Welcome

Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.    Matthew 10:40

            “Behind the Borders”                             Samia Smahi

Welcoming:  It is the thing Jesus begs us to do.

Is it enough to simply shake hands? Remember names? Or does it demand that we be more proactive in offering welcome?  It takes more effort to offer welcome to those who do not agree with us; perhaps more difficult to welcome those who do not share our faith or our ancestral origins.

And yet, “Whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me” is an appropriate mantra for today’s pluralistic and often divisive culture. It’s more than a smile or being nice. God calls us to remember that each person we encounter is a child of God; beloved of God.

How might we proactively offer real welcome to those who have come to dwell among us?

Have No Fear

“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.  Matthew 10:  26-27

“So do not fear them.”

What a seemingly easy statement for Jesus to make to his disciples, but anyone who has ever tried to convince a 4 year old at bedtime that there are no monsters in the closet or under the bed, knows that overcoming fear is easier said than done. Fear is the single biggest obstacle to maturation of faith. Fear undermines what is true, what is right, and what is holy. Fear prevents the speaking of truth, even as our loved ones suffer. But the Lord promises another way. 

“Have no fear of them, for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered.”

God already knows. God pleads with us to speak the truth in love. Pick off the scab that blocks you from truth and from healing. Proclaim the unsaid; speak your truth. Shine a light on injustice and coercion and manipulation. When we bring unspoken suffering to the light, no one will fall to the ground apart from God – even the persecutors.

Believe. Have no fear. Proclaim truth from the housetops.   

When Love is Impure

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.  

                                          1 Corinthians 13:4-8

What happens when love is used to manipulate, to bruise, to abuse? That kind of love is not agape love, not Godly love. That kind of love seeks power and control; it seeks victory. That kind of love blasphemes the Holy One who is the center of all.

This week, as you assess your relationships, do a version of the Ignatian Examen. Think about your interactions with others and especially about your relationships with those you love.  Did you offer love? Did you seek to be "right?" Did you ask how your loved one was feeling or did you seek, instead, how to make your feelings known? Did you listen? Or did you demand to be heard? 

Bring yourself into the presence of God. Re-read the quote from 1st Corinthians above.  Sit with it. This passage contains all things necessary to evaluate our relationships. Finally, give thanks to the Holy One who loves us perfectly and who is neither self-seeking nor easily angered.  

People may forget the things you did with them and the gifts you bought for them, but they will never forget how  you made them feel. 

Trinity

This Sunday, the Church will observe Trinity Sunday.  Trinity Sunday always follows on the heels of the Feast of Pentecost – and every year, priests will jokingly say to one another, "I've got to find a deacon to preach ne this Sunday!"   Why is that? Why are priests so reluctant to preach on the doctrine of the Trinity? 

I believe that it's because the Trinity, as a concept, is impossible for most of us to get our heads around. One God in three persons? Huh? What does that mean?  Minds far greater than mine have tried to explain this mystery and failed miserably. Many have been accused of heresy. The Trinity seems simply inexplicable. 

The above quote from 2nd Corinthians gives us a formula to help us come to terms with this mystery. Grace and love and communion are all essential for the whole to be possible. Without grace, there can be no love. Without love, there can be no communion, Without communion there can be no grace. 

We are drawn into the power of God's grace, love, and compassion because its centrifugal force is irresistible. The centrifugal force that is God holds the world together: it holds the stars in the sky and the waters in their oceans, and our bones to our skin. We cannot parse it. We cannot explain it.

We must simply rest in the fact that it is -- and give thanks. 

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