Who’s That Knocking?

As soon as Peter realized he was free from prison, he went to the house of Mary. When he knocked at the outer gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer. On recognizing Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of letting him in, she ran and announced that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she insisted that it was so. They said, “It is his angel.” Meanwhile Peter continued knocking, and when they opened the gate they saw him and were amazed. –Acts 12:12-16 (adapted) 

The older I get, the more I’m convinced that I should accept and celebrate every little bit of good news that comes my way—no matter how improbable. Sure, I may end up looking the fool. But … so what?  

You can have your skepticism and calm, measured reactions; I want to develop an impulse for rejoicing. I’d like my knee-jerk reaction to the surprisingly wonderful to be deep gratitude for a grace I never would have expected. I want to be the first to exclaim, “Of course, this amazing thing has happened!” 

This takes a lot of intention, practice, and a willingness to be wrong, because life teaches us just the opposite: to develop a thick skin, to protect ourselves from disappointment, to distrust good fortune because life is hard and awful things happen to salt-of-the-earth people. God knows there’s more than enough horror and hurt to go around.  

But if I practice the presence of Love, if I ground myself firmly in God’s grace, goodness, and mercy, I just might find myself surprised by joy on the regular.  

Prayer
Keep knocking at the door to my heart, O God, that I might be more fully opened to the reality of your grace.

About the Author
Vicki Kemper is the Pastor of First Congregational, UCC, of Amherst, Massachusetts.