It seemed clear to me that it was there as part of Advent\u2019s sense of preparing the way, very likely professionally lettered and printed.<\/p>\n
Below it was the second sign, which I envisioned as being written by a member of the custodial staff, magic marker on cardboard:<\/p>\n
Please do not obstruct these gates.<\/em><\/p>\n I was most certain that those two signs at St. Paul\u2019s Cathedral were posted by separate individuals working in isolation from each other. I\u2019d wager that whoever posted the second sign did not even read the other one carefully enough to notice the whimsical relationship. But these signs focus us on two things that are critically important to the life of liturgical ministry, particularly during seasons like the one we are currently in: communication and attentiveness.<\/p>\n Since liturgical ministry is primarily about relationships, it should come as no surprise that effective means of communication are essential to our ministry. To this end we have developed all sorts of committees, schedules, planning forms, mailing lists, phone trees, social networking groups, and so on. To the extent that these measures facilitate communication for ministry, they are great. When their multiplication for their own sake makes things more complicated, then it is time to pare back.<\/p>\n But we manifest the sin of Eden when we stop at trying to make effective communication with each other our only goal, for we lose sight of the ultimate relationship to be strengthened by all this communication: our relationship with Christ in our worship and with the Christ in each other. It is no accident that the same heart pulses in the words \u201ccommunion\u201d and \u201ccommunication,\u201d and we even refer to the reception of Communion as \u201ccommunicating.\u201d To build on St. Augustine, the Body and Blood that we receive\u2014a sign of Christ\u2019s relentless desire to communicate with us\u2014is the Body and Blood of Christ that we\u2014the baptized\u2014also are, and so our Communion is the model of our need to remain \u201ccommunicated\u201d with one another in prayer and ministry.<\/p>\n At a recent Sunday morning warm-up, as we prepared the hymn \u201cLift Up Your Heads,\u201d I observed that we really needed to use the word \u201cfling\u201d more often, as when the hymn tells us to \u201cfling wide the portals\u201d of our hearts. It hadn\u2019t occurred to me all the hundreds of other times I\u2019d sung that hymn, or that text as a choral work, but in flinging our hearts wide open we are imitating Christ, for whose coming we prepare. To fling the gates of our hearts wide for Christ\u2014as well as for the least and lowly who are his image and presence\u2014is a far, far different thing than merely being sure the gates don\u2019t have an obstruction in front of them.<\/p>\n My synoptics prof said we probably have documentation of about one hundred hours\u2014less than a week\u2014from the life of Jesus (far fewer hours at anything we\u2019d describe as \u201cliturgical\u201d). Even at that, one thing we do know is this: he was a man who was persistently attentive to others. He was a man who flung wide the portals of his heart to heal, to teach, to admonish, to feed, to guide, to save.<\/p>\n Too often we can easily dismiss this personality trait of Jesus (and our obligation to follow his example) as his Divine nature in action, a supernatural ability beyond us. But we must likewise remember that, in so many ways, Jesus first imitated us. He opened his eyes for the first time in that manger in Bethlehem, and opened them every morning when he awoke. Daily he lived with his eyes, ears, mind, and heart always open, attentive to the presence of the reign of God in absolutely every moment and each person. As true disciples, we are called to do the same.<\/p>\n Christ is coming! If we are to let the King of Glory in, the God who dwells among us in the lives of others and in our sacraments, then we must fling wide the portals. If we, in our ministry, are to be ready and make others ready for this coming, we need to open wide the gates of our own eyes, ears, minds, and hearts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To fling the gates of our hearts wide for Christ\u2014as well as for the least and lowly who are his image and presence\u2014is a far, far different thing than merely being sure the gates don\u2019t have an obstruction in front of them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":58678,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[3119,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-plaza-new-ws","category-liturgical-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/12.15-gates-1.jpeg\")
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