Hi everyone,

When I was a kid, I remember going to a few of my friends’ houses (like different houses belonging to different friends) and I remember thinking how weird it was when they told me to just let myself in. As in, their doors weren’t locked.

Don’t forget that I was born in Vancouver and raised in the east side. Not that it’s more dangerous or anything, but a larger population could mean a larger chance of people who would be out to no good… like checking doors to see if they’re unlocked. And from what I remember, these friends whose front doors went unlocked on a regular basis lived on main streets, not off to the side, not out of the way, not the back doors hidden behind trees. But actual front doors facing major streets. It was so weird.

Because, we always locked our doors at home. In fact, we had certain doors that just always stayed locked at the door knob, a deadbolt, and two chains. This happened to be our front door so whenever a sales person knocked we’d have to tell them to wait like 10 minutes as we unlocked the door (because no way we were going to show them our secret actually accessible door in fears that they’ll come back later and break in.

I think the funniest part about this, looking back, is that right beside this supremely locked door was a single pane glass window in that horrible frosted glass that was so popular in the 70s. It was horrible because it was so fragile. So anyone deterred by the fortified door could just shift like 2 degrees to the right and tap the window hard enough with a rock that it would completely shatter and leave the way into the house wide open. Thankfully, that never happened.

But the fear was always there.

Here are the readings for next week:
Acts 2:14a, 22-32
Psalm 16
1 Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31
And a video of them being read:

This gospel story tells us that the disciples were hidden behind locked doors. I don’t know the exact construction of their structure, but I wonder if their locked door consisted more than a board or a branch just barricading the door. Perhaps a small rock wedged underneath the door in the gap between it and the floor. Or maybe a hand written piece of papyrus with “please do not enter” stuck to the front. The point is, they were scared. And they needed the locked door to help them feel safe.

But it wasn’t the locked door that ended up giving them security, confidence, and strength. The door couldn’t even stop who eventually did.

Jesus enters in their fears and is present with them. Jesus appears where they are and reminds them that they are not alone. Jesus walks right past their locked doors and breathes upon them peace.

As with us, in our fears, in our worries, behind our locked doors, Jesus is with us, strengthening us, and lifting us up into peace.

Thanks be to God! Have a great week, everyone!