Introduction

“Ascend, my brothers, ascend eagerly.  Let your hearts’ resolve be to climb.  Listen to the voice of one who says, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of our God’ (Isaiah 2:3), who makes your feet to be like the feet of the deer, ‘Who sets us on the high places that we might be triumphant on His road’ (Habakkuk 3:19)”

--St. John Climacus

This is an invitation.  It’s an invitation to go up higher, to draw nearer to God.  Like most trips into the high country it is best taken in the company of friends and with the help of an experienced guide.  For company I offer myself and some e-connected fellow pilgrims.  For our guide may I suggest St. John Climacus, author of the spiritual classic, The Ladder of Divine Ascent. 

John was the abbot of a monastery on Mt. Sinai during the 7^th century.  His reputation for holiness and skill in helping his brother monks on their spiritual journey led to an invitation from a neighboring monastic community to write down his approach to growing in the love of God.  The result was the book, The Ladder of Divine Ascent.  In The Ladder Climacus uses the Old Testament imagery of Jacob’s ladder (Genesis 28:12), a stairway between heaven and earth, to describe a series of steps or stages by which we may ascend toward knowledge and love of God.

You may be asking yourself, “How relevant can a book written by a 1400-year-old Middle Eastern hermit be?  What can a dusty old monk have to say to 21^st century Christians?”  I believe there is much we can learn from St. John of the Ladder.  He had to deal with many of the same issues and obstacles to spirituality that we face today: setting priorities, distractions, unhealthy appetites, relationships.   Climacus knows that there are things that are pulling us down, keeping us from real communion with God.  He is also encouraging, and knows that God is eager to help us and wants us to come to him.  And as a brother in Christ, Climacus shares with us a common goal, developing a love relationship with God.  Unlike some of his contemporaries, he doesn’t dwell on the contemplation of God, which can seem abstract or impersonal.  For Climacus the ultimate is a warm personal connection with God.  We can all relate to that.

Through the centuries The Ladder has proven itself very useful to Christians pursuing the upward call of Christ.  Shall we join them?  Let’s make the climb together.

Prayer:

O God, you call us all to yourself.  In this season of Lent we hear your call anew and recommit ourselves to climbing step by step toward our goal of communion with you, through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

St. John Climacus, pray for us.