Covenant Church
an ecumenical liberal baptist congregation
  • Home
    • Blog
    • Contact Us!
    • Press
    • Celebrating 50 Years
  • About our Church
    • This Coming Sunday
    • Covenant Staff/Leadership >
      • Staff Opportunities
      • Committees
      • Deacons
    • Worship & Church Mission >
      • Liturgical Year
      • Easter at Covenant
    • Covenant's History
    • Missions >
      • Blood Drives
      • Community Garden
      • Nursing Home Support
      • Montrose Grace Place
      • Refugee Resettlement Project
    • Adult Education >
      • Adult Education Recordings
      • Theology Book Group
      • Lending Library
    • Sacred Space >
      • The Labyrinth
      • Covenant's Color Garden
    • Space for Rent
    • All Church Retreat
    • Becoming a Member
  • Sermons, Music, Media
    • Proclamations
    • Live-Stream Worship Services
    • Online Worship Services
    • Books & Resources
    • Worship Orders
    • Music
    • Photos
  • Children & Youth
    • Education & Programs >
      • Nursery (0-2)
    • Summer Camps!
    • Youth Mentoring
  • Calendar
  • Member Area
  • Giving
  • A Call to Action
  • In Memoriam
  • Blue Tiger Project

Doors, Gates, and Paths - Eastertide Reading 5/18/2014

5/18/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
Ps 24         Matt 7:7-14

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life,  and only a few find it.  Matthew 7: 13-14

Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.    Psalm 24:7

As I sat down to reflect on these two passages from Psalms and Matthew I was reminded by my partner that I forgot to close the garage door. Again. The irony and timing of his reminder was not lost on me as I had just started thinking about the symbolism and hidden meanings of doors, gates and paths (roads).  I’ve always been prone to leave doors open - front doors, back doors, and admittedly, garage doors.

            Doors and gates figure prominently in many of our sacred stories and texts. From our first sacred story of Adam and Eve and the Gate to Paradise to the final pages of Revelation, gates and doors symbolize entering in, transitions, movement, separation, power, freedom, hope, opportunity and invitation.  In John, Jesus says “I am the gate,” and in Luke the Rabbi instructs us to “enter through the narrow door.” In other passages Jesus says he is “the door.” 

            Doors, gates and paths are also part of our daily lexicon and used by artists, writers, and lyricists. We often speak of doors being opened and shut, revolving doors, getting a foot in the door, and “Katie bar the door.” Gates often symbolize the beginning (“at the starting gate”) and end (“get the gate”).  When running late, we often “hit the road”. In the verses from Matthew I notice that gate is used before road, and that may suggest that gates mark the entrances onto roads we choose.

         In contrast to the narrow and broad roads referred to in Matthew, I am reminded of the two equally leafy paths in Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken”. In contrast to the passage in Matthew, there are two equally leafy paths to consider and not a path that leads to destruction and another that leads to life. For me, this poem is infused with the anticipation of remorse. Even as he makes a choice the speaker knows that he will second-guess himself at some point in the future. At the very least he will wonder at what is irrevocably lost: the impossible, unknowable other path. But the nature of the decision is such that there is no right path—just the chosen path and the other path. The ironic tone is inescapable: “I shall be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence.” The speaker anticipates his own future insincerity—his need, later on in life, to rearrange the facts.

            As I think back to the literal and figurative doors, gates and roads of my life, I am reminded of the screen door at the back of my paternal grandparents’ home (it was always open) and the worn path leading from my childhood home to their back door and kitchen. I remember the many swing gates and cattle grids on the farm of my maternal grandparents, and I think back to the long, shale-covered driveway of my childhood on which I learned to ride a bicycle. I am also reminded of the many doors that have been opened for me and for a few doors that I have chosen to break down. I would like to think that my propensity for leaving doors open comes from trust and confidence as opposed to forgetfulness – maybe it is a little of both. For me, however, the paths I choose are more important than the doors and gates I walk through.

In “Thanks, Robert Frost” David Ray writes

Do you have hope for the future?
someone asked Robert Frost, toward the end.
Yes, and even for the past, he replied,
that it will turn out to have been all right
for what it was, something we can accept,
mistakes made by the selves we had to be,
not able to be, perhaps, what we wished,
or what looking back half the time it seems



we could so easily have been, or ought...
The future, yes, and even for the past,
that it will become something we can bear.


