The Door of Humility

The way in to the Kingdom of God

The Door of Humility, Church of the Nativity

The last will be first, and the first will be last.
Matthew 20.16

There aren’t many hard and fast rules to cultivating a spiritual life. How the Holy Spirit leads each of us is a great mystery. That said, I think there is at least one universal — let’s call it an attitude — that supports the spiritual life, which was summarized well by St. Augustine in the fifth century: “The first part is humility; the second, humility; the third, humility: and this I would continue to report as often as you might ask direction.” We need as many reminders of this as we can get. At the entrance to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is a small door, maybe four feet tall. They call it the “Door of Humility.” The reasons for its existence are unclear, but today, it causes all who enter the church to bow. Churchill said that we shape our buildings, and afterward, our buildings shape us. I think that’s true. And I’ve longed for a Door of Humility in every church I’ve entered since.

In the parable from Matthew’s gospel for today, Jesus says the only way into the Kingdom of God is through the Door of Humility. We learn that those who want to deal with God on the basis of what they have to offer him will be sent away empty. Why? Because God’s not interested in us trying to earn what he’s giving away for free. I’m reminded of what Robert Capon said about grace working without requiring anything on our part. “It’s not expensive. It’s not even cheap. It’s free.” All you have to do is walk through the Door of Humility.

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