A Welcoming Interpretation

This is my favorite of all the books we have read thus far this semester, partly because of the beautiful and creative writing, but also for the need it filled in my spiritual understanding of the scriptures. I took a wonderful class from Stephen Walker called “The Bible as Literature.” In the class, Walker forced us to consider the “holes” in the scripture, pointing out to us that only a few dozen days of Christ’s life are actually documented in scripture. Of particular interest to me at this time was the omission of Christ’s youth, as we essentially jump from knowledge of Christ teaching in the temple as a young boy straight to his mortal ministry in what we presume were his early thirties.

Kenny Kemp clearly grew up thinking about these omissions as well, because his beautiful book tries to fill some of the holes. Kemp depicts Christ’s youth as a time of learning, but not only of the gospel. He had secular responsibilities that he attended to that gave him the opportunity to grow and reach out in kindness to others. I particularly liked his depiction of Christ with his siblings, which made Christ seem fun, but loving. One of my biggest complaints with gospel videos is that they rarely depict Christ as a man with a personality, but rather depict him as a loving and insightful man constantly speaking in a spiritual whisper. This was not the Christ I read about in The Welcoming Door.

I think we could all benefit from humanizing Christ in a similar way as we read the scriptures.

The Last Shall Be First

Kenny Kemp did a masterful job of intertwining three of Christ's parables into real story lines with real characters that Jeshua (who is Christ) observes. While adding love and emotion into already loved and rich parables, Kenny Kemp captured the spirit of Christ for me. With the obvious themes of love and forgiveness, I enjoyed the example of meekness and humility from Jeshua.

As do other Christians, Latter-day Saints work out to follow the example of our Messiah, but sometimes his perfection can be overwhelming standard to reach. However, seeing Christ in this context, before his ministry, brought a great perspective on what Christ is asking us to do. We live in a competitive world, and our small efforts hardly seem important, but those make all the difference.

I cannot walk on water, but I can work hard. 
Jeshua put all his effort into the door he was making, and it wasn't just physical. He had the insight to have the door swing open to welcome love into the prodigal's son's family home. One door may not seem important in the scheme of things, but Jeshua did his best despite the "menial" nature of it.

I cannot feed 5,000, but I can love those around me.
Jeshua was very aware of those he interacted with. He invites a poor servant boy, Arah, to be his apprentice. Not only sharing skills with him, but love and comfort and truth.

I may not be prestigious in the eyes of other, but I can still be grateful.
One small detail in the story really struck me. Jeshua was not even allowed to enter the yard without permission, but he still was joyous and grateful for something as insignificant as the smell of fresh wood. In fact "he would consider how lucky he was to enjoy the pungent smell of worked wood."* Lucky to smell wood! I think we could all use an attitude adjustment.

The list could go on. It's obvious to me that Kenny Kemp did not believe that Christ's perfection started with his ministry, after these imagined happenings. Kemp is presenting these moments of humility as perfection. And of course, Jesus' humility is seen always in the New Testament, even during his great miracles, but I appreciated this small reminder that Christ isn't asking me to walk on water. My simple baby steps on the hard ground are a great start.




*Kemp, Kenny (2012-11-10). The Welcoming Door (Parables of the Carpenter) (p. 45). Alta Films  Press. Kindle Edition.

The Door Opens Inward

picture by Morillo

"The Welcoming Door" by Kenny Kemp tells the stories of three well-known parables: the prodigal son, the talents and the Good Samaritan.  However, Kemp provides an intimate and different perspective, placing Christ (called Jeshua) in these stories as more of an observer rather than the main character.  Each retelling of the parable deepens our understanding of Christ as the peaceful and compassionate man that He is and was to the people in these stories.  The end of each story ends with an "Epilogue" where Kemp portrays Christ telling the parables, now seen as personal experiences rather than general stories.  

One of the metaphors that really touched me from Kemp's book was his metaphor of the door that opens inward in Prodigal Son parable.  Jeshua has been hired to repair the door of a man named Eli.  After working on the door for a few days, Jeshua explains that the door must be completely replaced.  As Eli, the father of the prodigal son, yearns for his lost child, Jeshua tells him that the door must be hung to swing inward as to welcome family, friends and love through the door.  He describes that a door that swings outward is just a passage way for people and livestock to leave but a door that swings inward welcomes all to the warmth of the home.  Simply put, I loved that perspective.  Extended further, this metaphor emphasizes that we must let Christ in with love and trust rather than show him out with bitterness and frustration.  We must also do the same for our fellow men.  

