Access

Nearly everywhere in our organized communities, there are places we are free to go and places of restricted access. Corporate offices, government, medical, even diocesan offices, to name a few, require appointments or credentials to be seen. We accept this with the understanding that, to get things done, entities need orderly procedures. It is a matter of efficient functioning, security, and protection of projects and information.

Here is a story I heard in a lecture by the Anglican cleric, Nicky Gumbel, that illustrates the nature of access. A young boy approaches a union soldier in Washington D.C. in the days of the American Civil War. He can see the soldier, sitting on a park bench, was very distraught, so he asks him “What is the matter?” The soldier told him that he had hoped to see the President, but was told he could not, that President Lincoln was too busy, He was told to go away, and return to the front where he belonged. He had wanted to appeal for an exemption from military service so that he could go back to the family farm and help his sister and mother with spring planting. The family had already lost his father and brother in the battle of Gettysburg.  He knew he was needed on the battleline but knew also that his whole family was lost without him in the fields.

The little boy listened and said, “I can help you, soldier.” He took him by the hand and led him back to the front gate of the White House. They were not stopped. They walked straight to the front door of the White House and walked right in. The soldier could not understand this. Why were they completely ignored? After they got inside, they walked right past generals and high-ranking officials, and no one said a word.

Finally, they reached the president working in his office. The little boy didn’t even knock on the door. He just walked right in and led the soldier in with him. There behind the desk was Abraham Lincoln and his Secretary of State, looking over battle plans that were laid out on his desk. The president looked at the boy and then at the soldier and said, “Good afternoon, Todd. Can you introduce me to your friend?”

And Todd Lincoln, the son of the president, said, “Daddy, this soldier needs to talk to you.” The soldier pled his case before Mr. Lincoln, and right then and there he received the exemption that he desired.

This Sunday, we will hear a portion of the Epistle to the Ephesians, in which Paul teaches about the access we have to God. He explains that in the offering of self on the cross, Christ eliminated division, and set aside the notions of insiders and outsiders concerning God. Christ made peace on the cross and brought together those who were far off and those who are in near relation to God. There is now one commonwealth. Because of the work and identity of the Son, we have access to the Father:

He [Christ] has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God. (Ephesians 2:15-22)

Concerning the holiness of God, the precise understanding is only the holy can approach the holy. On our own, we cannot pull ourselves into a state of holiness. Astoundingly, however, the message of the Good News is that God has willed and has afforded us holiness, through love, mercy, and grace. This unearned gift gives us otherwise impossible access. No passcode, no retinal scan, no ID badge or card, gets us an audience with God. The love of the incarnate Word-made flesh walks us into accepting the presence of an Almighty and All-loving God. You are received, welcomed, and accepted by pure Love.