Psalm 118.19-29: Come On In

Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. (Psalm 118:19-20, Liturgy of the Palms)

Do you even pay attention when you walk through the door of your church? Do you mark the transition? Or are you focused on the people you need to talk to, the Sunday School lesson you need to review, the youth activities that are happening after worship? Do you walk into the church building thinking, "This is the gate of the Lord"? Do you imagine that you are making a triumphal entry?

You were meant to think just that when walking into medieval cathedrals. The large, ornate doors (usually at the west end of the cathedral, opposite the apse where the altar is located) were meant to be the gateways to heaven. To enter the building was to be taken away from earth and transported to heaven. But to get there, worshipers were required to walk through the door, the gate. 

The Roman triumphal arch was designed to commemorate the victories of Roman emperors (top photo, Arch of Titus, Rome). The western church incorporated that form into the apse of basilica-plan churches (second photo from top, S. Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna). The triumphal arch stretched over the altar, where Christ's sacrifice is made. Behind the arch was a half-dome. The dome, any dome, symbolizes heaven. The triumphal arch motif in this place reinterprets the understanding of "triumph". For Christians there is triumph in Christ's death and resurrection.

The Roman single-arch structure was further adapted into a three-arch design (third photo from top, Arch of Constantine, Rome). The three-arch triumphal motif was then applied to the front of the cathedrals (bottom photo, west facade, Amiens Cathedral, France). Though Amiens' facade is in the Gothic style (with pointed arches rather than round Roman arches) its larger center arch and smaller side arches echoes Constantine's arch. Do you think that medieval worshipers remembered the idea of triumph as they came to worship? Does the three emperor-inspired arches give us the sense of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem - the entry we call "triumphal". 

One last detail ties Psalm 118 to our cathedral portals: the tympanum sculpture over the center door. Christ sits in majesty over the middle door. This is the gate of the Lord, the psalmist says. The righteous shall enter through it. In the Amiens Cathedral tympanum Christ sits enthroned above the door, judging who is righteous enough to enter through it. 

For worshipers standing at that door, at that portal, this is the gate of the Lord. And the righteous shall enter through it. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

For additional discussion about a triumphal entry, click here.

For additional thoughts on the donkey, click here.

For additional thoughts on the palms, click here.
For thoughts on the rejected cornerstone (118:22), click here.
The entry into Jerusalem on a sarcophagus? See Art&Faith Matters' Facebook page.

Lord's Prayer: Knock Knock

The gospel reading for Proper 12C/Ordinary 7C gives us Luke's version of the Lord's Prayer. The reading takes us past Luke's brief version of the prayer to a discussion of prayer - well, really, more a discussion about asking for things. The conversation addresses things asked for vs. things received as well as about ask-ers and ask-ees. So much of the text is familiar, including the directions to "ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you."

Each imperative has to do with the "asking" nature of prayer. In prayer we ask God for things that we want (things for ourselves, things for others, things for the world). It is the last of the three - knock - that offers us an additional way to talk about the God who would not give us - children of God - a snake when we ask for a fish.

The medieval idea of "sanctuary" was not just an abstract idea. It was a concrete reality. Someone who had committed a crime could come to the cathedral, knock on the door and the door would be opened with no questions asked. Once open, the sanctuary-seeker would be pulled inside the building.

The knocker in the picture below, currently on the door at Durham Cathedral (England), is a reproduction. The 12th-century original is currently on display in the cathedral's museum/treasury. It was more than decorative. Originally on the cathedral's north door, the knocker was available 24/7 for anyone in need of sanctuary within the cloister. People who had committed crimes or misdemeanors, on purpose or accident, could run to the cathedral and knock on the door. Two monks were stationed in small rooms above the door every day and every night in order to hear any knocks and respond quickly. Once accepted into the monastery, the sanctuary-seeker was entitled to 37 days. In that time the accused criminal might be working to explain or settle the offense. They might also be working on a way to get out of England.

In the Levitical code of Hebrew scripture, six cities of refuge are set up (Deuteronomy 4:41ff. and Joshua 20). People who had committed manslaughter (unintentional) could go to those cities to escapethe laws of blood justice and retribution in the rest of the land. Knock and the door will be opened.

That's what would happen at Durham Cathedral. After the knock, the Galilee bell was rung to indicate that someone had been offered sanctuary. Once taken in, the seeker was provided with food, shelter and clothing (a black robe with a yellow St. Cuthbert's cross embroidered on the left shoulder) though was separated from the rest of the church.

Prayer and sanctuary are not exactly the same things, but the idea that upon knocking, the door will be opened is comfort (in its Latin root sense of "with strength") in both sanctuary and prayer.  

For thoughts on Hosea 1:2-10, click here. 
For additional thoughts on a petition of the Lord's Prayer, click on Art&Faith Matters on Facebook.