Christian spirituality: Pausing at the gate
These days are not ordinary ones, they are an opportunity to reflect and look ahead
Gates have long served as places of transition. In architecture as well as mythology and literature, gates are seen as liminal spaces, creating a boundary between two spaces or realities. The last days of the year are like a gate between a year that is ending and another one that is at its dawn.
Writing the last article of the year for the Christian spirituality section begets a sense that this time is ripe for a gatekeeping exercise. In antiquity, a sculpture of the two-faced god Janus would be placed at the gates of cities, a symbol of protection marking both the exits and entrances of the city. Like Janus, our gaze is both behind and before us.
A carousel of important moments streams before our eyes, episodes that have shaped us and set our path. Nowadays using our memory muscles is becoming harder. A memory effort is needed to not only recall but to ruminate on the significant events of this year.
Humanly speaking, it would be a loss if one would just barge through the gate into the new year before taking time to acknowledge this year’s important moments: learnings received, promises made, grief that is still carried and blessings that have been given. Because everything is sped-up beyond our capability to absorb what is happening in and around us, gatekeeping becomes all the more important to orient oneself into the new year.
Gates are also heralds of what is to come, the first step into a journey that has yet to start. As this year comes to an end, we are at the gate to enter a new one. These liminal places are ripe with expectations, intimations, hopes and fears.
Because everything is sped-up beyond our capability to absorb what is happening in and around us, gatekeeping becomes all the more important to orient oneself into the new year
At the gate one can presume the nature of what one will find ahead, and yet the precise picture of what will be found on the long, winding road is a mystery that is only revealed along the way. At the gate into a new year, one starts to make plans and hopefully set meaningful aims that go beyond the apparent and material, entertaining ideas that aspire beyond self-enrichment and aggrandising.
Many gates also have a porter or guardian, be it the angel in Dante’s Purgatory, the Guardian at the gate of Emerald City in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, or St Peter with keys in hand into the Kingdom of God. At the threshold into a new year, one gets to choose the porter with whom to converse and discern the year that has gone and the one that is coming.
For many of us this conversation partner is Jesus, who proclaimed himself to be the gate (Jn 10,7-10), through which the sheep go in and out in search of safety and abundant pastures. He promises free movement and circulation, a listening ear and a life-giving Word for the journey. He forces nobody to go through him, but freely calls forth to journey, explore and take rest when needed.
These days are not ordinary ones, they are an opportunity to reflect and look ahead. The gate that separates 2025 from 2026 is less of a barrier, and more of a privileged space that makes one’s humanity richer and worth living.
