The gates of hell

A few months ago I had a day in my practice as a psychologist that felt like I had spent the day sitting at the gates of hell...

I was inundated by stories of brokenness and destruction. It's the kind of darkness that feels like it can only come from hell (or in the scripture "Hades" - which translates literally into "the realm of the dead"). There was no light, no redemption, no rescue; only the kind of brokenness that enters into individual lives and ruins them. And it's not that I'm easily surprised by any of this darkness. It's a regular feature in my line of work. But sometimes when you sit right up against the gates of that realm and are utterly submersed in the darkness... words fail, only images like "gates of hell" really capture it.

So while I contemplated an early retirement from my profession, it was redemptive for me to have an entirely different experience the following day.

I witnessed an event that marked the culmination of seven years of work in the life of one of my patients. She has had more than her share of darkness...not just tragedy and suffering, but almost a seeming conspiracy of the universe to crush her, to silence her, to prevent her from bringing light into the lives of others. And I've had the great privilege of walking alongside this person through much of it. But for many years she has been unable to sing because of all that has transpired. Her voice is one of those voices that moves people in that mystical way that only music can. After much work and healing, she was able to perform again, and there weren't too many dry eyes in the house I can tell you.

And as I witnessed this heroic individual overcoming her tragedies and bringing joy to the lives of others again, I had this passage from Matthew 16:18 pass through my head, "...and the gates of hell shall not stand against it". (Thanks to Peter Jackson, I also get those images from the movie version of Lord of the Rings - the gates of Mordor - and Gandalf yelling "you shall not stand")

There is terrible darkness in this world. But it cannot overcome us.

Easter echos through time like a distant thunder clap, reminding us here and now that this world is being redeemed.

Death, and all that it brings into the world with it, cannot stand against the power of a world reclaimed by God. Jesus speaks these words in Matt 16:18 to Peter, and the "it" that He's referring to the gates of hell not being able to stand against is, the church. It's actually the first use in scriptures of the word "ecclesia" which we now translate as "church".

That's a pretty wild thing to say about the church isn't it?

Maybe I'm not the only who finds it hard to match up my experience of church with this extraordinary claim. I'm going to have to think about this a bit, maybe come back to it in a future post.

But for now, I am grateful for these moments in life when God works so clearly and shows us that evil is not the final word. That God is moving, and working, and transforming, and using even people like you and I in overcoming the darkness which seems so strong.