Dear Friends,
I’ve been getting hissed at for the last few days. We just picked up three month old kittens and their mom from our local shelter, a normal undertaking in our house, where fostering cats is a way of life. It’s also a great deal of fun.
Still, there’s a question: given the variety of pressing concerns in the world today, why do this?
This Sunday’s Gospel is about welcome. Indeed, it’s Jesus’s litany of various welcomes - “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me” and so on and so forth. Well, we’re certainly not inviting anyone into our homes right now, or into our churches, and for very good reason. At least at my house, though, we can welcome cats. And the thing about cats is, they aren’t always especially happy to be “welcomed.”
The other thing about the cats is that, while they may not be happy with me, while they might hiss or flail their tiny claws, I can know that I’m doing right by them. I know better than the cats when it comes to what they need. But it’s a lot harder with humans and right now we have the great privilege of thinking about how we demonstrate welcome, to listen to those we hope to welcome, and to consider what happens when we think we know better.
Honestly, despite what we know about bullying, I think kids do this much better than adults. Small children love to invite you to their birthday parties or their houses or to swim in their pools. They want to show you into their lives and they hope you’ll do the same. They want to show you the things that make them happiest. Our churches may have hospitality committees and coffee hours, but we could just let our youngest parishioners do it.
This week, then, I’m ready for our grown up selves to take a step back. If you’re watching a church service at home, ask you kids what they miss about church. What is their favorite part? What do they look forward to and how would they tell other people about it? The story Early Sunday Morning by Denene Millner may help you think about some of what makes church special.
As we think about what comes next, about who we are as a Church and as a community, knowing what the next generation finds joyous matters. It’s what will make them feel welcome as they get older and what will encourage them to extend that welcome to others. By hearing our children, they learn to listen.
Meanwhile, I guess I’ll be over here with the kittens. They might hiss at me, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t welcome them. Honestly, it’s a lot easier than what Jesus asks us to do, and it’s good practice.
Peace,
A. Bird