The Last Word

by Terry Newland, Synod Executive

Quick, how many “Pearly Gates” jokes have you heard in your lifetime? You know the kind of jokes I'm talking about, those jokes that have something to do with Peter guarding the gates of heaven and testing everyone seeking entrance. The image of Peter as the gate keeper surfaced when we were told in scripture that Jesus will give him the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 16:19). You started telling me about heaven the very first day I was ever carried into a church and you have continued to this day. Not much, if any, of what you have taught me supports the image of a tricky, heavenly gatekeeper who is there to make sure the joke is on whoever comes knocking. Yet, I have to admit that all those pearly gates jokes have made it difficult to shake the image of Peter slamming the gates closed on most everyone who seeks entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

But what if, what if it's not like that at all? What if Peter's not the kind of gate keeper who stands guard giving people admission tests and letting in only those who score high enough? What if Peter's job is to make sure the gates of heaven stay wide open? What if Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven in order to open the gate, instead of to lock the gate closed? What if Jesus came not to condemn the world, but to give eternal life? What if, not by anything we've done, but by grace we have been saved?

How did we get from the open arms of God, the Good News of the Gospel, and the proclamation that “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16) to images of gates locked tight?

To tell you the truth, when I think about the gates of the kingdom of heaven being open, I don't get anxious at all over who might come in. The image that does come to mind involves what might be let out. I can get into the idea of opening the gates to let loose the kingdom of heaven on the world. Think about it! As Jesus was promising to give Peter the keys to the kingdom he said, “… you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). That sounds more like a turning loose than a locking up to me.

I can't help but be saddened by the amount of energy we seem to be dedicating to defining and defending the kingdom, even fighting over who owns the keys. It seems to me that Jesus gave away the keys so that the gates could be opened. Isn't it often our prayer to God that, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10)?

The Peace of Christ be with you.

Terry Newland