays his head, because God cannot be limited by a particular place. 

Wherever you go, God is there. Whatever happens, God is there. 

God is there when you lay down your head at night and when you rise in the morning.

God is in the morning sun that greets you; or, the fog that moves slowly and silently. And God is in the moonlight, and the starlight, and the darkness of night.

God is in the flowers of your garden, and in the songs of the birds.

God is with you at home, in the midst of your family; and God is with you when you are far from home, or have no home, or have been separated from your family.

And even if you find yourself in a new place with new neighbors, God is there, too, among them.

God is even in you. You are created in God’s image… Some Christian leaders have gotten in trouble for preaching this over the years, that there is goodness and holiness within you, yet Genesis 1 says that every person was created in God’s image, and was created good. 

There is goodness in you. There is God’s presence in you. 

And the presence of God in you might be the reminder to someone else that they are loved, that they are blessed, and that God is with them.

So whatever happens, wherever you end up… God is there.

And God is good.

"Strange Dreams" (Genesis 28:10-19)

Imagine hiking 1,300 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail. That’s what a friend of mine did in the summer of 2017. 

Most of it, he did by himself. On his back, he carried everything he needed: his clothing, his tent, his sleeping bag, his food… and his guitar.

Some of you know this person I’m talking about. His name is James. He’s a musician - a singer and songwriter - which is why he carried his big ol’ acoustic guitar into the wilderness along with all his other essentials. 

Some years back, when James was still in high school, he and some other young Disciples musicians from San Diego played a little concert on our church patio. And last summer, I recruited James to counsel and lead music at Loch Leven.

It was there, at Loch Leven last summer, that James and I talked about his wilderness trek. I’ve done a bit of backpacking myself, but I’ve never done a backpacking trip all by myself, and I’ve never done a months-long trip on the Pacific Crest Trail.

So I asked him: “What was it like? What was it like, at night, in your tent, by yourself?”

He said that the sense of solitude was immense. It was really cool, and - at times - incredibly lonely. 

He said that lying there, alone in his tent at night, it was easy for his imagination to run wild, because who knows what’s lurking out there in the darkness?

It reminded me of one of my very first boy scout backpacking trips…

I was only eleven years old. I remember a steep trail getting to our campsite… and I remember that, as night came, I somehow ended up in a tent all by myself.

Not really what eleven year-old me wanted.

At night, it was dark. It was completely silent. It was lonely. And, yes, it was scary.

And then, it started to rain!

It was a long, lonely night.

In today’s scripture, it is Jacob who spends a night alone. It’s his first night ever away from home. And it wasn’t by choice.

Jacob was on the run. Jacob’s brother Esau was threatening to kill Jacob, so Jacob was fleeing for his life. 

And I imagine that, on the run, away from home, spending his first night away from his family, out in the wilderness… I imagine that Jacob felt isolated. And very alone. 

Especially once the sun set, and it got dark, and the hyenas started howling in the distance.

Jacob was tired, and he couldn’t see in the darkness, so he laid himself down on the ground. He grabbed a stone, and used it as a pillow.

Before he fell asleep, his memories tormented him. Had he done what was right? Was it worth it, to gain the birthright and blessing, only to be driven away from his family? From his home? 

Jacob never felt more alone than he did on that night.

The same is true for many of us today. We have never felt more alone, more isolated. We’re not out in the wilderness, sleeping alone on the ground beneath a starry sky - but it kinda feels like it.

To begin with, we live in the most individualized society in earth’s history. No other society, past or present, has valued independence and individualism more than our modern American society.

This tends to make people lonely.

Other societies, past and present, were much more communal in nature. It was all about the household, the tribe, the community. Jacob had been a part of a large household which included Isaac and so many distant relatives and friends and companions and servants. 

We would look at a society like that and lament the lack of privacy; they would look at a society like ours and lament the lack of connection.

We do live isolated lives. One of the reasons coming together in worship is so important and so meaningful to us is that it is a way to break out of our isolation, to connect, to form a community with people - a family - with people who become, in a very real way, our children, our siblings, our parents, our grandparents, our aunts and uncles, in the family of God.

But we’re not able to do that now. For the past several months, we’ve been more or less isolated - isolated even more than we normally are - by this pandemic which, at least in the United States, shows no signs of ending any time soon… which means that our isolation has gone to a whole new level, and many of us are feeling more alone now than we ever have before...

Another characteristic of the strange, uncertain times is that a lot of people are saying they’re having more vivid dreams.

I asked around in my own family, and they said yes, they’ve been having strange, unusually vivid dreams. And I have too. 

Psychologists say there is a reason for this. They say that when things are in turmoil, our dreams go into overtime to help us adjust. This, the psychologists say, is actually helpful to our wellbeing.

People who have vivid dreams during times of trial and uncertainty end up coping better, and are less likely to experience depression as a result of their stressful circumstances. This is true even if the dreams themselves are emotionally negative. Dreams can help us move on and move forward, emotionally and mentally. And in that sense, the psychologists say, dreams really do have healing power.

A recent article in Psychology Today by Dylan Selterman talks about dreams in the time of extreme social distancing. The article says: “our dreams may serve as a biological signal that we must work hard to maintain our relationship bonds. Folks have been describing their ‘random’ dreams online recently that included high school friends, exes, or folks who have passed away. When many of us can’t leave our homes or socialize the way we ordinarily would, these dreams are motivating us, as if our brains are crying out: Reconnect! Reconnect!”

Has that been your experience? Because I have, in fact, had a number of dreams lately which featured people and places from my past - churches where I was once a member or pastor - homes where I once lived - dreams featuring my parents - and dreams in which I’m substitute teaching, even though it’s been over four months now since the schools closed.

Is it because I’m feeling even more isolated than usual? Are these dreams telling me to reconnect, reconnect?

Jacob - away from home, isolated and alone - put his head down on the stone. Night fell. All became shadow. His memories tormented him, and then his dreams unsettled him. Strange, unusually vivid dreams.

He dreamed of a great ladder or stairway to heaven, connecting heaven and earth. And there were angels going up and down this giant stairway. 

And in his dream the Lord appeared, and said “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham and Isaac. This land will be given to you and to your offspring, which will spread like the dust of the earth; and you and your descendants will be a blessing to all the families of the earth.

“For I am with you and will protect you wherever you go.”

Jacob had gone to sleep feeling all alone - incredibly alone - but when he woke up, he reflected on the vivid dream he had had, and he realized: he was not alone. 

He said, “Surely the Lord is in this place - and I did not know it! I didn’t realize! I cried myself to sleep, wishing there was someone to hear my cries, someone to comfort me, someone to dry my tears… I didn’t realize that the Lord was here, hearing my cries; or that the Lord was, in that very moment, embracing me, protecting me, watching over me…”

“But now I know: the Lord is here with me. The Lord is here, and I need not fear. Even when I feel abandoned. Even when I feel alone. The Lord is here. And the Lord will always be here, with me, wherever I go.”

And Jacob took the stone that he had used as a pillow and he set it upright, forming a little altar; and he poured oil on top of the stone, so that, when he returned to this spot, he would see it, and remember that, here, when he was a young man and had left home for the first time; when he lay down to sleep feeling all alone and isolated, God was with him all along. And someday, when he comes back and sees that stone, it will remind him of God’s presence, that where he was, God was; and where he is, God is.

And Jacob named that place Bethel, a word that means “God’s home.” Jacob had left his home, but had found his way to God’s home. Because God’s home is always with you, wherever you are. Sacred space can be found wherever you are.

And in this time of pandemic, when we aren’t able to gather together the way we want to, that’s a good thing to remember: that God is always with you, wherever you are.