I am impressed by Kemp's praising yet humble view of the Savior before His ministry.  Kemp shows Christ as a carpenter, participating in responsibilities and physical labor, teasing his brothers and loving all he comes in contact with.  We know more about Christ's ministry than His earlier life so I found this portrayal of Christ's early years as comforting and tender.  

More than just a Parable

Photo by LDS Media Library

I really enjoyed The Welcoming Door. It was refreshing to touch on topics that are bigger than LDS culture, while still integral in LDS culture. Jeshua was written to be a very real, but good, perfect Jesus. I liked that He was so real, the moments when He got hurt, or seemed to almost be frustrated because it made his goodness and divinity even more beautiful in near contrast. What I liked most though, was the fact that in each parable there was more to the story after the parable ends in the scriptures.

One of the most obvious examples is the Good Samaritan story. True, everything occurred to fundamentally maintain the structure of the parable, but it doesn't end there. Achish isn't just the antagonist, some random force of misfortune. In Kemp's version of the story, it is as much a journey of redemption for him as it is for the merchant. In fact, it rather struck me that although from the perspective of a parable, we are trying to follow the Good Samaritan's example, the people who significantly changed were not the Samaritan. This made me feel the reality of layers that exist in parables. Even with just scriptural parables we know there are many layers of meaning, but add a narrative and the implications go crazy. I really enjoyed that aspect.

Finally, although the stories themselves were delightful, I really appreciated having them end, not with the conclusion of the story itself, but with the moment Christ uses the story in His ministry. This helped connect me back to the scriptural and historical context, making the scriptures feel situated in a reality and time frame I am a part of. 

Little Children

In his book, The Welcoming Door, Kenny Kemp tells the story of Jesus Christ's life during the time between  his childhood and ministry, the time when the Bible is silent. In this fictional account, Kemp shares three vignettes in which Christ observes or participates in the events that will later be told as some of his most well known parables: the prodigal son, the talents, and the good Samaritan.
While the stories themselves are fictional, they have the potential to teach readers more about the character of Christ as Kemp personifies him. He shows Christ as kind, hard working, and gentle. He shows his compassion towards all and his willingness to forgive. He also shows Christ's love for children.
I loved how Kemp depicted Christ's interactions with his siblings. He was fun loving and teased his brothers, but he was always kind. He used his interactions with them to teach them in a kind, older brother kind of way. He also took time to pay attention to the little children throughout the stories. He was kind to them, even taking time to "train" one of the children on how to be his apprentice while he made a door. Through this apprenticeship he helped the boy, Arah, to gain confidence and faith.
These depictions humanized Christ and his love for children. It added a new dimension to Mark 10:14 where Christ says "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not." I really liked being able to visualize Christ's love for children in a concrete story, not just an abstract idea.

Picture found on flickr.com

While these accounts were fictional, I think they have value in their ability to humanize Christ. They take his abstract teachings and give them a base, a concrete story to work from. While the stories do have flaws (their conclusions seem almost too easy at times) they teach good lessons and help the reader see Christ in a new way.

The Welcoming Door

It’s been a very long time since I’ve read a religious book outside the scriptures. I don’t really understand the idea of using time I could use to read the BOM or other scripture to read a regular book about religious themes. But, I was pleasantly surprised by the Welcoming Door. I really enjoyed this book. It’s definitely a book for a Christian audience. I don’t think I would have enjoyed it if I didn’t have an interest in Christian theology, but I think Kemp does an excellent job and creating some relatable elements around the parables of Christ. He puts a twist on them to make them more than just teaching aids but actually events in Christ’s life. The stories helped me to see the parables from a different point of view and they felt more real and in turn more impactful.  I loved the tone of the book; it was reverent but not too heavy. 

