“Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” Acts 10:34-35

“Think of all the effort and energy wasted on trying to label and oppress those who are different. God doesn’t play this game. God simply loves. And, try as we might, that love can’t be confined to anything less than all creation. Whatever your skin color, gender, IQ, age, income, or past, you are invited to the heavenly banquet.” Laurie Hanson. The Funny Shape of Faith: Devotions for the Rest of Us (Kindle Edition.)

Welcoming the Welcome

Welcome to the welcoming table. Welcome to the welcoming house. Do you know the etymology of the word “Welcome?” Our modern word welcome comes from the Old English wilcuma: ‘a person whose coming is pleasing’. The first element was later changed to wel- ‘well’, influenced by Old French bien venu or Old Norse velkominn . The one who is welcome is literally “a wished-for guest.” When we welcome someone into our homes or into our churches, we are literally saying they are someone “we wished would come and is pleasing to us.”This is a profound gift to the visitors to our homes and the visitors to our churches. However, are we really set-up to be as “welcoming” as we should? When do people decide if they feel welcome in our homes and in our churches? In our homes I would say that welcome begins at the front door. How we are invited into a home makes a big first impression for the rest of the visit. For our churches that welcome begins in the parking lot. People will decide within five minutes of coming to the church, from how much difficulty they have in the parking lot, to finding the front door, to whether someone invites them to sit in a pew – all of these are factors as to whether they will feel welcome or not and if they will come back. If G-d shows no partiality to who is welcome in the kingdom, why should we continue with practices that welcome some people and dis-invites others?

Let us pray,

God of the clean, unclean, the welcome and unwelcome and all in between, help me to leave labels and barriers behind and see only fellow humans, brothers and sisters in Christ – and welcome them into our lives and our churches. Amen.

Pastor Dave