The Door

The Door

         What’s up with The Door?  Two Gospels make reference to The Door which locks us out of God’s Presence.  Matthew 25:10 refers to the Foolish Bridesmaids caught unprepared by the Bridegroom’s arrival.  They begged to be let in, but the The Door to the banquet hall was already locked, and the Bridegroom said to them, “I do not know you.”  Luke 13:25 refers to the Master, who after a long day’s work, got up from supper, and locked The Door to go to bed.  To the stragglers who begged, ‘Lord, open to us’, the Master said, “I do not know where you come from.”  In both Gospels, those locked out are condemned as Strangers to God.

         Lest we portray Jesus as mercilessly cruel, there is a third reference to The Door –one with a profound nuance.  In Revelations 3:20, John also references The Door which separates the Unrepentant Sinner from Jesus, but this time, it is Jesus who is begging to be allowed to come in: “Behold, I am standing at the door, knocking. If one of you hears me calling and opens the door, I will come in to share his meal, side by side with him.”  

         In all three cases The Door separates us from Jesus.  In Matthew and Luke, The Door keeps us from Jesus, yet in Revelations, The Door keeps Jesus from us.  In Matthew and Luke, the Sinner does not control the lock.  Yet, in John, the Sinner controls the lock.  So, what is The Door and how does its lock work?

         Clearly, The Door is the consequence of personal sin, for sin separates us from God.  Sin renounces the Reign of God over our life as it exalts the Reign of Self over God.  Sin is the bottom line of where we stand in relationship to God.  We are cast as Strangers, not because Jesus does not know our name, or where we were born, but because our selfish life is foreign to him –he knows only the Will of the Father.  He cannot relate to disobedience, nor can the Disobedient relate to him.

         If The Door is the consequence of sin, then the lock speaks to the ‘eternal-ness’ of that consequence.  Matthew and Luke plainly describe, that once The Door is shut, it cannot be opened –yet, John clearly has Jesus hoping it will open again.  Why the difference?  The difference is not so much ‘why’ as ‘when’ -for the ‘when’ makes all the difference in the world.

         In Matthew and Luke, The Door is locked at the coming of Night.  Scripture tells us we have but one life to live, and then we are judged.  Like the Bridesmaids, ‘we do not know either the day or the hour’ of that All Important Moment -when our ultimate destiny becomes Eternally Chosen.

         And lest we portray this Sober Truth as mercilessly cruel, John, the Disciple Whom Jesus Loved, leaves us with the Hope of Mercy –with the Sacred Heart of Jesus knocking at The Door of our heart, begging that we trust him to become Lord in our life.  While we yet breathe, we are in the Season of Mercy –repenting of our selfish ways immediately opens The Door to the Bridegroom who so Desires our heart.

Who Then Can Be Saved?

Who Then Can Be Saved? (Mt 19)

         Matthew’s 19th chapter sets the stage for the Coming Kingdom.  The first half paints God’s picture of marriage –how Two Souls consecrating themselves for the Other, become melded as One; how this Unity of Love points to our destiny in God; and how children, the fruit of Espoused Union, are the precious embodiment Love’s Offspring, of the New Life which awaits all who give themselves to the Name Above All Names.

         The second half of chapter 19 illuminates the path to this Mystical Union.  It wets our appetite for what is universally repugnant –the Renunciation of Self.  Matthew begins with Jesus’ encounter with the Rich Young Man who asks, 'Master, what good deed must I do to possess eternal life?'  When Jesus said, 'If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me'  the young man went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.

         Jesus then solemnly tells his disciples '… it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  Yes, I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.'  With wealth as the insurance of our dreams, our path can only lead away from Christ.

Bewildered, the disciples ask, 'Who then, can be saved?'  It was a rhetorical question.  They were not asking as though seeking Truth, but as knowing the answer.  Since wealth was considered a sign of God’s favor; and because the rich young man was leading an exemplary life, the answer must surely be that no one can be saved.

Their expectation was kind of right, but totally wrong.  Yes, without a Savior, there is no hope of salvation.  Yet, all mankind was predestined to know the Eternal Love of its Creator.  In this revolutionary moment, Christ pierces the Darkened Mind of Man with the Light of His Truth -He reveals Hope for our Salvation.

Matthew says “Jesus gazed at them.”  He lovingly looked into their troubled souls and gave them that Anchor of Hope when he said, 'For men, this is impossible; for God everything is possible.'  In the end, the Love of our Father will conquer Sin.  All that is required is to renounce the transitory love of our Self for the Eternal Love of God.  But as great a deal as it must have seemed, even greater still must have been the disciples gloom, for they knew well the Weakness of Man.  

         Even though they had the assurance of Christ’s Promise, they would not reap the Repose of its Restful Waters until after Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Pentecost.  Only then, could they take hold of Hope, and have the Power to live in its Promise.  The Blood of the Cross, the Hope of Resurrection, and the Power of the Holy Spirit broke the chains of sin which condemned us to the worship of Self over God.

         This is the Mystery of Grace, that in choosing Christ, the fear, of losing our all, dissolves into the infilling of his Love.  In giving away what we possess, we become possessed by the Giver of All.  As we surrender our Old Self into his Love, we are freed into New Life.  Even now, Jesus is gazing into our eyes, beckoning us to lose ourselves into his Spousal Love –to live for him, in him and with him.  

