Share with God’s people who are in need.  Practice hospitality.     ~Romans 12:13

One of the things I hear frequently from people who are guests in our worship services is that we are a welcoming church.  That is a wonderful compliment!

There are many passages in the Bible about being foreigners in a foreign land and how difficult it is.  Every time you welcome someone outside the Emmanuel circle, you welcome Christ himself.  This is not always an easy thing to do.  Some of us are naturally shy and reticent to strike up a conversation, while others let words just flow from their mouths.  Thank goodness it is just as easy to offer a sincere smile as fancy words. 

The suggested book for the Mid–winter Clergy Convocation is The Naked Now by Richard Rohr. It is mostly about spirituality.  One of the statements that caught my attention was:  The most amazing fact about Jesus, unlike almost any other religious founder, is that he found God in disorder and imperfection—and told us we must do the same or we would never be content on this earth.

This is counter intuitive for us.  We strive to be more correct, always looking for ways to improve.  And, yes, we look at others and question whether they are doing the same.  Therein lies the basis for much of our discontent.  Often we are quite able to overlook our own short comings, but rarely are we able to do that in others.

The quote from The Naked Now reminded me of the story of the rich young ruler who was told to sell his possessions and then to follow Jesus. Surely Jesus saw the imperfection in that young man.  However, the scripture says: Jesus looked at him and loved him.  (Mark 10:21) 

There is nothing wrong in striving for improvement, but when it consumes us then we miss so many other aspects of life. When God created the earth and all that is in it, God said: It is good. God is still here in the imperfect; Jesus found God in the imperfection and so can we. Jesus loves us as we are and accepts us, imperfect.  We do the same when we welcome the guests among us and practice hospitality.

In Christian love,

Pastor  Pat

 Sunday Scripture Readings for February 2012