It used to be common practice for priests to go around to the homes in their parish boundaries to visit and invite people back to church. Two well-known Catholic apologists Scott Hahn and Matthew Kelly tell the story of a priest who had the custom of visiting his parishioners on Saturday afternoons. He came to one home and knocked on the door. No one answered, but he could hear the radio playing and even some footsteps, so he knew someone was inside. He knocked louder. Still no one answered. Finally, he pounded on the door, but got no response. So he took out his business card, wrote a Bible verse on it and stuck it in the door.
Ten minutes later a lady - who had been in the house the whole time - opened the door. When she did, the card fell out. She saw the priest's name and the Bible verse: Revelation, chapter 3: verse 20. Curious, she got out her Bible and read the verse. It said: "Behold, I am standing at the door, knocking...if anyone opens the door, I will come in and we will have a meal together."
Well, on Sunday morning the priest noticed his business card was back in the collection basket. When he picked it up, he saw that his verse was crossed out and replaced by Genesis chapter 3: verse 10. The priest was curious so he went to the sacristy and opened his Bible. The verse said, "I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself."
This humorous story hints at something deeper within ourselves. Most of us here know what it is like to be comfortable at home and to hear a knock on the door. When this happens, many of us tend to avoid answering the door for a whole host of reasons; perhaps we are in the middle of dinner or a great football game, maybe our parents are not home, we don’t have the energy or confidence to speak with the Mormons, or we just don’t feel like dealing with someone who is selling something or asking for donations.
But the door of our homes is not the only door that we humans are hesitant to open. When we look across the horizon of salvation history, recorded in Sacred Scripture and even secular history, we notice how often people, even entire cultures, closed the doors of their hearts to the message of love and peace that God desired to share. Again and again, God knocked on the doors of the human heart, first at the dawn of creation with Adam and Eve then through his prophets, angels, judges, and kings. And as many times as our God offered his incredible offer of divine forgiveness and peace, we, his creatures responded by either ignoring his invitation or going back on our promise to be faithful. But in his never-ending goodness, our heavenly Father never gave up on us! And that is what we celebrate today. That in the fulness of time, God would send his only-begotten Son, born of a virgin in a manger, amidst farm animals, visited by kings and shepherds. Here, in this little baby, was the Son of God, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, Wonder-Counselor, the Prince of Peace. He is the Word-Made-Flesh, who has come to earth to invite us to open the doors of our hearts to him so that we might let him enter and bring us his peace, mercy, and love.
As we gather on this Christmas Day, we are all in different places in our relationship to the Christ-child. Some have had a spiritually-rich Advent and see this as the crowning joy of a month of grace. Others here have had a rough month and have found it difficult to stay focused and quiet in preparation for Christmas. Still others find themselves here tonight more out of tradition or family custom than a regular practice of their faith. But no matter who we are, no matter what the motivation for our presence here today, one thing is the same for all of us.
Today Christ is knocking at the door of every heart here in church. And each of us knows that in some way, shape, or form, we have refused to open the door due to sin, fear, or selfishness. As we gather to celebrate again the birth of Jesus, we should ask ourselves what it is that causes us even now to close the doors of our heart to the Christ-child. Is it due to a lack of faith that God will truly provide all I need, even if it is not all I want? Is it because I have deep-rooted addiction to some sin I don’t want to give up? Am I so attached to an unhealthy relationship that I fear life without it? Do I desire worldly or bodily pleasure more than the freedom and peace that comes from remaining in God’s grace? Am I unwilling to set aside my greed, lust, anger, bitterness, fear, or shame which barricades the door of my heart from letting in the many gifts Jesus desires to share with me?
Today Christ knocks on the door of every human heart and he does so not as a threatening judge, not as a fierce warrior, not as an impersonal god. No, he comes to us as a gentle, innocent baby, reflecting the infinite love and mercy of the God who never stops seeking to win our hearts. Today everything depends on whether we open that door. Let’s wait no more to open our hearts to Him who brings joy to the world. Be not afraid to embrace the Word Made flesh and experience his freedom which liberates us from the slavery of sin. Today Jesus is born in Bethlehem, come let us adore him.
