Who Will Move the Ladder?
Sunday, June 4, 2023
Ephesians 4:1-6; Corinthians 1:10-13; Philippians 2:1-4
Therefore, as a prisoner for the Lord, I encourage you to live as people worthy of the call you received from God. Conduct yourselves with all humility, gentleness, and patience. Accept each other with love, and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together. You are one body and one spirit, just as God also called you in one hope. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all.
Ephesians 4:1-6
Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
No matter where we find ourselves on the political spectrum or how different our cultures may be, this truth binds us together as followers of Jesus in every place and every time. Yet the very site which honors the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus remains one of the most conflicted places on earth. The various Christian groups who serve as stewards of this Holy place in Jerusalem have a long standing status-quo to ensure that no one encroaches on another group’s space. Fights have broken out because someone cleaned the wrong step. Which group is responsible for the window sill? No one knows for sure. And so to this day, a wooden ladder stands in the window sill of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as a lament and an indictment of a centuries old conflict which cannot be resolved. (Check out the links at the bottom of this post for the full story of the ladder and the history of the status-quo).
A ladder once used for maintenance or cleaning may be insignificant and petty, but it has become like so many petty things which divide us both in the church and in the larger world. It is the elephant in the room that everyone struggles to walk around but nobody has the courage to discuss.
“Yes,” we say, “but our issues are so much more crucial than a ladder. We are fighting for the authority of scripture or the dignity of human lives or the soul of a nation.”
At least that’s how we justify the vitriol of our arguments. There is no shortage of things to argue about, and every argument in it’s season feels like the most critical issue we will ever face. For the Methodist Church today it may be homosexuality or the way we interpret scripture. For the church 100 to 150 years ago, the issue was slavery, and again, how to interpret scripture on that issue. For the early church in Corinth, it came down to questions of which spiritual gifts were better than others or how much of the Jewish law a Gentile had to obey before they could be counted among the followers of Christ, among other things. It seems the closer we get to the cross, the more we want to make sure that the only people there with us in the inner circle look like us, sound like us, act like us, and believe like us about everything. Everyone else can take a step back. We may not admit it, but there is a part of us that seems to pine for the days of the inner and outer courts at the Temple to establish clear boundaries around how close a particular group can get to God.
I think the ladder, though petty and tragic, is an appropriate metaphor for the church as a whole. Over 2,000 years ago Jesus began putting together living stones to build a Kingdom on Earth as it is in heaven. Then he left us in charge, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to keep building and restoring all of creation until he returned. Somewhere along the way we seem to have lost the plans. Everyone has a different idea of what the church should look like, how the church should engage with the world, which beliefs are negotiable and which are not, and who we think should or should not be included in this Kingdom we are building. We have forgotten that we are merely stewards. It is not our church. It is not our kingdom. We don’t get to decide these things. Jesus is the head of the church and he has already made these decisions for us. He even taught us how to love one another in the midst of the disagreements he knew would arise. But you wouldn’t know it. Through all of our conflict, our ladders remain, leaving the world to wonder if this project we call “the church” or “the Kingdom of God” will ever be finished or if it should be abandoned altogether.
We should not be surprised by this tragic outcome. We see it in the disciples themselves. Jesus no sooner told them he was about to be executed and they start arguing about who would be the greatest (Mark 9:30-37). That’s what all of this is really all about. Who is the greatest? Who gets to sit in the seat of honor next to Jesus? Who will be the closest to God? Who will hold the seat of power? After all, the winners write the history books, and we want to be the winners. World history is the story of an endless sibling rivalry in which we all want to be the favorite child.
This is not our place. Power in this world, even economic and political power, is an illusion. It is temporary and comes at a tremendous cost. Jesus tells us that those who seek to save their lives will lose them. The more we try to gain or hold onto control, the more harm we do to others and to ourselves. Some have said that most of the evil in the world is the result of religion. Indeed, the most brutal wars in history and even in our own day are rooted in religious ideology. It is not, I believe, religion itself which stirs up so much violence, but rather our misuse of religion for the sake of worldly gain and power.
While we fight over who is closest to God, God draws closer those we want to keep the furthest away.
While we fight for power, God favors the powerless.
While we fight over who is “right”, God keeps loving those we think are “wrong.”
If there is any hope for our future, we must let go of our craving for power. We must stop trying to climb the ladders of the empire. If we learn anything from the Tower of Babel, it is that our ladders can never reach high enough to get us into heaven’s throne-room (Genesis 11:1-9). No matter how good an earthly government may be, it is always temporary. Yes, even our great American democracy. In the end, every nation will rise up against the Lamb of God, ours included, and those who hold onto the power and wealth of the world will find themselves hiding in the caves praying the rocks might fall upon them. (Revelation 6:15-17).
We must seek humility, not power.
We must give up our illusions of control.
We must accept our place as wanderers finding our way together in this world.
We must give up our dehumanizing and derogatory insults and see even our enemies as real human beings created in the image of God.
Only then can we begin to dream again. Only then can we find hope for peace. Only then can we find the strength and courage to move our immovable ladders.
Who will move the ladder, and put an end to this bickering?
Who will move the ladder, and proclaim Jesus as King?
Reflections:
Do you believe there is any difference too big for God to overcome or any sin to great to be forgiven? If so, what might that be and why?
In what ways do you seek power or control? This may show up personally as you strive for control in your own life, or it may be on a larger scale, such as fighting for political power on behalf of the church or other interest groups.
Listen to the song in the video below. What “ladders” stand as constant reminders of unresolved tension or conflict between you and someone else? What would it look like to move that ladder and resolve your differences?
Resources on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre:
WHO WILL MOVE THE LADDER
by: Craig J. Sefa
Verse 1:
Once upon a time, not so long ago, in Jerusalem they say,
there was a ladder, but no one could agree
who could move it away.
So they fight and toil, to this very day
at the place where Christ raised from the dead.
But to no avail, the ladder still remains,
while the world looks on and shakes their head
Chorus:
Who will move the ladder,
and put an end to this bickering
Who will move the ladder,
and proclaim Jesus as King
Verse 2:
You say a ladder is a petty thing
and friend I would agree,
but we’ve divided over lesser things,
How can they see our unity?
Are we one body, or are we each a head?
Is Christ alive or is He dead?
Chorus:
Will you move the ladder,
and put an end to this bickering
Will you move the ladder,
and proclaim Jesus as King
Bridge:
How blessed are, those who work for peace
For they’ll be called the sons of God
So let’s tear down the walls, why not start today?
Won’t you join with me and say
Ending:
I will move the ladder, and put an end to this bickering
I will move the ladder, and proclaim Jesus as King
If you are a musician and would like to play along, you can link to the chord sheet for “Who Will Move the Ladder” here. This music is free to copy for personal or public use in worship. I would only ask that you share with me how it is being used.