‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Matthew 7: 7-11

“Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.”

Revelation 3: 20

The knock- knock joke is probably the best-known format of the pun. It is a time-honored “call and answer” role-play exercise.         

It has a protagonist (the punster—in this case, the interim pastor) and an antagonist (the recipient of the pun—the congregation).  Developmental psychologists study knock-knock joke usage in younger children, since it provides valuable insight into how children advance their language skills.

Let’s give it a try:

Knock, knock!

Who’s there?

Adolf.

Adolf who?

Adolf ball hit me in da mouth and I can’t dalk.

Knock, knock!

Who’s there?

Alpaca.

Alpaca who?

Alpaca the trunk, you pack-a the suitcase.

Knock, knock!

Who’s there?

Elaine.

Elaine who?

Elaine of the freeway.

Knock, knock!

Who’s there?

Harris

Harris who?

Harris nice to have on the top of your head.

OK, I’ll stop!!!!!

Sue Monk Kidd, author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair, tells the following story in her non-fiction work, When the Heart Waits: “When I worked as a nurse in the pediatric ward, before I listened to the boys and girls chests, I would sometimes plug the stethoscope in their ears and let them listen to their own hearts.

One day I placed the stethoscope in little David’s ears, ‘Can you hear that?”  I asked…What do you suppose that is?'

David frowned for a moment, uncertain about the wonder of the strange tapping in his chest.  Then he broke out in a grin and said in amazement:  ‘IS THAT JESUS KNOCKING?!!?!?’”

• Every awakening to God begins with some kind of knock.

• God is constantly knocking on the door of our lives.

I believe that our presence here this morning, indicates that God is knocking on the door of our lives.

In Revelation 3:20, Jesus is pictured as knocking on the door of the Church.  How will we respond to those people who knock at our doors?

• People who are searching for spiritual reality, the Living Christ, within the context of a church offering honest, genuine, relationships and a faith that transforms lives.

• People who are searching for spiritual reality within the context of a church that serves others in the community and world.

• People looking for a church that wrestles with questions of faith.  A church that is not afraid to explore differing viewpoints and views theology as a journey of discovery.

Not only are we called to respond to those who will be knocking, but we are called to do some knocking, that is, to be an inviting congregation—80% of all church growth comes through a personal invitation.  We gently knock on the doors of other people’s lives.

In Matthew 7 the imagery of “knocking” is reversed from that in Revelation.  Jesus encourages his listeners to ask, to search and to knock.  “For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

We pray.  We bring our needs to God.  We bring the need of this congregation to God. 

As I reflect on the past three months as interim pastor I offer the following words of encouragement:

• God is calling us to create a positive, grace-filled environment for ministry, growth and service to others.
• We are called to pray for all aspects of the church’s life and ministry as we work for creative solutions to the challenges that invariably arise during a transitional time in a church.
• There are numerous opportunities for involvement and service at RHPC. Perhaps God is calling you forth to a new area of involvement. God is knocking!
• In due time a Pastor Nominating Committee will be elected. They will prepare a Church Information Form (C.I.F.) so ministers who are searching for a new call can submit their Personal Information Form (P.I.F.) So, you see, the PNC completes a CIF so they can receive PIF’s!  Anyway, it is not too soon to start praying for the person God is calling to serve as the new installed Pastor/Head of Staff. Many prospective candidates for pastor will be knocking at the door of the Pastor Nominating Committee.

By the way, you do know the characteristics of the ideal pastor, don’t you?

The ideal pastor:

• Is 40 years old with 80 years of experience
• Loves the older folks of the church, visits them regularly, but can always be found with the youth and younger members of the church.
• Preaches eloquent, stimulating, rigorous, profound, intellectually challenging sermons that inspire the minds of the mature - yet the sermons are so wonderfully simple that even preschoolers are blessed. Teenagers eagerly take notes on the sermons and gather on Sunday evening to discuss them.
• Never misses a church program, serves on civic and neighborhood boards, is a leader in the denomination, attends every function sponsored by the ministerial alliance and is home with the family every evening.
• Is always available to anyone who drops by for a friendly chat in the church office, yet is always out calling.
• Comprehends the complexity of church finances, has mastery of the church budget, and never offends anyone by talking about money or pledging.
• Has a resonant voice which is quietly loud, pleases everyone and is audible to all.  (The following said with a strong Scottish accent) I once told the Personnel Committee at another church that a good Scottish accent was worth $5,000 on the terms of call. “Aye, laddie,” they said, “but for a bad Scottish accent we take off $5,000!

(Note from Committee on Ministry to Search Committees: If the Pastor you call does not meet up with these expectations, send this letter to 6 other PNCs, package your pastor up, and mail him/her to the PNC at the top of this list. In one week, you will receive 1,632 Pastors. Surely one of them will meet the requirements!).

It is not too early to begin praying….God will be knocking.

I conclude with the words of John Oxenham:

“This is the Church of my dreams: the Church of the warm heart, of the open mind, of the adventurous spirit; the Church that cares, that heals hurt lives, that comforts the elderly, that challenges the youth, that knows no division of culture or class, no frontiers geographical or social; the Church that inquires as well as asserts, that looks forward as well as backward; the Church of the Master, the Church of the people, high as the ideals of Jesus, low as the humblest human; a working Church, a worshiping Church, a winsome Church, a Church that interprets the truth in terms of the truth, that inspired courage for this life and hope for the life to come; a Church of the Spirit, a Church for all people, the Church of the Living God.”

As Jesus continues to knock at the door of the Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church, we listen and respond.  Amen.