Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Locks

I've noticed something interesting. Over the three years I've been here we keep adding more and more locks. Now, some of them are for good reason but it feels like we spend more time keeping people out than inviting people in. Aren't we called to welcome the stranger?

It's easy to notice putting a lock on a door or a thermostat, but we put them in other places as well, don't we? We make assumptions like people know where to get coffee and where acceptable places are to sit, who to talk to, and how to behave during worship. We use code words like gospel, sermon, and sacrament. We sit on the end of the pew so that people need to crawl over us to get to an open spot instead of sliding to the middle so the open spots are easily acceptable. Aren't we called to welcome the stranger?

As we move forward in ministry what are we going to do? Add more locks? I suspect that would be our natural human instinct but perhaps not where God is calling us.

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