March 7, 2004; The Second Sunday of Lent, Year C
The Rev. Harold "Skip" Comer, Rector
There was a man named Ralph who died and went to the Pearly Gates of Heaven. There he was met by Peter who welcomed him and asked him for some identification. Ralph produced his baptismal certificate and gave it to Peter who responded, “Oh, I see that you were baptized within a month of your birth.” Ralph responded, “Yes, my parents were very devout church goers. They rarely missed a Sunday, as did I since my baptism.” “Very good,” said Peter, adding, “You know that Heaven is a very special place, and that we don’t let in every Tom, Dick, and Harry. Can you tell me why we should let you in?” Ralph thought for a minute and said, “Well besides being in church on almost every Sunday, I tithed to the church, served on the vestry several times, and taught Sunday School.” “I see,” said Peter, is there anything else?” “I have read the Bible through four times in my life,” responded Ralph. “Uh huh,” said Peter, is there anything else?” This questioning and answering went on for some time between the two of them. Finally, Ralph, who was becoming frustrated, said to Peter, “I have told you everything that I have done in my life and I notice that you have not written one thing down in your book.” “Does that bother you?” said Peter. “It certainly does,” said Ralph, “It’s as though all that I have done and accomplished in life is not worth anything.” “Yep,” said Peter. “Then, in the name of Jesus Christ, how can anyone pass thought those Pearly Gates?” asked Ralph. “I wondered when you would finally get it,” said Peter. “It is by Jesus that you walk through these gates.”
We are confronted by a barrage of images this morning by Jesus in our Gospel reading, none of which is very encouraging. A narrow door that is difficult to walk through, a locked door that the owner refuses to open, the weeping and gnashing of teeth, and a hen trying to gather her brood under her wings.
I don’t think that Jesus would make it today as a church growth consultant with remarks like we have just heard. Imagine Jesus coming to St. Philip’s and telling us that we have it all wrong. Instead of our welcome sign above the front door, he would tell us that the doors should be locked. Instead of being a warm and welcoming congregation, no one should be allowed to enter unless they had the proper identification.
Back in the eighties the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church proclaimed that in our Church there would be no outcast. Inclusion was the catchword of his term of office. Some welcomed the open door policy while others thought that we were selling out to the liberals.
Have we gotten it all wrong? Should we be more selective about who we let in the door? May-be, and then again maybe not.
I like to think of the Church as a funnel. Our doors are wide and our faith community is inviting, to attract as many people as possible. Yet once inside it begins to narrow down to a small opening at the end marked exit. Along the way through the funnel we begin to realize that we are going to have to shed a lot of things that we have brought with us if we are going to have any hope of getting out. Finally, lean and focused on what brought us here in the first place we are able to pass through the opening at the end that leads to the kingdom of heaven.
I believe that this is what Jesus was getting at in all these images. There is a sense of urgency in being about our salvation. Those who put it off are likely to find the Pearly Gates closed, when upon their death they decide that they finally want to go to heaven. It is strange – that even though we come to church, worship God, receive the sacred meal of the body and blood of Christ, study the Bible – in other words go through all the right motions, in all of this, our passport if you will, is not stamped so that we can enter the heavenly kingdom. It is not so much what we do and what we know, as who we know, and who knows us.
Quite a few years ago Molly and I attended Marriage Encounter, at which Jim and Joan Holt were the clergy couple who helped to lead the weekend. Marriage Encounter is designed to help strengthen marital relationships. In one of the exercises during the weekend the men had to close their eyes and then feel the hands of all the ladies in the room until they found their wife. It had the potential for great embarrassment. The purpose of the exercise was to see how well you knew your spouse. Maybe it is an exercise that we should try with Jesus. Would we be able to pick out his hands in a crowd? More importantly, does Jesus know us well enough to pick out our hands?
The strange thing about Christianity is that it is based upon a relationship with a dead man. Dead, yet very much alive! It is on the bases of our relationship with Jesus Christ, the one who died and rose again, that we will not be left standing outside banging on the door and shouting, let me in, please let me in; and the voice from inside saying, go away, I don’t know you.
The last image, of a mother hen gathering her chicks under her wings, initially gave me comfort and reassurance. Yet the image that Jesus presents is that of a mother hen trying to gather her chicks and not being very successful. Are we like those chicks who like to wander away from their mother, curiously exploring the world even when the fox is on the prowl? Herod, whom Jesus called fox, I believe symbolizes the selfishness and greed that are that are very tempting to anyone. Because Jesus was a threat to Herod, he sought to silence him permanently. So even today, all that Herod represents is a threat to us and seeks to silence us. Jesus could have saved his own skin by backing off, tempering his message. But then, he would not have been the Son of God.
The Gospel this morning makes most people uncomfortable. Uncomfortable because it declares that quite possibly not everyone will be saved. Jesus never answers the questions directly. But he implies that salvation is not easy. Our belief is that Christ paid the price of our admission into the kingdom through his crucifixion. Certainly it was not the most pleasant way to die. But the price he was willing to pay so that we might be saved. It isn’t easy to say, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,” because in so doing we must reject all other gods, other religious theories, and embrace Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. May we carry the sacred name of Jesus Christ in our hearts and upon our lips in the assurance of God’s gift of salvation through him.