"My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "You sit here in a good place," while you say to the poor man, "You stand over there," or, "sit down at my feet," have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and becomes judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?" (James 2:1-5)
About a year ago, I remember visiting a Church with a group of people from Hebron. It was a really good experience, not just to observe the different way things were done, but also to be able to sit under God's Word alongside of other members of God's family even though we didn't necessarily know them. I remember that at the conclusion of the service I said (too loudly), "now let's see if anyone talks to us". It took a little while but a friendly couple eventually came over to us and said, "Hi". Of course, embarrassingly for me, they mentioned that they had indeed overheard my too loud uncertainty regarding the welcome of their church.
Welcoming is one of those things where our good intentions are often left behind or forgotten as we rush to get settled into the things that we are used to. It's one of those things that we know are important but regularly neglect. How then do we deal with this? How do we connect our beliefs with our behaviours?
Well essentially, it comes down to conviction. We have to come to appreciate that at the heart of the welcome of the church, is the welcome of God. The way in which we greet and make welcome those that enter into our gathering should match and reflect the way in which God greets and makes welcome those who seek to enter into his presence.
James 2 puts this is no uncertain terms. God is a God who shows no partiality. His welcome is one that extends equally and unequivocally to any and all who seek after him. And so similarly, our welcome is not to be one which takes into account the distinctions of human social standing either. It too is to be one of no partiality.
God asks all, one and the same, to put their faith in Jesus. It does not matter what age, sex, or status we are. Who then are we, to act as judges and alter our welcome based on those things!
On reflection then, our tendency is not so much that we are entirely without welcome. It's that our welcome is selective. We gravitate towards people who are easy and comfortable to talk with; people with whom we can identify at first glance a shared element or thread. In doing so we neglect the other and we are poorer for it. We fall short of the welcome that God has shown to us and so we miss opportunities to show that welcome to others.
We can actually see this in not only the manner in which we relate with visitors, but also the way in which we relate with regular members. In a Church and congregation that has much diversity, it is easy to forget to offer the welcome of community to each other as we huddle in our groups of comfort. It's a moment where we forget the impartiality of God's welcome, and we neglect the richness of our oneness in Christ.
Though we may sometimes find it strange to seek to engage with each other even when we are separated by issues of age, gender and likes, it is stranger still that people who are made one family and body under Christ might not!
This is important because it is from here that the welcome of visitors begins. The welcome of 'strangers' is not an artificially generated act that is done purely for the sake of some facade. Rather it is an extension of the genuine care that we hold for each other. It is an act which shows the nature of our community - that because of Jesus, it is warm, friendly and full of love. And in many ways, it is also an offer: to become one of the family of God as we testify to his love through ours.
The only thing that is going to drive and motivate us to go beyond our circle of comfort is the gospel itself. It is only through a consideration of and a response to the welcome of God shown through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. And this isn't just true of our practice of welcoming at our church, but also about all the interactions we have with others as we seek to witness to Him. It is not a matter of mere social politeness. It is a matter of the gospel and the responsibility for witness and evangelism and even for the fellowship that we have as God's people.
We have the opportunity to live a life of community that profoundly articulates the extent of God's grace and mercy in the gospel! And whether it's towards those who are regular or new amongst us, it all can start with something as simple as, "Hi".
Some questions to ponder