Episode Transcript  

One

The Doors Were Locked

When the Lord rose again, He appeared to His disciples at unexpected, unpredictable times. He met Mary Magdalene at the tomb. He met two disciples on the road. He met some of His apostles on the seashore. You never knew when or where He was going to turn up. But one place He visited several times was the room where the apostles would gather.

Remember? He shows up there once when Thomas is not there, and then appears later when Thomas is there. But there’s a really noteworthy detail about Jesus’ appearance in the upper room. It’s this: the gospels tell us that the doors were locked, but Jesus appeared in the room anyway. The doors were locked when Jesus appeared. What’s the point of telling us that?

Two

Why are the “Locked Doors” important?

Why does it matter that the doors were locked when Christ appeared to the apostles? What are we supposed to learn from that?

On the one hand, of course, it shows us Christ’s power, that He could pass through locked doors shows that natural forces are no restraint on His power. But, of course, we already see that before the Resurrection. When Jesus walks on water, when He multiplies loaves and fishes indefinitely, when He tells the wind and rain to stop, and it does. We already know that the laws of nature have to obey Him, and not vice versa.

The locked doors also tell us something about the apostles. It tells us that they’re afraid, that they’re not ready yet to engage the world. The locked doors let us contrast the apostles’ state before and after the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. Before Pentecost, they’re shut up in a room, afraid. After Pentecost, they explode out of the room, unafraid, to convert the human race.

But maybe the locked doors show us something else, too. Maybe the locked doors tell us that Christ comes to those who are willing to guard themselves from the attacks of His enemies.

Three

Keeping the Doors Locked Against Christ’s Enemies

The apostles, of course, weren’t trying to defend themselves against Jesus. They were trying to defend themselves against the Lord’s enemies. They were trying to stay safe from the Pharisees and the Romans. They didn’t have the power to make Jesus come to them, but they were going to do everything they could to prevent His enemies from getting in. And that, actually, is the way the spiritual life works.

You can’t make Christ reveal Himself to you. You can’t produce a mystical, intimate encounter with the Lord. The Spirit blows where He wills, and the Risen Lord comes to your heart at unpredictable times of His own choosing. But what you can do is prepare yourself for Christ to show Himself to you by guarding yourself against the Lord’s enemies. You can lock the doors of your soul against temptation, and wait for the Lord to come in His own time, and in His own way.

Four

Christ Comes to an Uncompromised Soul

Jesus did not reveal Himself to His enemies after His resurrection. Pilate, Herod, the Pharisees, the Sanhedrin, they saw Jesus before the Resurrection, but not afterwards. And similarly, Jesus does not come to a soul that is crowded with vice, with worldliness. Jesus doesn’t reveal Himself to a soul that has not locked the doors against near occasion of sin. 

So, we may wonder: why do so many saints have such a personal relationship with the Lord, and I don’t? Why do they think of Him as a friend? Why do they feel close to Him? Why do they seem to know Him, while to me, Jesus is more like an idea than someone whose presence I’m familiar with?

The answer may be simple: have you locked the doors against sin? Or are you still spending your time in company with the Lord’s enemies? Do you still host them in the room of your soul? Lock the doors against sin and Satan, and the Lord will come. His visitation may be unexpected, it may be sudden and unpredictable. But He will come to us if we prepare the room and guard it vigilantly.

Five

Don’t Get Lax or Negligent after Easter

Easter is a time of celebration. Christ has Risen! God is good! Life is good! The human destiny is good!

And it’s normal that we should celebrate the goodness of God and the goodness of what He has done with good things: good company, good food, good drink. But let’s not lose sight of what Lent was about. Lent was about overcoming our sins, so that we can enjoy the goodness of Jesus and the goodness of what He wants for us. Easter relaxes the penance and mourning of Lent, but it’s not an excuse to just default back to our negligence. 

As St. John Henry Newman says, “It will be a sad thought… if we shall find after all, that we have undone what was right and profitable in our Lent exercises by a relapse in Easter-tide.”

The joy of Easter is principally a joy in the company of the Risen Christ. And the apostles experienced that joy when the doors were still firmly locked against Christ’s enemies. Let’s celebrate this season, absolutely. But let’s make sure that we celebrate with Christ by keeping the doors securely bolted and barred to the sin that will only return us to sorrow. 

Suggested Resolutions:

Choose one resolution for today to help you grow closer to God, or create your own. Here are some ideas to inspire you.

• The first step to encounter with Christ is to lock the doors against sin. Especially in the places where you pray, remove distractions and temptations like your phone or computer so that He can meet you in silence.

• Pentecost transformed the Disciples and brought them out of the locked room, but even post-Resurrection, we need to ask the Holy Spirit for the graces to go out and serve the Lord.

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