by the Rev. Canon Lisa Senuta – Canon for Spiritual Life and Clergy Care
The place of Jesus’ birth in Israel has been protected since the first century. Walls and walls surround the small cave entrance where pilgrims wait in lines to spend a moment or two of appreciation.
Bethlehem itself sits inside Palestinian territory not far from the wall blockading Jerusalem. The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem looks more like a fortress than a holy place. Sheer walls of white marble reach up many stories tall. The door to enter is called the Door of Humility. (1) Even a short person like me must bend over to cross the worn stone entrance. And if you choose to be a pilgrim seeking to see where the Christ child was born, the custom is to enter on your knees.
At a time of year when we ask one another “What do you want for Christmas,” the wisdom tradition teaches us that humankind truly longs to discover THE door. Call it the soul, spirit, eternal life, the Kingdom of God; the door we pine for is the “placeless place” Thomas Merton wrote and wrote about from his hermitage.
The door is a potent image for this time of year as religious people travel out of step in a material and consumer market driven society toward Christ’s Mass.
“The Sufi poet Jalaluddin Rumi described our soul-space as a magnificent cathedral where we are “sweet beyond telling.” Saint Teresa of Avila viewed it as a castle. She noted, “I can find nothing with which to compare the great beauty of the soul….we can hardly form a conception of the soul’s great dignity and beauty.” (3)
Whatever illustration works for you, the door of humility is inside yourself. At times we see our inner lives like a fortress, walled and foreboding rather than “sweet beyond telling.” And yet what we want in life is to finally enter this becoming and discover how God dwells with us.
You have the power to refuse to enter the inner door. St Paul asked, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (I Cor 3:16) And you have the power to welcome what entering the door that Christ has opened will bring you.
As we step toward Christmas and Epiphany, step also toward the door of your becoming. How do we get there? Why should we go?
Intentional time with a willing heart is what is needed to get past the inner barriers. Don’t let the inner voices stop you. Find your way to get to the door. You can take extra time in the morning, go for a walk, sit in silent prayer, journal, watch the sun, gaze at a loved one, read scripture, read poetry, look at art, and as you do, intentionally lean back into your spiritual being. Trust Jesus who taught us to ask, seek, and knock, and that the door will open.
Why do this? The gift God is bringing into this world is you. You are a holy doorway for others to see God is real, loving, liberating, and life giving. Be religious and spiritual, be a doorway for others to discover what good, gentle, and true Christianity brings to life.
Check out the blog for the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas, Spiritual and Religious.
1. The Church of the Nativity
2. O Come O Come Emmanuel Hymn # 56
3. Joyce Rupp Open the Door page 4
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