Reflections from Pastor Ken
Beloved in Christ,
On my way into the office this morning I noticed by the side of the road a front door. A local homeowner had replaced a front door and put the old door, still inside the frame, out at the street, presumably to let anyone take it as they felt the need for a heavily used old front door.
The funny thing was the door was open! The wind perhaps or maybe a passing motorist had come through and left the door wide open. Anyone could easily come in, or go out, it was not locked! It was a doorway to open space. From either direction you would enter God’s great outdoors!
Doorways make great metaphors for our spirit journeys. Knocking on the door to new experiences, crossing over thresholds to a new chapter in our lives, or stepping through the doorway that leads to the other side, are common expressions of how when we pass through a moment in life we become different on the other side.
Our Lord is always inviting us to ask, seek and knock on the door to where we may find our new life. Our Lord invites us, “Listen, here I am, standing at the door, if you hear my voice and open it, I will come into you. I’ll eat with you, and you will share with me!” God is our guide to what is happening in our souls.
The season of Lent is a gift from our ancients in the faith who instructed us to take time before the great feast of Easter Day and enter a period of self-examination, to hear not ourselves only, but to listen in stillness and prayer for how God is knocking at our door, and desiring to come in to be with us.
There is a great resource recently given to me by a special person entitled Open the Door, A Journey to the True Self written by Joyce Rupp. This book provides an everyday guide for meditation, prayer and self-examination through a six week cycle based on the image of the door as an invitation to growth and awareness. The goal is to discover our potential for goodness and fulfillment in a deep search for our authentic selves.
I invite you to share with me this lent as we take time to prepare for the new life God has in store for us while using the image of doors and doorways as an inspiration for our discussions and prayers. There may be doors that recall for you a joyful moment of childhood. There may be doors that were always closed for you. Doors that you missed, doors that courageous loved ones opened for you and doors that you need to open but have not yet approached are all important stages for your faith discovery.
Beginning on Ash Wednesday, February 22nd, at 7:30pm we will enter the season of Lent together in worship introducing themes of holy doorways and sacred crossings for our faith journey. In the six weeks of Lent leading up to Easter Sunday, we will gather for our annual Adult Education time on Wednesday Nights. A light soup and bread supper will begin at 6:30pm and we will gather for discussion and learning at 7:30pm.
For weeks that we may not have a special guest, I will offer a guided mediation from Joyce Rupp’s resource that will lead us into wonderful memories of beautiful doorways, and lead us onto discover what doors we may need to close, to open, and let the love of God into our hearts. Please come and join us, all are welcome!
May the Spirit open new doorways of possibility and promise to you this season!
Pastor Ken