The life of Christ from the time he was twelve or so until his ministry is a mystery. I can't imagine the overwhelming task it must have to try and fictionalize this part of his life, but Kemp did it very well! It reminded me that Christ lead a REAL life: He had responsibilities, work, and things to get done like all of us do. Even with this normal life, Kemp depicted him still touching the lives of people around him and teaching those that come in contact with him, all the while he himself is learning from mortal life experiences to become the great teacher he eventually would. 

I think there’s definitely a chance that Kemp was inspired and guided as the wrote this book. I had great experiences reading it and I feel like it brought me a little closer to Christ. 

Form and Counterpoint in The Welcoming Door

Kenny Kemp’s The Welcoming Door offers a refreshing take on the New Testament, fictionalizing that period of time about which we know absolutely nothing—Jesus Christ’s early adulthood. Kemp portrays the Christ doing what his earthly father did (woodworking), and makes Christ the witness to three vignetted stories, each with characters who struggle individually with the allure of temptation, the paralysis of fear, and the brutality of human negligence. These stories are familiar to Christian readers, who will recognize them as the parables of the Prodigal Son, of the Talents, and of the Good Samaritan. Kemp implies that Christ first saw these parables happen before he told them.

          Such a thesis imbues the parables with heart, as the reader sees Jesus connect with people on a deep, spiritual level. But context is not the only thing Kemp alters of the parables. He tells each story with description, with dialogue, with character, with subtext. Whereas in the scriptures the parables are like fables, distant and concise, Kemp’s versions are like books, alive and rich.

perfectly human.

Kenny Kemp’s The Welcoming Door is a compilation of the parables found in the Bible, taught by Christ. The perspective is from the people in the parables; the prodigal son, the servants and multiplying their talents, and the good Samaritan. Christ plays His part as a carpenter; fixing a door, building a well, and adding new rooms to an inn. It depicts Christ, named Jeshua in the telling of these parables, as a person who works and interacts with normal, everyday people.

As he works on a door for a wealthy man, he observes the family relations as the younger son is gone, living riotously, while the older son remains, faithful and hardworking. He watches and is kind to all, as he works hard and listens perfectly. He sees the best in those around him as he builds a well—the readers see him work even harder, struggling to be successful in his work, nearly discouraged, but never giving up. He finds the most redeeming qualities of even more individuals as He works at an inn, coming into contact with thieves, liars, and imposters. He humbly teaches a murderer to pray as they all navigate through miracles surrounding Jeshua. Readers can see Him sad, frustrated, hard-working, and perfectly human.

It may seem unrealistic with how understanding and non-judgmental Jeshua is portrayed as—but He’s not just another character that this LDS author is writing about. It is the person of Christ, of the one perfect being to walk this earth. I was not bothered by any of the seemingly idealistic outcomes from these stories because Christ was a player in them. These are interpretations of Christ’s life during His years the Bible does not cover, so they are fictional. However, any Christian wanting to become closer to and understand Christ better should read this book.

Teachings from the Bible

In the Bible, we read only that Christ grew in wisdom and in stature between the age of 12 and when he began his mortal ministry around the age of 30. "The Welcoming Door" is a collection of fictional short stories that take place between these years of Christ's life, explaining what might have happened during this time when the Bible remains silent.

Kenny Kemp, author of "The Welcoming Door," does a fantastic job depicting the culture and life of one living in ancient Jerusalem and the surrounding area. I learned a lot about what it might have been like living in that area during Christ's time. For example, I noticed all throughout the book the complete necessity of having water available for cleaning, cooking, and most importantly, for drinking. Although it wasn't in the novel itself, the way that the characters depended so much on water made me think of the story in the Bible when Christ talks to the woman of the well about the Living Waters. The way the characters were always looking for water in "The Welcoming Door" helped me understand more deeply why the concept of Living Water would have hit so close to home for the woman at the well.

I was a little unsatisfied with the ending of the novel however. For me, the ending seemed too happy and carefree. It was hard to believe that a thief and would-be murderer could have such a quick turn-around and that the robbed and nearly-murdered merchant would be so quick to forgive the fault against him. But then again, with Christ as the main character leading all of the other characters, how could it possibly have ended with a negative message?

Overall, I enjoyed the book and the overall messages it conveys to readers of all religions as it stays in harmony with the teachings of the Bible: there is hope and healing through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, even when we may not exactly deserve it.