Door of our Hearts

33rd Week in Ordinary Time - Tuesday (20 November 2018)

Revelation 3:1-6, 14-22. Psalm 15:2-5. Luke 19:1-10.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to share her meal, side by side with her.”

At the beginning of time

the clock struck one.

A drop of dew

and the clock struck two.

From the dew grew a tree

and the clock struck three.

Then the tree made a door

and the clock struck four.

Then man came alive

and the clock struck five.

Count not

waste not

the hours on the clock.

Behold I stand at the door and knock.

If you have seen the film The Railway Man, or read the autobiography of Eric Lomax by the same name, then you will remember the above-quoted poem. It is a true story of reconciliation and forgiveness. Eric Lomax, a British Army officer, is one of thousands of Allied prisoners of war forced to work on the construction of the Thai/Burma railway during World War II under the supervision of the Japanese Army. After the secret radio he built to bring news and hope to his colleagues is discovered, he is interrogated and tortured by the young Japanese officer Nagase Takachi. But his experiences leave him traumatised and shut off from the world even long after the end of the war. Discovering that Nagase who still haunted him is alive, Eric decides to confront his tormentor only to end up converted. Eric and Nagase become friends.

The words of Jesus, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock,” contained in the poem become words of consolation even in extreme torture to Eric. Our Lord is at our behest and call. He is waiting for our yes to be with us. This is one of the most beautiful images in the New Testament and it has been extended to encompass the desire that Jesus has to come into and be part of all our lives. But his coming in depends entirely on us. Love is not love if it is not free.

The gospel story of Zacchaeus completes the image. Jesus dines at his house, after inviting himself to a sinner's house, “I want to stay in your house today.” Jesus eats with sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes. He exemplifies God's unconditional love for us. God does not love you if and when you change. God loves you so that you can change. God loves us as we are, and when we accept and receive His love, we are transformed by love itself. This is also portrayed in the transformation of Zacchaeus, who at the end promises to give half of his property to the poor and repay four times the amount to those he cheated.

Let us open the door of our hearts to Jesus, and hear his words along with Zacchaeus, “Today salvation has come to this house.”