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Good morning. ‘Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with songs of praise’. These words from the Jubilate, Psalm 100, will be well known to many who say them as part of their daily devotions in praying the Office. They’re also very familiar to me from my time in Aberystwyth, as this was the inscription greeting visitors at the entrance of our new church there. 

These ancient words also have a contemporary resonance, as today we mark the 25th anniversary of the reopening of the historic Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. It was originally commissioned by King Frederick William II as a symbol of peace; however during the 19th century it was redesigned as a triumphal arch and came to represent instead Prussian military power and prestige, an impression re-inforced by its prominence during the Nazi regime.  The gate was badly damaged in the war and then closed in 1961 as Berlin, along with the rest of Germany, was divided and Europe entered a new cold war. Its re-opening in December 1989 was part of that climactic series of events which began with the Berlin Wall coming down and ended in the reunification of Germany. And so as the West German Chancellor walked through the gate on this day 25 years ago, he was greeted by the East German Prime Minister with the words, ‘It must be a gate of peace’.

Such words provide a powerful image for us to carry into our prayers at the start of this week; that even in our conflicted and divided world it is possible for walls to come down and gateways to be opened, as we prepare for the coming of Christ, the ‘Prince of Peace’.

So we pray:

Merciful God,

As we prepare for the coming of the Prince of Peace to our divided world, may your Holy Spirit encourage us to open the gates of our hearts and guide us, and all people, in your way of peace.