Sunday, May 06, 2007
Who is Welcome at your Table?
The church I attend is involved in a ministry to the neighbors around our building and around a building we inherited from another congregation which had grown so small they decided to quit meeting. This building is located in very poor section of town and the people it draws come mostly from the neighborhood. The ministry has been successful in so many ways. However, it seems that many of our church members prefer that we not bring those we minister to into "our" building.
I was discussing this situation with one of our elders not so very long ago. I mentioned that I feel it is sad that we don't do more to incorporate the members of the Freedom Fellowship into the Highland membership. This elder's response to me was, "Don't you think they feel more comfortable around people who are more like they are?" My response to him was, "If they do, what does that say about us?"
The more I thought about his response, the more it bothered me. I could not let that go, so the next day I went to him to talk to him about his response. Didn't Christ say he came to call ALL men to him? Doesn't Paul say there is neither Jew nor Greek? neither slave nor free? Would blacks be free today if everyone maintained that attitude? Would any of our churches even begin to be integrated?
I told my brother - my physical family is very diverse. I have one brother who has served time in a federal prison for conspiracy to commit murder and income tax evasion. He has been married at least three or four times that I know about and has lived with several other women without the benefit of marriage. He continues to refuse to pay income tax. Another brother has filed bankruptcy more than once. Another divorced his wife and married another woman who divorced her husband to marry him. He seldom saw his children as they grew up, because he refused to demand his visitation rights. He has a PhD and uses words that even I don't understand. Another brother barely finished high school and doesn't use proper grammar. My sister has her master's degree and is a school librarian. I completed college and my husband has his master's degree, as does my brother-in-law. One sister-in-law came from a Lutheran background. A couple of my sisters-in-law are likely to show up at family gatherings wearing short shorts. One smokes. Yet, when we come together as a family, we can all sit around the same table and enjoy being together because we have this in common - we are family. We come from the same blood. We have a common bond.
We frequently invite college students to our house for Sunday lunch. They come from various economic backgrounds. Some come from great financial privilege and others struggle financially. They have shared the table with other friends of ours who have come from lives devoid of education and who have spent time in prison. Yet, around the table, all are equal. Because each is made to feel welcome and we share a common bond. We have each been cleansed by the blood of Jesus. His blood overcomes all differences and makes us "like each other."
If we cannot extend this grace to those of our community in our worship assemblies, then pray where will we show them the love of God and make them believe we really care about them??
I was discussing this situation with one of our elders not so very long ago. I mentioned that I feel it is sad that we don't do more to incorporate the members of the Freedom Fellowship into the Highland membership. This elder's response to me was, "Don't you think they feel more comfortable around people who are more like they are?" My response to him was, "If they do, what does that say about us?"
The more I thought about his response, the more it bothered me. I could not let that go, so the next day I went to him to talk to him about his response. Didn't Christ say he came to call ALL men to him? Doesn't Paul say there is neither Jew nor Greek? neither slave nor free? Would blacks be free today if everyone maintained that attitude? Would any of our churches even begin to be integrated?
I told my brother - my physical family is very diverse. I have one brother who has served time in a federal prison for conspiracy to commit murder and income tax evasion. He has been married at least three or four times that I know about and has lived with several other women without the benefit of marriage. He continues to refuse to pay income tax. Another brother has filed bankruptcy more than once. Another divorced his wife and married another woman who divorced her husband to marry him. He seldom saw his children as they grew up, because he refused to demand his visitation rights. He has a PhD and uses words that even I don't understand. Another brother barely finished high school and doesn't use proper grammar. My sister has her master's degree and is a school librarian. I completed college and my husband has his master's degree, as does my brother-in-law. One sister-in-law came from a Lutheran background. A couple of my sisters-in-law are likely to show up at family gatherings wearing short shorts. One smokes. Yet, when we come together as a family, we can all sit around the same table and enjoy being together because we have this in common - we are family. We come from the same blood. We have a common bond.
We frequently invite college students to our house for Sunday lunch. They come from various economic backgrounds. Some come from great financial privilege and others struggle financially. They have shared the table with other friends of ours who have come from lives devoid of education and who have spent time in prison. Yet, around the table, all are equal. Because each is made to feel welcome and we share a common bond. We have each been cleansed by the blood of Jesus. His blood overcomes all differences and makes us "like each other."
If we cannot extend this grace to those of our community in our worship assemblies, then pray where will we show them the love of God and make them believe we really care about them??
# posted by pawatson @ 1:46 PM 
