Holding the Door an Extra Second
Updated: Sep 6
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran.”Luke 15:20
The person behind you is slower, or carrying something, or a little further away than you thought. You keep the door open a second longer than you have to.
It costs almost nothing. It can change the whole feeling of walking in.
Jesus made room for people who came late, who hesitated, or who needed more time than others wanted to give. In the story of the lost son, the father did not wait with folded arms at the door. He saw the boy still coming, and he moved toward him.
Holding a door is a small version of that. The other person does not have to rush. They do not have to apologise for being slow.
You do not have to smile in a big way. You do not have to make eye contact if that does not come naturally.
At Mass the door of the church is meant to work like this too. Some arrive early. Some arrive with difficulty. Christ does not give grace only to the quick. He keeps the way open.
The door stays open. The other person passes through.
That is already a mercy.