THE LADDER

Welcome to the CCCA’s 2020 Lent Project. Last year we focused on what it means to be fully human and fully engaged with life both here on earth and in the age to come. This season we turn to early Christian texts to guide us in our Lenten journey together. These texts give us an intriguing glimpse into what the early church emphasized for those longing to daily “take up their cross and follow Christ.” The main document we will be using is a text called The Ladder of Divine Ascent, originally written by the head of St. Katherine’s Monastery, Mount Sinai, Egypt, one of the oldest monasteries in the world. John Climacus (7th century), the author, was a monk writing to fellow monks regarding the faith. It is not a dogmatic treatise as much as it is a call to action. Divided into 30 steps or “rungs” reminiscent of the 30 years Christ lived on earth prior to His public ministry, it presents a graphic picture of the virtues and vices we struggle with in our daily lives as we traverse the path towards transformation. 

Over the years The Ladder of Divine Ascent has become a popular devotional “how to” book on living the Christian life. Some consider it a text second only to the Bible, a fundamental book on what it means to be a follower of Christ. This spiritual classic has brought edification to every generation since the time it was first written. Read every year during Great Lent in monastic refectories, this book has been treasured by both monastics and laymen alike for 1500 years. 

The ladder is a powerful Christian symbol. We immediately think of Jacob’s dream in Genesis, where Jacob sees a stairway to heaven with a host of angels ascending and descending it. We also think of Christ as the divine ladder bridging the gap between God and man. However, the idea of the Christian life as a ladder with every rung taking us ever upward on a straight path to heaven is only one way of visualizing the spiritual journey. Life can also be viewed as a series of spirals or concentric circles in which we return to earlier experiences, as we endeavor to circle upward and onward. Or we can look at the Christian journey as going deeper and deeper into the vast mysteries of Christ. We come to understand that along with images of height there are also images of depth. Whatever way we choose to think about the pilgrim life, we realize (according to Theologian Kallistos Ware) that “even in Heaven, God will continue to be full of surprises with ever new things to teach us. Salvation is an unending journey with always more to come.”

Subject matter for this year’s Lent project has been taken from The Ladder of Divine Ascent and adapted by our contributors for lay readers. Each weekday during Lent we will consider one of the virtues or vices (rungs) on Climacus’ ladder. On Sundays and during Holy Week through Bright Week we will meditate on early Christian hymn texts related to the salvific work of Christ. These texts are taken from the vast liturgical literature that has survived. Some of the texts are still used in particular Christian communities around the world today. Often reflecting psalmody in form and content, many of these hymns are poetic prayers describing the biblical texts for a particular liturgical sequence or cycle. 

Jesus came to defeat the Devil and Death, but He also came to apply His victory to our daily lives--to lift us up to the heavenly realm here and now. Some Christians celebrate Christ’s victory on Easter Sunday, but fail to grab Christ’s hand and allow Him to lift them up into glory in their daily lives the rest of the year. How does one make progress in the Christian life?  It is the intent of this project to help participants examine their lives by symbolically stepping on the rungs of the ladder of divine ascent, a ladder of Christian growth and maturity, of truth and virtue. As we carefully examine ourselves we become keenly aware of our short-comings  and sins but at the same time we are filled with overwhelming joy as we meditate on Jesus’ life and how He endured the cross for our salvation as we are lifted up from glory to glory.
      -----Barry Krammes, 2020 Lent Scripture Curator

We are most grateful for all of the illustrators, artisans, fine artists, poets, authors, composers, and musicians who have contributed to this project. The multiplicity of styles, cultures, and wide range of denominations represented, always creates a full-bodied meditation on the marvelous things that God has done and is doing in the hearts and lives of those who seek him. We are also most grateful to those readers who have contributed financially to this unusual endeavor. It is your support that continues to make these projects possible. Our team has spent dozens of hours culling through hundreds of musical compositions and works of art and poetry in an attempt to bring a heartfelt worship experience to our participants.  A special thank you to our curators: Barry Krammes who selected the Scriptures, Dr. Rachel Hostetter Smith who selected the artwork, Jayne English who selected poetry, and Rachel Glazener who selected the music for this year’s project. A special thank you to Nancy Hoffman.

Additionally, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab, that give you biographical information on the artists, poets, composers, and musicians used in the Project, as well as lyrics, song/composition titles, and artwork information. Through the layering of scripture, prayers and the arts, The Lent Project offers a wonderful opportunity for daily reflection, an occasion for us to pray with our eyes and ears, as well as, our hearts and minds.
     ----CCCA, 2020

The Origins and Purposes of Lent
Dr. Julie Canlis speaks about being in a desert season and how this correlates with fasting, especially during Lent. She explains that self-denial is not a Christian virtue in itself, but that it makes way for focused growth and dependence on God.

Noted theologian Dr. Julie Canlis visited Biola in 2015 with a series of chapel talks that brought insights and encouragements about the season of Lent. We felt that her talk was worth a re-visit as the lessons are timeless.  

Julie was raised in Seattle, graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in the Comparative History of Ideas. After marrying her childhood sweetheart, Matt, they together pursued graduate studies at Regent College (Vancouver, BC) where she earned a degree in Spiritual Theology. A PhD at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland followed. Her dissertation was published as Calvin’s Ladder (Eerdmans, 2010), which grapples with Calvin’s vision for the way humanity ‘becomes itself’ by participating in Christ. It won the Christianity Today Award of Merit for Theology in 2011.

After finishing her thesis in 2005, Julie stayed at home with their four children while Matt began ministry in the Church of Scotland. In 2007 she won the Templeton Prize for Theological Promise. This led to Templeton lectures throughout the United States as well as in Greece, Hungary, England and Canada. After 13 years of ministry in Scotland at Methlick Parish Church, the Canlis family returned to Washington where Matt currently pastors Trinity Church in Wenatchee.  Julie teaches Sunday School there and in the summer months lectures at Regent College. After returning to America, Julie Canlis was struck by the emphasis within Christian circles on being 'extraordinary' for God. Her latest book A Theology of the Ordinary Paperback (2017) is a brief theological meditation on the "ordinary life" as the only place where faith can truly be lived.