And Save Each One's Pride

my wife and i are members of a christian denomination that grew out of the belief that christianity ought to be an inclusive religion, one that rejected adherence to any creeds and allowed freedom of thought among its followers.  this church, which had its beginnings in early 19th-century america, only required that those who wished to be a part of it declare their desire to follow the teachings of jesus.  no one was excluded from membership or communion because of their beliefs, no matter how far those beliefs were from those of the majority of christians.  it is this inclusivity that attracted us to the church, and, it seems to me, that, if one is a follower of jesus, one has to believe in inclusion rather than exclusion.  lately, in our particular congregation, several families have left the church because a gay person was ordained as a church officer, but the larger body of members has remained faithful, true to the church's inclusive ideals.

i've been thinking about those ideals as they relate to the ministry of jesus.  time and again we see jesus including those who were outcasts in his movement, considering all worthy to be part of the "kingdom of God."  he ate with, healed, and touched those who were considered unclean, he defended "sabbath breakers," he honored women within his inner group of followers, he carried his message to both jews and non-jews, he declared that all those who practiced compassion and cared for those in need were part of the kingdom even if they were "not of his fold."  to exclude those who differ from us is a perversion of the gospel that jesus taught.  as jesus said, we are all in need of the love of God which manifests itself in love for one another; it is not the well who need healing but the sick, and all of us need the healing that love brings.

any church which claims to be a "christian" church but excludes others because of their sexual orientation, their political leanings, or for any other reason is anything but christian.  jesus taught us that it is the person who does the will of God, that is to love and serve one another, is his true follower, regardless of whether we pay lip service to christianity or not.  if we really believe what jesus taught, there are many non-christians who are more christian than many of those who claim to be christians.

may we all be followers of jesus in the truest sense, with hearts full of compassion and lovingkindness.  may love be our deepest belief as we reject the narrow labels which divide us.  may we feed, clothe, and shelter jesus by doing those things for those who are hungry, naked, and homeless.  shalom.