"Open Door"
A Sermon of
The Rev. Dr. David A. Killian, Rector
All Saints Parish
Brookline, Massachusetts
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 17, 2006
Text: Mark 8:27-38
I
As a child growing up in Wisconsin, I was aware each fall of a particular Wisconsin treasure known as the Green Bay Packers. As a high school kid who played football I fantasized what it would be like to play for the Packers. Alas, I was no Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke, Bret Farve or Reggie White. It is one of my disappointments and lessons in life as I readjust my fantasies to reality and admit that I did not then nor ever will have the talent and abilities to play in the National Football League.
In the Gospels, Jesus continually deals with the fantasies and unrealistic expectations that his disciples have for the Messiah. People at that time thought that the Messiah would be a great conquering hero who would drive out the Romans occupying their nation. The Messiah would be the King of Israel who would reign gloriously over all the nations. Jesus's disciples expected this kind of royal Messiah and they were hoping that they could ride his coattails to be installed themselves as judges over the twelve tribes of Israel. Did Jesus himself ever entertain such a fantasy? Did Jesus ever long to be an earthly king reigning in glory like Caesar or Alexander the Great?
The Gospels tell us that Jesus had no such illusions about himself. He did not seek earthly glory but rather sought to do the will of his Father. He delighted to be in the company of ordinary, even marginal people, rather than in the halls of earthly prestige and power. There seems at first to have been a ground swell to proclaim him as King, but as events unfolded, he recognized that his fate would be more like the suffering servant described in Isaiah than the regal splendor of King David.
In today's Gospel passage, Jesus asks, "Who do people say that I am?" His disciples answer that some think he is the reincarnation of John the Baptist, who was put to death by Herod, or the reappearance of Elijah, who was taken to heaven on a fiery chariot.
Jesus, however, knows who is and does not surrender his inner identity to the projections and wishes of others: "The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed." Jesus's realism is too much for Peter, who objects to this talk of suffering and rejection. This is not the kind of Messiah that Peter wants. Jesus quickly sets Peter straight, "Get behind me, Satan!" And then Jesus goes on to say that all of us need to take up our cross and follow him. "For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the Gospel will save it."
Jesus teaches us to move from fantasy to reality. For him, even suffering and failure can show forth the power and presence of God. God is with us even if we do not achieve earthly success. If one door is closed, then God opens another. Jesus is not going to be the conquering, glorious earthly Messiah, the King of Israel who topples the Romans. No, this door is closed. But God opens another door: resurrection to new life.
II
Each of us has faced closed doors. We apply to a college that we really wanted to attend and we are not accepted: closed door. Then we go to another college, and it turns out all right: open door. We are dating one person and the relationship ends. closed door. But then we find another person and recognize that this is best person for us: open door. We apply for a job, get an interview, but the company picks someone else. closed door. Later we find a job that is better: open door. We need to be open to God's power in our lives to find that open door.
George MacLeod was a decorated soldier in World War I. Shaken by what he saw in the war, he entered the ministry in the Church of Scotland. He took an assignment serving at St. Cuthbert's Parish in a poor neighborhood of Edinburgh. His work combating poverty took a toll on him and he suffered a breakdown. In 1933 he was recuperating in Jerusalem; while worshipping in an Eastern Orthodox Church on Easter Day, he had a profound spiritual experience, feeling a sense of recovery for the church as the Body of Christ. This spiritual experience would influence him for the rest of his life. A door was closed, but now God was opening another door.
MacLeod went to the Isle of Iona and began rebuilding the monastery church that had fallen into ruin. He recruited poor people from the slums of Glasgow to work with students and intellectuals from Edinburgh. Slowly the new Iona community took shape. Today, the Iona community has associates all over the world. The music of Iona is sung here in our Saturday Celtic service and in countries around the globe. I was at Iona in 1998 when hundreds of young people from all over Europe gathered for prayer, song, and renewal. Refreshed by this annual retreat they went back to their homes to bring a renewing spirit to their neighborhoods. And the new Iona community took root because George MacLeod found that open door.
III
For many years I was a priest in the Paulist Fathers. I served at Paulist centers in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Columbus Ohio; New York, and Boston. When I left the Paulists I felt cut off from ministry and felt that a door had been closed on me. For several years I was in a sort of limbo trying to sort out the next step. Then, slowly, quietly, I felt God calling me back to ordained ministry. My priesthood was accepted by the Episcopal Church and I began to minister in a parish. One door was closed, but God opened another door.
Doors close and open many times in a lifetime. Each year has new challenges. Each season God is opening new doors and calling us to enter. This fall, God is probably not moving you to play for the Green Bay Packers, but at each stage of life God invites us to change, to adapt, to listen, so that we can respond as best we can to the new call that God extends to us.
In all of these changes and new beginnings, we are not alone. God is with us. When one door is closed, God opens another door. Amen.