Sometimes I say to myself
Quite smugly I’m afraid
That I am inclusive
That I am a welcoming person who
Includes all in the circle of grace
Yay for me!
And then I think about it!
And humility sets in
Problem one is the very idea that
“I” and including “them” in “my” community of faith
Really?
Since when did the church belong to me?
Since when is it the Body of Stephen?
Is it not the Body of Christ?
How can I be so arrogant as to congratulate myself
for “allowing” people like “them” (whomever my “them”
might be)
into my fellowship.
And who are these mythical people I am welcoming?
LGBTQI+?
The poor?
The addicted?
Perhaps the question should not be “who am I welcoming”
It should be “who am I NOT welcoming”
For while I might welcome some others would not welcome
There are still (sadly) those I probably
Would gladly kick out of the tent of grace
Those who have bought into right-wing authoritarianism
(for example)
People who lie for power
Or pollute for profit
Out! Out with thee
Those who follow the cultish Trump
Out, out, those who believe the “big lie”
I would most certainly exclude those who exclude
Just as I hate people who hate
We can be such silly creatures
I think of Phillip and the Ethiopian eunuch
(who was clearly “out” of the circle, the tent)
Who learned the most for their encounter
The Eunuch or Philip?
Sure, God through Philip in the Eunuch’s (non-binary that
he was) path
But the Eunuch asked the questions and brought forth the
answer
That no person can stand between another and God
There are no gatekeepers
No watchers at the flap of the tent
It is not our tent
It is God’s
I fear the reality is I cannot be inclusive
I can only be included
Along with all other saints and sinners
Thanks be to God
(And thanks to Nadia Bolz-Weber for her insight on Philip
and the Eunuch in Cranky Beautiful Faith)
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