Sr. Doreen, SSJD
When they arrived, they called the church together and related all that God had done with them and how God had used them to open a door of faith so people of all nations could come streaming in. Acts 14:27 (NRSV & Message translation)
Another comment about July that made me think: “Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August.“ Jenny Han
As I pondered the month of July as an open door – and as that month when everything good and magical happens, I found myself giving thanks that here in the middle of the year and in a time when we traditionally think that July is the beginning of the real summer, there was the image of an open door offered to us! An open door for all of us into that deep promise of life, of faith, of adventure and potential.
It is interesting to note that here in Ontario there is a celebration called “Open Door Ontario” with its theme “The City is Your Playground; Get Ready to Play”. Over the months of April to October (with the exception of the month of July) there have been or are scheduled activities in different cities in Ontario, in keeping the theme of “The City is Your Playground; Get Ready to Play”. They describe their programming as engaging with the joyful, irreverent and sometimes serious times of play, and it is for kids of all ages!
Jenny Han’s comment about all that is good and magical happening in July makes me interested in why the month of July is missing from the activities! So, I pondered this for a while, and thought It is as if July were considered a time of an open door for everyone – activities happening naturally throughout the country, the heart of summer, a month filled with warmth, sunshine, and an abundance of joyful celebrations, spontaneous ones, not planned ones, that arise out of being with each other. Celebrations that bring about interdependence and determination, when folks are gathering in the deep summer season for recreational and relaxing activities. This natural open door is a time too when we can expect that having gathered folks will share all that the months have gifted them – both the happy times and the difficult times.
This is the month that is marked by the flower of July, the larkspur, representing lightness of spirit, and the gemstone, the ruby, which inspires motivation, encouraging you to step into action and seize the day! Cancer and Leo serve as the month’s zodiac guardians, carrying protection and courage to those born during this month. When you add these thoughts to the mixture of the scripture passage for this month – the open door of faith for and in all people. We have a rich Lectio Divina potential for thought and meditation: invitation through an open door: bringing lightness of spirit, inspiration, motivation, action, a seizing of the day, protection and courage. These are gifts that we bring to each other – this is the openness that grows faith and promise and new life for each other, with encouragement and interconnectedness and a sense of belonging to each other, all of creation, held in the arms and heart of God.
It seems to me that this scripture passage for July is also saying that God wants to use us, me and you, to open a door of faith, assurance and belief, so people of all nations can come streaming in in welcome. These open-door invitations can represent new beginnings, fresh starts, or pathways for individuals to pursue their calling or experience a deeper relationship with themselves, each other, and God. By our open-door hospitality towards others, we might indeed offer these gifts – to each other and to all those whom we meet or who cross our paths. The popular movie Frozen has a song called ‘Love is an open door’ – a love that we can’t help but share, it overflows from within us.
Radical hospitality is offered to us In Revelation 3:20, where Jesus says, “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone opens the door and lets me in, I will come in and sup with them, and they with me.” By our lives and our welcome, our open door, we can discover more deeply God’s presence in each other. Hospitality offers welcome and acceptance, it transforms strangers into guests and friends, it overcomes the dividing lines that we encounter in life through compassion, and it can strengthen individuals, communities, and the world with relationships through radical hospitality and openness.
I used the word radical since I believe that hospitality is a faith imperative and that intentional hospitality is a practice that calls for radical openness, self-discipline, and a willingness to be changed by an encounter with the other. It’s a challenge – an open door – that is sacred and demanding: it brings with it the gift and opportunity to be transformative. In her book “Hospitality” Nanette Sawyer writes: “transformation through the spiritual practice of deep hospitality will both center you and open you up; it will help you know yourself better, as well as perceive the richness of creation more fully. I call this kind of hospitality deep because it comes from our inner core and has the capacity to significantly change our self-understanding as well as the quality of our relationships. This capacity for change is why I also call it transformative spiritual hospitality. It is centered in our understanding about who we are and how we are related to that which is holy.”
I would imagine that most of us are familiar with the picture of Jesus with the open door – we used have that picture hanging on the wall of the conference room – and that is the other side of the meditation about an open door: while Jesus stands at the door and knocks wanting to be invited in, Jesus also stands at the open door waiting to invite us in. There is so much to think about in this month of July calendar quote. The open door is a powerful reminder of the possibilities, challenges and blessings God offers. And it is also a powerful reminder of the possibilities, challenges, and blessings that we have to offer ourselves, others, and the world we live in.
