"Knock on that door..."

“The mysteries of the universe are

revealed in the unexpected

experiences of life…”

- anonymous

It was cold and the stranger had been walking most of the day.  As the winter chill set in, he found himself in a small town.  He had been in trouble with the law, which in that time required him to register with the local authorities so they would know he was in their midst.

At first he went to a local hotel, but the police had already warned the community of his presence.  The innkeeper, fearful of this fellow, denied him a room, in spite of money offered for a night’s shelter from the elements.  Next he tried a small tavern where he was able to warm himself a little.  He asked for place to stay the night and he was refused once again.  He even tried the local jail, to which the keeper said, “Get yourself arrested, and you’ll be admitted.”

Finally, he found a sheltered place where he lay down on a small bed of straw, only to find it was a doghouse.  When the animal returned, he bit the man and chased him away.  By now he was desperate, exhausted, and as often happens when one realizes there is no escape, resigned himself to fate. 

With nowhere to go and no place to stay, he lay down on a small stone bench, pulled what clothing he had around him, tucked into a fetal position, and hoped to survive its ‘heat draining’ cold and dropping temperature of the winter’s night.

Just then a woman passed by…a brave woman, of little doubt, because she had the courage to speak to the stranger – asking why he was lying on this bench in this weather and not in the local hotel.  He replied that, in spite of having money, he had been turned out everywhere, and with a distant gaze and wry look of irony, that sometimes crosses the countenance of the lost, related even dogs would not receive him.

With a sense of resignation and with what little hope remained, he said: “I have knocked at all doors…I have been driven away everywhere.” 

The woman with a sense of compassion, fearlessness and gentle inquisition that can come only from the heart of God said, “You have knocked on all doors?”

“Yes,” he replied.

She looked across the way and to be certain, said, “Have you knocked at that one?”

He glanced in the direction of her gaze, and replied “No”

Her final words…“knock there.”  And she was gone.

The man walked tentatively to the door, uncertain what to expect. He paused, possibly wondering whether he could take one more rejection...took a breath, seeming to find a place of resolve…and knocked.

Little is as it seems…

An old Bishop opened the door and invited the man in.  As he crossed the threshold and passed through the portal, the place was modest and practically bare.  What could he expect here?  To avoid misunderstanding he immediately confessed he was an ex-convict, and waited to be asked to leave. 

But no…He was greeted with warmth and affection…treated as a guest, not a criminal.  He was taken in and welcomed by this old man as though he were part of the family.  For indeed he was part of the family of humanity…he was part of the intricate fabric wrought by the unseen hand of the Almighty God.

What he did not know, nor could perceive at that moment, he had crossed another threshold; passed through a different and unseen portal into a different home…into a different world really…a world of redemption; a world of salvation; a world of hope and acceptance. 

Whilst at the moment he had no idea, he had just had a “…road to Damascus…” experience that changed the apostle Paul from an uncompromising Pharisee, into a “…new creature…” in the body of Christ.  

Jean Valjean would never be the same, for at the table and in the home of Bishop Myriel, he found something he had never known…hope for a better day.

While Les Miserables, and the story of Jean Valjean soars through Hugo’s gift of majestic story telling, it carries in its pages insights of all of our lives.  His characters not only reflect parts of all of us…the small subtexts reflect our experiences.

Unguarded moments…

Our lives are and have been filled with small events, words from another, flashes of momentary curiosity that when followed – and of a certainty they have been followed – led us to knock on an unknown door. The result may not have been a pathway to redemption, but passing through the portal of what was presented behind that door changed everything.

What if we had not visited that place…taken that flight…sat beside that person…had that conversation…returned that smile.  There are a thousand small things in the calculus of our lives, so complicated we could not have planned for nor predicted the result, had we been given all the time and resources of the universe.  And yet here we are…wherever ‘we are’ is, because we invoked the simple instruction – knowingly or not – by that carpenter from the village of Nazareth.

“Ask, and it shall be given you;”

Seek, and ye shall find;

Knock, and the door shall be opened unto you” 

(Matthew 7:7 – Bible)

It is the way the universe of life works...curiosity followed by action.  All of us, like Valjean are driven by circumstance and drawn by the question of what is next; what is it we don’t know.  It is, in all of this as it was for Jean Valjean, the way our lives unfold…it is as we look back, the very way we have found ourselves where we are today.

The great truth is that action is required for anything to happen…the ask…the seek…the knock…all of it key to survival and the road to our salvation….

- ted