1 Comment
aucklandgaragedoors.co.nz link
10/14/2020 07:00:49 am

The perfect doors I have ever seen and making the garage doors as well,thanks for developing us a lot of thoughts with us. We can follow the blog for wonderful doors and more quality remotes.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Covenant

    an ecumenical liberal baptist congregation
    You can listen to Sunday mornings on our Podcast.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    1 Chronicles
    1 Corinthians
    1 John
    1 Kings
    1 Samuel
    1 Thessalonians
    2 Corinthians
    2 Samuel
    50th Anniversary
    Aaron Copeland
    Acts
    Advent
    African-American Spiritual
    Alfred Burt
    All Saints/All Souls
    Altar
    Amos
    Ancestors
    Anger
    Anita Hill
    Art
    Ascension
    Bach
    Baptism
    Baptism Sunday
    Baptist
    Bathsheba
    Bible As Weapon
    Birthday
    Breathe
    Buffy The Vampire Slayer
    Camp Allen
    Camp Community
    Carter Family
    Cello
    Children And Youth Sunday
    Children & Youth
    Choir
    Christian Nationalism
    Christmas
    Christmas Eve
    Christ The King
    Christ The King Sunday
    Church Retreat
    Colossians
    Comfort
    Committees
    Communion
    Community
    Compassion
    Congregation
    Corinthians
    Covenant House
    COVID
    Creation
    Daniel
    Darwin
    Deacon Ordination
    Death
    Denise Junious
    Deuteronomy
    Dickens
    Doubt
    Dry Bones
    Dvorak
    Earth Day
    Easter
    Eastertide
    Eastertide Booklet
    Ecclesiastes
    Emmaus
    Environment
    Ephesians
    Epiphany
    Esther
    Eve
    Evolution
    Evolution Sunday
    Exodus
    Ezekiel
    Faith
    Faith And Reason
    Family
    Feminism
    Forgiveness
    Freedom
    Fundamentalism
    Galatians
    Genesis
    Good Friday
    Gospels
    Graditude
    Gratitude
    Grief
    Guest
    Guest Proclaimer
    Guest Prolaimer
    Gun Laws
    Gun Violence
    Hagar
    Haggai
    Harriet Tubman
    Hebrews
    Herod
    Holy Week
    Homeless
    Hope
    Hope And Prayers
    Human Trafficking
    Hurricane
    Immigrants
    Immigration
    Individuation
    Injustice
    Integration
    Isaiah
    James
    James Cone
    Jeremiah
    Jesus
    Jesus Genealogy
    Job
    Joel
    John
    John Schuster
    Joseph
    Joshua
    July 4th
    Justice
    Kids
    Kingdom
    Labor Day
    Lament
    Language
    Lazarus
    LBGTQ
    Lent
    Letters
    Leviticus
    LGBT
    LGBTQ
    Lord's Prayer
    Love
    Love Your Enemies
    Luke
    Mark
    Martin Luther
    Martin Luther King
    Mary
    Matt
    Matthew
    Micah
    Miracles
    MLK
    Moses
    Mothers
    Music
    Names
    Offering
    Organist
    Palm/Passion Sunday
    Parables
    Patriotism
    Paul
    Peace
    Pentecost
    Philippians
    Piano
    Play
    Poetry
    Politics
    Poverty
    Prayer
    Prejudice
    Pride
    Pride Parade
    Proclamation
    Prosperity Gospel
    Proverbs
    Psalm
    Psalm 100
    Psalm 107
    Psalm 121
    Psalm 139
    Psalm 23
    Psalm 32
    Psalm 40
    Psalm 90
    Psalms
    Queen Esther
    Racism
    Radio Hour
    Rahab
    Reconciliation
    Reflections
    Reformation
    Reformation Sunday
    Refugees
    Religious Freedom
    Repentance
    Requiem
    Resurrection
    Revelation
    Ritual Waters
    Roe V Wade
    Romans
    Ruth
    Sabbath
    Sacrificial Attonement
    Salaam
    Satan
    Schubert
    Science
    Scientific Method
    Sermon On The Mount
    Sexual Exploitation
    Sexual Violence
    Silence
    Sodom And Gomorrah
    Spirit
    Star Wars
    Stewardship
    Stories
    Sunday School
    Tamar
    Tenebrae
    Thanksgiving
    Time
    Tim Okabayashi
    Toni Morrison
    Transfiguration
    Trinity Sunday
    Truth
    Vashti
    Volunteering
    Welcome
    White Supremecy
    Widow
    Wisdom
    Women
    Women In The Bible
    Women Of The Bible
    Wonder
    World Communion Sunday
    Worry
    Writing
    Youth
    Youth/Mentor
    Zacchaeus
    Zechariah
    Zephaniah

    Links to Member's Blogs:
    • Family at Your Fingertips
    • One Clever Mom
    • Relief: A Christian Literary Expression
    • Unclaimed Ancestors
    • Wisdom in Leaves

    Archives

    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    September 2013
    May 2013

Picture
Covenant Church
4949 Caroline St., Houston, TX 77004
office@covenanthouston.org
713-668-8830
If you have any problems with this site please contact office@covenanthouston.org.
Proudly powered by Weebly