I Hear You Knock’n

Psalm 24  I have lately been reminded that, even though I occasionally still think young thoughts, that when I look in the mirror, I have to see the person that I am, not the person that I once was, or wish I was. I’m reminded of the old rock and roll tune "I hear you knock' n," which goes on to say, "but you can't come in." In our in-your-face society, it is no wonder that we have built large walls around ourselves to "wall out" what we don't want to be a part of. Yet, we know that building bigger and bigger walls is not, nor has it ever been, the answer. We long for a kinder, gentler time, which, if we're truthful with ourselves, never existed, either.

Both as a society, and individually, we have built walls around ourselves; around the "I" and the ID of what we want to hold back: from God, and from the onslaught of our undemocratic capitalistic, consumer driven age, and the relationship that God desires between God and each one of us. We have been so numbed into fearing to claim God for ourselves that we continually hold out for a past, and I would also say a future, that is fake. It’s easy for anyone who looks, to see sin. It’s all too easy to point out the sins of corporations, the government and other institutions, as well as the sins of other people. In fact, the media has made careers of exploiting the sins of others. But where in all this do we face our own sin?

In today's scripture, David says that God owns everything: the Earth, and all that is in it!  We belong to God and David implies that sin precludes us from standing with God. The King of Glory is knocking at our door, and when we contemplate coming face-to-face with God, we turn away because we know who we are. And, because we know what God will see, and who, we harken back to our own knowledge of our self, and frantically seek to wall out God, as we have learned to wall out everything else in life that calls us to see us as we actually are. And remember, it's the King of Glory that's knocking!

"Who is this King of Glory?" Well, among other things, it’s the redemptive loving presence of Jesus Christ: the Redemptive Mystical presence of the Holy One--on behalf of each of us.  Because of Jesus, when the King of Glory knocks at our door, we need not fear to open up the gates and lift up the ancient doors, and let the King of Glory come in.  In--to our heart of hearts, in--to our lives, in--to our souls, the very depth of our being, our deep created essence, through the redemptive love of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, in Revelation 3:20: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to them and eat with them, and they with me." I hear you knock'n, Lord! 

Our God is not a God who lets us be. Our God has big arms, greater than any of us can imagine. God’s logic goes far beyond anything we can conceive of, and once God comes through the doors that we open, there’s no turning back; for God, or for us, either. Remember, it can be a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God, but it can also be loving and joyful beyond our wildest imagination, if only we commend our spirits into the hands of the wild God who sent Jesus and the mystical Holy Spirit into our deepest depths! You may be reading this trying to decide what you’re going to do with the rest of your life. You may be wondering what God has to say to you. Does God still love me; should I remain as I am, or should I open the door to the next step that God has planned for me? Prayerfully remember that God has said, “Before you call, I will answer, and while you are still speaking, I will hear!” So, lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of Glory may come in.  Come, Lord Jesus.  Come, Lord Jesus, come.