Dare to be doors

Christianity was born when a carpenter showed the nerve to challenge the then status quo by transcending the boundaries which hindered the human – human relations thereby human – God relation. He set forth with his chisel and hammer to shape the world which had been deformed by the sinfulness of the people. It was an attempt to make people encounter the truth which would eventually set them free and make their worship more profound. But then since the nature to be enslaved to someone or something was innate in us we crucified him and started venerating the cross.

The beautiful Jesus movement lost its beauty and fragrance when it was relegated into a religion which brought along with it dogmas, doctrines, laws, structure, hierarchy and so on and so forth. Steve Weinberg claims, “There are only two kinds of people; good and bad. While without religion good people would do good things and bad people bad things, only religion can make good people do bad things.”

We are all aware of the fact that the world does not spare anyone who transcends the boundaries and disturbs its prevailing order, no matter however sinful it is. Jesus had to pay for this intrusion with his life. He was crucified. But God rewarded Jesus for his just and righteous life by raising him from the dead and conferred upon him the title Christ. Now we all proudly say that this Jesus the Christ is our Lord and Saviour. But how did we welcome our Saviour into this world? We welcomed him by slamming doors on his face when he was in his mother’s womb by giving Mary no space to deliver her child. This young boy Jesus, who had to face shut doors even before his birth, grows up and says to the world that I am the door of the sheep. (St. John 10:7)

Normally we tend to justify our ruthless attitude by saying that our past was bitter. But here we see how positively Jesus took life in spite of all the negativity he faced. The statement “I am the door” itself is so beautiful. What could be more beautiful in this world than being doors to others? But the beauty of this saying intensifies when a person like Jesus, who has faced utter rejection in each and every step of life, says so.

When Jesus says that he is the door of the sheep we can infer many meanings but I would like to throw light on two predominant ones:

1. Door as a symbol of immense possibilities

In English language ‘door’ is extensively used as a metaphor. We often say that “all the doors have shut before me” which means that we are left with no hope to move on. Jesus the Christ was someone who revealed others their possibilities and hidden potentials to move on in life. To some he said that ‘you are the light of the world’; to some he said that ‘you are the salt of the earth’. All these are statements making people realize their own worth. For instance, Jesus told one of the convicts who was crucified along with him, “Truly I tell you that today you will be with me in Paradise”. The life of this particular convict may have been a disappointing one but with this one single statement, Jesus makes the death of this convict so fragrant and hopeful. Jesus opens the door of paradise for the convict before whom the world had shut all its doors and thus sustains his hope & faith in God. Don’t you think that the people who light a candle of hope in the darkness of hopelessness would have the mind and likeness of Christ?

2. Door as a symbol of defense

The proverb goes, “Life is not worth living until we have something to die for”. When Jesus says that he is the door of the sheep he accepts the responsibility to safeguard his flock at times of trouble and not to abandon them under any circumstances. It is a promise that a shepherd makes to his sheep that until he is alive no one could bring any harm to his sheep.  The safety of the sheep depends upon the valor of the shepherd. The sheep’s chief enemy in ancient Palestine was the wolf, fierce and predatory, whether hunting singly or in a pack. Sheep were defenseless against them. If the shepherd was merely a hired hand, he would see the wolf coming and would abandon the sheep and run away, leaving the wolf to attack and scatter the flock. Only a true shepherd would stay and risk his own life in defending and rescuing his sheep. Jesus epitomizes a true shepherd by stepping ahead of his disciples when the soldiers came to arrest him and said “So if you are looking for me let these men go”. (John 18:8)

The world seeks in Christian disciples the audacity and care of a shepherd, workmanship of a carpenter and the inquisitiveness of a leader as Jesus was an amalgamation of all these. Lent is a time to be doors to others. Inspire the people, whom you meet these days of lent, to realize their own worth so as to make their life blissful. Christ is the name of possibilities and since Christians are the imitators of Christ, let us do justice to this appellation.

I conclude with the words of Pope Francis, “In the end we must not form merely administrators and managers, but sisters, mothers, fathers, brothers and travelling companions”. Amen

Prayer

Dn. Basil Paul