Who Belongs?

Week of December 4, 2011 – How? Addressing Inclusion (Peace Sunday of Advent)

 Theme/Title:  "Who Belongs?"

Scripture:      1 Corinthians 10: 31-33 & Matthew 15: 21-28 

Media:    

YouTube video Radical Face 'Welcome Home' by thebreadcrumbtrail

Reflection:

Since the beginning the church of Jesus Christ has had to wrestle with the issue of inclusiveness - who belongs, who is acceptable, what is required for participation and salvation?  Paul struggled with this issue when it came to allowing Gentiles to be Christians without needing to be Jewish too.  He also struggled with the distinctions between rich and poor, slave and free, women and men and gifts of the spirit that were all being used in churches to segregate and create categories of who is more and less acceptable.

A lot has changed over the centuries with the doors of the church and society opening wider and wider to include and accept more and diverse people.  But still this issue of who belongs, who is acceptable, what is required for participation and salvation runs through Christ’s church and our culture.  I think God, Jesus, Paul and millions of others over 2000 years have made it pretty clear that everyone belongs and that the church exists for one primary purpose – to help people know God.  The church isn’t about correct belief.  It is about knowing God, helping others to know God and caring for others so that they can get to a place where they can know God.  It is about living as God wants us to live.  When we throw up barriers, limit who it is that can be a part of the church or society we keep people from knowing God – we violate our primary reason for being.

This second week of Advent we are using the word “peace.”  To be fully included in the life of a faith community, to know God and to be surrounded by people who care for you, nurture you and support you brings peace to you and your life.  Living in peace is living in a state of harmony with yourself, others, creation and God.  Being a part of a community of faith assists you in living in this way.  We cannot keep others out nor can we make it restrictive or difficult for those outside to come in.  We are God’s hosts and the church community is God’s home and we are charged with the task of welcoming all people! 

If you believe that the grace of God is real and that the love of God is real then you have to believe that God wants, needs and expects God’s home to be a place of welcome and peace for all people.  There are no restrictions.  Even Jesus needed to be reminded of this when he encounter that Canaanite woman whose daughter had a demon. Peace will come to our lives and world when those who are faithful children of God begin to practice what God desires for all – inclusion, welcome, a place at the table and a room in God’s home.

Meditation: When have you been excluded from somewhere or something?  How did it feel?  What examples can you think of that show inclusion or exclusion?  What does it mean to live in harmony; to live in peace?  When have you practiced the art of inclusion – hospitality?

Prayer: Thank God for all those moments in your life where you felt included.  Thank God for those who have worked so hard to build an inclusive world and church.  Pray for those who still are or feel excluded from society and the church.  Ask God to help you and our church be a haven of blessing and place of peace for all people.