Counting the Days: December 4, 2025

Inside and Out

Rev. David Woodhouse
Pastor
Hay Street United Methodist Church (partner church)

Read: Revelation 3:20

Open wide your door to the One who comes.
— Ambrose of Milan (unknown – AD 397)

Each Sunday I sit in a large old green chair with worn out springs and face a congregation of people eager to hear some good news. As I look toward the central doorway of the Hay Street UMC sanctuary, I behold a large stained-glass window beautifully crafted to remind us of the good news that Jesus articulated in today’s Scripture Reading. The artist who created the window depicts Jesus, holding a shepherd’s staff, as knocking eagerly and patiently at a rugged wooden door, waiting for the one inside to open to him, so he can come in and dine.

Although Revelation 3:20, speaks specifically of Jesus’s desire to be invited in to dine together, I feel certain Jesus is also hoping whoever is inside will be brave enough to eventually come outside and join him in his ministry to the world. What the window and the verse consistently remind me of is that Jesus desires to be with us inside and out. He yearns for us to open our hearts and lives to him, to enjoy his company, and to receive the blessings he longs to bestow upon us: grace, peace, joy, hope, abundant life. See John 10: 10b, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (NRSVUE).

The good news of this and every Advent is that we worship the God who comes in Jesus Christ to make a home with us. In Christ, God stands knocking and waiting for us to respond. The promise of our Lord is that when we hear his voice and open the door, he will come in and eat with us. How will we open our homes and hearts to Jesus today? Are we ready to dine with Jesus? And to join Jesus in feeding others?

Ambrose of Milan encourages us to throw the door wide open, not to just crack it. There is nothing to fear from Jesus and everything to gain. Jesus is not like “the thief [who] comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (see John 10:10a). He is the Good Shepherd (remember the staff) who knows us, will stay with us, and has even laid down his life for us so we can be with him forever.  Good news! The one who knocks is Emmanuel, God with us! Today, hear his voice and open wide the door!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, give us the courage to open the doors of our hearts fully to You, trusting Your love and welcome. As You come in to dwell with us, lead us out to share Your grace, compassion, and hope with the world. Amen.