John 12:1-11
Once upon a time, a door stood in the way.
We were awaiting the arrival of our son, pregnant as could be, and quite ready for the birth to begin. My husband’s mother had called every day for an update on when her grandson would arrive. She lived a couple of hours away, and was ready to hop in the car and get to us. When the time came and Jake called her, she was equal parts ecstatic and anxious. She and Jake’s aunt had talked about this trip to the hospital since the very day we had announced that our long journey of infertility had finally brought us to expecting a baby boy. She could not wait to be at the hospital to hold this baby.
She grabbed her bag, her overnight items, and her sister to run to the car and hit the highway. Until she realized: her car keys were in her bedroom. And she had just locked the door to that room. The locked door stood between her and her loved ones.
So she broke down the door.
There was no waiting for help and no frustrated tears. She saw what needed breaking and she broke it. She found a hammer, beat a large hole into the door, and opened that door. She grabbed her keys. Like a boss.
Like a mother.
The broken door stayed that way for a while. It took some months to replace it, but that cost was never calculated when she swung the hammer. It didn’t matter. When I first saw the gaping hole on a visit some time later, I was holding my infant son. I whispered to my baby boy that this is what love looks like.
Love will not be stopped. Love makes access. Love breaks down doors that need breaking. Because Love has work to do. Isaiah tells us of the One who comes “to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.” Breaking what needs to be broken.
When I read John 12:1-11 today, I see Mary’s great love. “Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair.”
Of course she did. Breaking what is precious is nothing new to women. Scoffing about how our actions are ridiculous has not truly stopped us yet.
When you see women breaking and emptying something that clearly has great worth, you might pay attention to what is forming instead of calculating the cost of what is lost. Richard Rohr says, “The two major paths of transformation are great love and great suffering.” Transformation can look like making space for imagination, or a conference disrupted, or an overlooked need coming right into the spotlight. It can look like a waste of time and resources.
Most of the time . . . it’s not. It’s the exact response of compassion. Let us look for those places where something being broken is a sign of what love looks like.
If you see a mother with a hammer in her hand, you might as well say goodbye to the door that stood in her way.
CREATIVE PRACTICE:
Imagining Prayer. Find a door near you, maybe in your home or office. Walk over to it, and close that door. Stand on the outside of the door and let your imagination lead you to think about the spaces in our world where people cannot get to what they need. Think about a space in our world where someone is shut out and unable to access what they need to be whole. Picture these people, these neighbors. Let your imagination shape a prayer of confession. Form a prayer of gratitude for someone who is breaking down barriers, regardless of the cost. Amen.
Thank you, Erin, for a good reminder to break down barriers (doors) in my life. Your illustration was perfect.
such beautiful words! And such a true description of what it looks like for women to love, no matter what it costs.
What an awesome testimony and illustration! Thanks for sharing!
Very inspiring and thought provoking. A angry Christian with love as a foundation can and will create some change. Oh…grom now on when I see Linda with hammer if getting out of the way!
I love this story! Love knows no bounds or limits.
Thank you. Thank you. I love this, Erin. Powerful “mother-bear” love breaks all doors.
Thank you. Thank you. I love this, Erin. Powerful to think about love breaking all doors.
Gosh…I love this story and the way you told it. Perfect example of a mother/grandmother’s love.