“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you … for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” Luke 6:37-38 (NRSV, adapted)
Walking past a tour group outside the cathedral in Toledo, Spain, I heard the guide tell his charges, “This is known as the Door of Forgiveness. It’s said that anyone who enters the sanctuary through it will have all their sins forgiven.
“Unfortunately,” he went on, “in twenty years, I’ve never seen it open.”
“Of course,” I ranted in my head. “Of course, the Church has a door that will forgive all your sins, and it keeps the thing under lock and key. Of course, it could prop open that portal and let God’s grace escape into the world like air conditioning. And instead, it adds a gate outside for good measure.
“If I was in charge of a door like that,” I told myself, “I would take it off its hinges.”
But then, I am. And I haven’t. Of course.
I have been given the keys to one of the doors of forgiveness. And I guard it tighter than a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
…wanting to keep the upper hand for a while longer.
…unwilling to admit my part in things.
…enjoying hearing them beg.
Jesus makes it plain: the measure you give will be the measure you get back. The grace you withhold may be your own. The door you bar to another is the same one keeping you back.
Prayer
Somebody’s knockin’ at your door.
Somebody’s knockin’ at your door
Oh, sinner, why don’t you answer?
Somebody’s knockin’ at your door.
