Today I happened to drive past a sign in front of a Methodist
church in rural Wisconsin. This isn’t,
in and of itself, unusual, nor is the fact that I took notice of it. I often look at these signs. Sometimes they are amusing, or witty. Sometimes they reflect the particular
character of the church or its community.
Often they advertise some particular Bible verse or upcoming events at
the church. They encourage and chide and
even criticise. This one did none of those things, but it really struck
me. So much so that I felt overwhelmed
as I drove, tears nearly welling up in my eyes, thinking about the simple
message in front of a small rural church.
It wasn’t funny or clever or rooted in any sophisticated theology, nor
did it make a point that was unique to this particular church. It said something so much more than
that. What it said was
You are welcome here.
That’s all. Four
words.
You are welcome here.
What filled me with such emotion was this simple four word
message in front of a church. Let’s face
it, Christianity in its modern form doesn’t have the most welcoming
reputation. There are too many churches
based on exclusion and hatred. Many
people’s sense of Christianity, rightly or wrongly, is shaped by churches that
preach messages steeped in homophobia, racism, sexism, and other forms of
hatred. But this church decided that the
message that it wanted to share with the community was one of openness and
love. It decided that the message it
wanted to share was one of welcoming:
You are welcome here.
This message doesn’t judge who is or is not worthy to come
in the door. It doesn’t impose any
conditions. It doesn’t say that you have to be sinless or that you have to
confess. It doesn’t say you have to be
rich, or white. It doesn’t say you have
to be straight or even that you have to be a Christian. It doesn’t say you have
to be admitted to their church or accept their ideas or be a regular
contributor. It opens the doors wide and
allows everyone who wishes to come in and spend time with them. It tells everyone
You are welcome here.
This is a statement of pure ethicality, without
preconception. It doesn’t rely on any
theoretical apprehension of universal categorical necessity. It doesn’t speak out of specific conceptions
of justice. It doesn’t prescribe particular
behaviours or virtues. It just speaks
from a position of moral openness to all.
In these four words, it expresses the kind of ethical comportment that
Derrida holds up in the term “hospitality.”
To be hospitable is to welcome the Other in without first interrogating
her or holding her up at the threshold.
It is to look him in the face and welcome him in. It is to say, without reservation or evasion,
without worry or concern,
You are welcome here.
In the AJC, we are dedicated, in our most basic statement of
principles. to the truth that the Sacred Flame resides in each and every person
regardless of gender, orientation, race, ethnicity, class, or creed. We reach out to “those who walk alone because
they are different.” To all of them, we
must be welcoming. Every AJC parish and
every Johannite ought to take time to hear the simple message that our
Methodist sisters and brothers cherished enough to put it in front of their
church building as an expression of their faith and their commitment. We are called to be welcoming to everyone, to
experience the presence of the divine in each and every person. Not just the people who agree with us, not
just the people we like, not just the people who look like us, or speak the
same language. We are called upon to
look upon every person and say
You are welcome here.
I was struck by this, and I took it as a reminder to
myself. It was a challenge. Have I been unwelcoming? Have I shut the door of my heart against
people that I dislike or who anger or upset me?
Have I considered others to be unworthy of my concern or my
compassion? Unfortunately the answer is
yes, too often, I have done all these things.
So to me this was a reminder of my own calling. I must welcome the other not just to my church or my home or my
classroom, but to my heart; I have an obligation, a sacred duty to these four
words, a duty to make of my own being a
sanctuary, to say
You are welcome here.
