“Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

“Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name”;

and again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people”;

and again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him”;

and again Isaiah says,

“The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope.”

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:7-13

“Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” Welcoming others is not only our responsibility each and every day (and especially on Sundays), but in welcoming others, especially the strangers in our midst, we give glory to G-d. Let that last phrase settle on you for a second, and then read it again. When we welcome others, especially the strangers in our midst, we give glory to God. This is the Gospel message — we are not supposed to hate our neighbor, we are to love them as ourselves.

At the beginning of his book What’s So Amazing About Grace?, Philip Yancey tells a story about a prostitute who was asked if she ever approached a church for help for her and her daughter when seeking money and food. The prostitute answered, “Church! Why would I ever go there? I was already feeling terrible about myself. They’d just make me feel worse.” When we welcome others, without judgment, without pre-conditions, without hesitation, we give glory to God.

We are really good at making people feel uneasy — unwelcome — unwanted — by our stares, our glances and our watchful eyes. Perhaps we need to see their humanity, their gifts, and their value by seeing Christ in all people. When we look in each other’s faces, those we know and the stranger as well, we are called to see Christ incarnated in them — after all, that is why Jesus died — so that when G-d looks at us, G-d does not see our sin — instead G-d sees the very essence of Christ within them — and within you and me — and loves us all.

Pastor Dave