FCC Winchester

Good morning! It’s wonderful to be here with all of you on this lovely, less smokey, day.
I chose this particular Sunday to preach because we had tickets to Hootie and the
Blowfish last night, and I knew we’d be in town. Really, it was Hootie without the
Blowfish, because it was just Darius Rucker. Any Hootie fans here? He was great! His
music has shifted away from pop rock to Christian and Gospel.

Anyway, what I didn’t know, and happily discovered, is that one of the lectionary choices
for today is a favorite of mine: Jacob’s Ladder. That was some kind of sign I figured, so I
chose it to focus on. The full story of Jacob’s life as laid out in the Book of Genesis is
richly complex with themes of greed and deception, divine election, struggles with God,
betrayal and forgiveness, spiritual transformation, and ultimately Jacob’s ascendance as
the foundational patriarch of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. And then, get this, he lives to
147 years old! There must be a million sermons written about the various aspects of his
life. Mercifully for you, I will focus just on his dream about the ladder.

In my office, I have this bookmark hanging up [show to congregation]. You may even recognize it. Last spring, Fred Greene’s family created and gave out bookmarks at his memorial service at the church. There are two sides to the bookmark. The back is a poem by Mary Oliver called “In Blackwater Woods.” The front is a picture of Fred with his name, the day he was born, the day he died, a message from his family, and a quote from the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. The quote reads, “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” I have this bookmark next to my mirror in my office. I don’t pass it every time I’m in my office, but I pass it often enough to have memorized the Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s words: “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” Fred was such a beautiful embodiment of kindness. The photo on his bookmark even embodies his compassionate, loving, and attentive presence–it’s somewhat amazing and surprising that a 2D, flat image could convey so much personality and so much warmth.