July 4 Lectionary 383

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Jacob's ladder
Jacob's ladder

July 4, 2011: Scripture:Lectionary 383. Genesis 28:10-22. Psalm
91:1-2, 3-4, 14-15. Matthew 0:18-26: Some of our religious
experiences come from our dreams or maybe while we are "day
dreaming." We have one of the great examples of this in the story of
Jacob's ladder. It is this experience that leads him to believe in
the God of his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham. He will be
one of the three forefathers or ancestors in the faith for all
believers in the one God. We learn of the messengers of God ascending
and descending on that visioned ladder. Heaven and earth are united
for Jacob; he is becoming a full person in touch with the earthly and
seen as well as with what is not seen but believed. The Lord (Adonai)
reveals himself to Jacob in a way that makes him aware that he is now
to make a permanent and lasting covenant with God. Isaac and Abraham
already had done this and opened him to the way by their commitment
to the Lord. The stone on which he slept becomes a sacred memorial to
mark the place of his encounter with the divine. He crys out, "How
awesome is this shrine! This is nothing else but an abode of God, and
that is the gateway to heaven!" Jesus himself refers to this vision
or dream of Jacob. It is the Fourth Gospel that tells us the story of
the first five disciples of Jesus : Andrew, Peter, Philip, Nathaniel,
and an unnamed disciple (the Beloved Disciple?). He tells them they
will experience greater things than Jacob did. "I solemnly assure
you, you shall see the angels of God ascending and descending on the
Son of Man." (John 1:51). The five then make their act of faith in
Jesus. "Faith binds us in a special manner to God.It puts us in
contact with God Himself, our spirit wih God's spirit, our heart with
God's heart, the light of God becomes ours. " Blessed William J.
Chaminade.
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Teaching Mother teching mother
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