Keep a Knockin’

“For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”  (Luke 13:30)

Often the words of scripture enfold us in comfort and hope.  “For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”  In God’s kingdom, fullness surpasses emptiness.  Hunger and thirst are sated.  Restless hearts find peace.   We knock.  To our astonished eyes, the door opens.  Light pierces the gloom outside.  We say yes and enter.  A celebration is unfolding.  God’s kingdom does not run on scarcity.  The abundance of salvation is a promise and a dream.

In today’s gospel the door stays closed.  The one who knocks is rebuffed.  What goes wrong?  Salvation does not swing open with a buzzer.  Jesus says some strength is required to enter.  A desultory wish does not move the master of the house.  “But, God, have pity.  We are worried and dejected.  Weighed down, our hands droop.  Our knees tremble.”  The Lord is not indifferent to drooping limbs.  But God attends to our spirit.  Am I distracted and bitter?  Am I anxious and compulsive?  God is present but I am far away.  Come back.  Come back and knock again.

The master repeats, “I don’t know where you are from.”  I answer.  “I’m from Omaha.  Check my resume; there you find degrees, jobs, and achievements.  Add photos of children, grandchildren, and dogs.  These are the tracks I leave on the earth.  Now, please, let me in.”

The Lord wants us.  We are the offering.  The gate is narrow because each person is a wondrous whole that fills the space.  We bring what didn’t make it onto the resume: our failures and deep desires.  Our hopes and regrets.  Our fears and love. 

At last, the door opens.  We enter only to be sent out as messengers.  Isaiah calls us fugitives for God.  People from every nation are invited.  No one is excluded from salvation.  What a surprise when the guests arrive.  The A-list is not whom we expected.  The lowly and forgotten heed the call.  The mailbox for others is full.   They miss the invitation.  But God does not quit on us.

We keep a knockin’.