Father, may these spoken words be faithful to the written word and lead us to the living word, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday I was doing some reading about the signs of life in the church and found out that when a Bishop consecrates a new church part of the ritual involves she or he making the sign of the cross on the door. I loved this seemingly simple act, but this symbolism shows that the real door is the cross. That the entrance to the Church is through the cross.
The cross opened up our way to salvation, paradise as Jesus proclaims with his final breaths, the doorway opened by his precious body and blood.
Jesus says in the gospel today “whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” it is about entering in, we enter in, we go in with the Lord when we enter into the way of the cross, to go into a relationship with Jesus, to say yes to picking up our own cross.
This is the real door way, an entrance of a life with Jesus, saying yes to him, being obedient to him, giving up our ways for his ways.
I feel much pain about public worship being stopped again, the door of the church being closed, but remember the image of the door being the cross and the cross being the door. The cross as the most beautiful entrance, a doorway that opens to no more darkness, where every tear will be wiped away.
May we savour this final Eucharist today, clinging onto the body of Christ with our mouths, our lips, and our hearts, firm in the promise of Jesus through the door, the way of the cross, Amen
Sitting at the well 