         Lord Jesus, what I have possessed has often possessed me, blinding me to Life in Love with you.  Do not allow me to be deceived by my selfish dreams, but open my eyes to your Truth, to your Dream for me.  Do not let me walk away sad, but empower me with your Holy Spirit to desire only what you desire for me, that I may run to do the Will of our Father, that I may know the Joy of your Spousal Love. 

Disney Bruenette

The Disney Brunette

I was standing in line with my two brother-in-laws, waiting to get on Cinderella's Golden Carrousel.  This was way back. I was twenty, Disney World just opened, and tickets were required for each ride.  Standing alone, two places in front of us, was an astonishingly beautiful woman.  Her long, straight, jet-black hair hung perfectly down her neck.  Her blue eyes seemed battery powered.  Every feature about her was perfect.  She was a goddess to behold.

Out of the blue, I blurted out, “I’ll bet you I can get her to go on the ride with me.”  It was a moment of madness I cannot explain.  I took a big breath, smiled at my brother-in-laws, and stepped forward to proposition a goddess.  A few moments later, I returned, asking to borrow some tickets. Seeing, that I was floating on a cloud, they said, “Take them all!”  So began my dream adventure with the beautiful goddess of Disney World.

          After the carrousel, we headed off to Pirates Of The Caribbean.  On the way as we began to talk, the Dream began to unwrap and a Nightmare began to unfold.  I was literally stricken by her emptiness.  She was so full of herself, that my presence was virtually unacknowledged.  Her extraordinary beauty became eclipsed by a repulsive darkness.  I desperately wanted to get away from her.  The intensity of my sudden revulsion was bewildering.  I did not know how to tell her politely that this was a big mistake -that I did not want to be with her anymore.   

We arrived at the attraction and climbed into something like a little row boat, which took us past the various pirate scenes.  She was oblivious to my panic, but all the while, my mind was racing over how to gracefully exit.  The boat had stopped for the next scene.  It was pitch dark and loud with noise.  That is when I noticed the little red Exit sign.  It was my opportunity to bolt.  When the boat moved back into the light, I was gone.  I’m sure she was surprised, but I doubt she ever missed me.

This memory came to mind this morning, as I was reflecting on the enigmatic words of Jesus, where the First shall be Last and the Last shall be First, where the Least shall be the Greatest in the Kingdom Of God.  I could see how these words have application here on earth, but I was struggling to grasp how they also pointed to different levels in heaven.  This was a conundrum, since in heaven, all are in unity, and all are complete.  But, just because all will be perfectly happy, does not mean all will have the same capacity for happiness -for those who loved more, there will be more happiness.

It was intentional, that Jesus connects “least” and “last” with our heavenly reward.  Least and last define humility, which is the antithesis of pride, the primary sin.  Humility must then be the foundational virtue, as it displaces both pride and selfishness.  Making others more important than ourselves is to make ourselves the least, or the last.  It is the beginning of moving up in the Kingdom of God.

Eternal happiness then has a correspondence to humility -to the degree we have learned to empty ourselves of selfishness.  The greater our emptiness, the greater is our capacity to be filled with the Love of God.  God’s love for us is infinite, eternal and unconditional.  We can do nothing to increase or diminish it.  However, we can increase our capacity to experience it, by cultivating humility -which is a hard and narrow road, as anyone familiar with farming knows.  For, cultivation is a demanding commitment, involving hard work, unending perseverance, sacrifice, tenderness -and stubborn Faith that the rain will come.

I cannot wish my selfishness away.  It is structural -a part of my flesh.  Just as air expands to fill the volume allotted it, so too my selfishness expands to fill the space allotted it, relentlessly seeking new pathways to occupy my heart.  I cannot command it gone, but I can choose humble acts of love to displace it, to drive it back, to subjugate it, to redefine it to increasingly confined boundaries, while simultaneously expanding the frontier to love.

Our heart and spirit is a mysterious realm, not prone to casually revealing their secrets.  Their laws of operation are not self evident.  They must be sought, discovered.  Scripture calls this Wisdom, and says it begins with our friend, Humility.  To govern this land of heart and spirit is in the jurisdiction of our mind, our self-control, our free will.  If we forfeit our authority to rule, other forces will take over, either of our flesh -our base nature- or forces of evil.  

Beyond our Self, there are many forces that influence this unseen land.  It is a mysterious interaction involving the grace of God; His faithful angels, including our guardian angel; His unfaithful angels; the intercession of the saints -in the here and now, and in the beyond; and what Scripture calls the “world”, which is a product of humanity outside of God’s will.  These forces are either good (according to God’s will) or evil (against God’s will).  The good, beckons us away from selfishness and toward freedom.  Evil beckons us towards selfishness and into bondage.

And so it was, that in reflecting on evil’s design to ensnare us into a life centered on Self, that the memory of the Disney Brunette was triggered.  Until today, I was at loss to explain the intense revulsion I had experienced in her presence.  Now, I believe it was evil that I had sensed.  She was empty -a Self so expanded, as to leave no space for God or Love, condemned to Loneliness, a glimpse of Hell, the destiny of all who follow the god of Self.

Beauty will always be in the eye to the beholder.  But to a Christian man or women, the most resplendent of sights, will always be a humble heart, empty of self and full of love.  

          Lord, empty me as I seek you now.  Fill me, with Your Light and Love, that I may reflect the Beauty of Your Face.  Help me to love others, as I have been Loved by you.