Proper 16C 2007 Luke 13:22-30

Doors and narrow gates. There is a very interesting and colorful poster entitled “The Doors of Dublin”. There must be at least 40 doors pictured on that poster, all lined up five to a row and eight to a column. No two are exactly alike, although they seem to be the same size, although that may a trick of the computer. They are combinations of all different colors: royal blue, sky blue, Robin’s egg blue, dark red, light red, coral, pink, yellow, and of course many shades of bright green. Not surprisingly none of them were orange. Lintel and door frame were of a different color than the door proper, sometimes as many as three to five colors.

What was very interesting in light of today’s gospel lesson is that all of these doors of Dublin were tightly closed, perhaps locked – who knows. No doubt that was a requirement of the photography – but I thought it very symbolic of what has been known over the centuries as the Troubles of Ireland that the doors were closed.

Doors and narrow gates. There are no doubt doors in our own lives that we have found closed, shut in our faces even, whether for good or ill – who knows? Or doors too shut, gates too narrow, too difficult to squeeze through, doors that might as well have been locked shut and through which we could barely glimpse chances, opportunities, futures that never would occur for us. Nowadays, for example, the rush to get through the door into the “right” college, sometimes results in a closed door slammed shut in our faces and our children and grand children have to look elsewhere. Or we shut doors in the faces of our families and friends in the pursuit of successful careers or whatever.

Sometimes we shut the door in the faces of other people and lock ourselves behind them. One person wrote the rector of her parish:
“I don’t want the city to come into my Church and I don’t want my Church to come into the city….I want to keep them separate -- completely separate -- so that once a week on Sunday morning I can walk away from the people out there and walk into the Church building which is a world all by itself, untarnished by the sadness and cruelty of the world outside. I long for this. I wait for this all week. It’s like heaven to escape out of the world into the refreshing cool of the large building with its choir and its colors and its familiarity. I know heaven will be like this -- alone in a Church congregation, singing, with beautiful flowers on the altar and God instructing us on how to live completely and serenely for another week. (1)

But sometimes when a door is shut and the gate is too narrow, impossible to enter, another door opens. True story:

A young woman named Mary dreamed as a young girl of becoming an obstetrician. She completed her studies and graduated from a medical college in her native country
of India. With several other celebrating young graduates she jumped into a station wagon to go on a picnic. Then an accident happened: the driver lost control and the vehicle rolled over three times.

Three days later, Mary regained consciousness. She knew that she was paralyzed from the waist down. She wept as she saw her dreams evaporate forever. “Oh God, I’ll never feel warm, squirming babies in my hands.” Then she felt the Lord’s Prayer resonating deep within her. Not an uncommon experience when we are desperate and desolated.

Into her room came one of India’s leading surgeons, who said, “Mary I think you could be my assistant in surgery. We could build a ramp and you could operate from your wheelchair.” That was many years ago. Today, Mary is one of the most skillful, expert surgeons in transplanting tendons in deformed lepers’ hands. Her two hands have become the ten fingers of God and thousands of people are happier because of her. As she says it, “I asked God for legs and God gave me wings.” (2)

Doors and narrow gates. One last story, a modern parable: They lay sleeping, dreaming. In their dream they heard something at the door. When they opened the door in their dream they saw a tall and very solemn angel standing there, holding something.

“Oh no!” they cried in their dream. “We’re not ready to go just yet.”

The angel shrugged and said. “You still don’t get it. If we fail this time, it will be a failure of will and imagination.” And then she placed the world gently in the palms of their hands. (3)

AMEN



1. God/Solitude/Withdrawal, Preacher’s Illustration Service Anthology Series, Voicings Publications, adapted.
2. Healing/Adversity/Medicine, Preacher’s Illustration Service Anthology Series, Voicings Publications, adapted.
3. From a wall hanging in the Harmony Ridge Gallery, Lewisburg, WV, adapted.