Let Go of the Ladder

“Then what becomes of boasting?” asks the Apostle Paul in Romans 3:27.

His question is, particularly for people called and gathered together by the Holy Spirit to be the church for the sake of the world, one worth pondering.

Call it a biblical rumble strip of sorts; a carefully constructed question meant to grab our attention by jolting us out of our mental doldrums and making us sit up and take notice of what’s coming next.

And, like a rumble strip permanently embedded into the road to warn of an impending stop, we cannot — try as we might – avoid the inevitable. Nope. Evasion and denial won’t cut it this time.

“Then what becomes of boasting?”

It is, in my view, a question that challenges us to confront the many and varied ways that we are seduced by and ensnared by a worldly ethic of doing and achieving. An ethic shaped by a reward-and-punishment logic that seemingly impels us to cling to our worldly “If only” ladders with vise-like grips.

If only I work hard enough. If only I could earn good grades. If only I would lose weight. If only I would exercise more. THEN, just maybe, I’ll be loved, or liked, or admired.

We cling to our Spiritual “IF Only” ladders too. If only I pray harder. If only attend worship more often. If only I help others in need. If only I could resist the temptations of sin. THEN, maybe others will see that I’m a good person. THEN, maybe God will take notice and reward me. If Only … Then.

Sadly, far too often I, and perhaps some of you, can be deluded by the chorus of worldly values into believing “that it’s all about me.” And, as a result, we cling to our “If Only” Ladders of Success more than we care to admit. It happens in families. It happens in congregations. And it happens in places where we work, study, and socialize too.

After all, it’s hard not to let go of the worldly ladders that we cling to. Think about it. We’re constantly bombarded by messages highlighting our deficiencies and pointing out everything we don’t have. Persuasive ads and multimedia messages which do their best to persuade us that power, status, position, and things and bling can somehow satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart.

And, while desperately clinging to our spiritual ladders, we can also be deluded into believing that my lived piety, my demonstrated acts of kindness, my acts of Christian charity and love can, in a some kind of warped divine cosmic karma, merit favor with God.

In our exhausting scramble up our worldly and spiritual ladders of success we end up defining ourselves by the things we do – outward expressions of piety, charitable acts, and academic and professional achievements, instead of remembering whose we are – beloved children of God.

The truth of the matter is, we try our best to deny the reality “we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves.”  Especially given the energy and effort we put into climbing our spiritual and worldly “IF ONLY” ladders.

When we are so focused on climbing our way to the top, one hard-earned rung at a time, that we may find ourselves knocking other people down a few pegs along the way by spreading half-truths, hurtful gossip, belittling, or judging. Thereby denying the reality that we’re all just beggars standing together with outstretched hands in Christ’s breadline. And, in the process, we end up distancing ourselves from other members of the body of Christ without even realizing it. Or, even worse, knowing precisely what we are doing.

Trapped in the rat race of life while clinging to our IF ONLY LADDERS with all our might. Putting all of our energy and effort into climbing the ladder one rung at a time, so much so that we end up measuring our own value and worth in light of worldly standards of success. Judging ourselves, and others, by what we do.

Yet somehow the biblical rumble strip from Romans 3 forces us to do what we seemingly can’t, or wont, do on our own. Slow down. Stop. Listen.

“Then what becomes of boasting” (3:27)? Nothing. “It is excluded,” writes Paul. “For since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they [all] are now justified by God’s grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood effective through faith”(3:23-25)

We, my sisters and brothers in Christ, are restored to a right relationship with God not by the law, nor by good works, but through God’s grace. The generous and unmerited outpouring of all that is good, all that we need, issuing from the very heart of God with no strings attached (Martin Marty, Lutheran Questions, Lutheran Answers 79).  And, receiving the promise by faith in Christ Jesus, a response worked in us by the Holy Spirit that orients and shapes our lives, we are reconciled to God.

Let go of the ladder.

We don’t need to do anything, earn anything, say anything, accomplish anything, or buy anything to earn God’s love. God loves you, accepts you, and desires to put you (and me) in right relationship with God and with one another.

Let go of the ladder.

God comes to you!

God comes to you in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

God comes to you in the waters of Holy Baptism, claiming you as God’s beloved child, clothing you with God’s mercy and forgiveness, and raising you to new life in Christ.

God comes to you at the Lord’s Table where you receive the body of Christ given for you, and drink from the cup of salvation shed for you, for the forgiveness of your sins (and my sins).

And the Crucified and Risen Lord comes to you now. In the midst of the muck, messiness, and brokenness of our lives. Walking with you and me in the midst of our pain, sin, alienation, and shame. Saying, “I tell you now, your sins are forgiven.” Extending grace upon grace that is not deserved, and forgiveness that is not earned.