When I served at another church, we were concerned that we were not welcoming enough. One of the challenges was the physical layout, with the entrance located in the parking lot, which was a long way from the actual worship space. So, I decided to station myself in the parking lot in order to be visible to the neighborhood and to welcome those who came to worship.
It didn’t take long for people to notice. I would get waves from walkers and honks from passing cars, and the folks who were coming to worship appreciated the personal welcome. I felt quite good, as this was what I had envisioned. And then a funny thing happened. Being far away from
the worship space, I started to encounter folks we didn’t ordinarily see. People who felt called to be there, but did not actually come into the church to worship.
I met Peter, who came to the property every Sunday, but rarely ventured further than the parking lot. I greeted him the first Sunday, and he was very glad for the welcome, but declined the offer to come inside. When I saw him the next week, I again invited him in, and he again declined. By the third week, I was more than a bit confused and struck up a conversation. Peter told me he felt called to be near the church but believed that his sins were so serious that God would not welcome him into church. So instead, he would come each week, just to be close to the church. He would listen to the music, and long to be inside, but knew that was not for him.
I told Peter that God loved him, and he was always welcome in God’s church. He just smiled and thanked me, then returned to the parking lot. Each week I spoke with Peter and invited him to church, and each week he thanked me and declined. One Sunday while I was preaching, I saw the
back door open, and Peter stuck his head inside. He caught my eye and smiled at me, but he never did come inside. Soon afterward, he stopped coming around.
I met David, who was wandering around muttering to himself, clearly distraught. David had just been released from the hospital where he had been treated for severe alcohol poisoning. He had nowhere else to go, but saw the cross, and felt that he needed to come to see God. With tears in
his eyes he told me that he was a failure and no longer worthy of God’s love because he couldn’t stop drinking. I told him that God loved him unconditionally and he broke down in my arms and
cried for 10 minutes. There we stood, blocking the entrance to the church, while he sobbed and cried himself out. We got more than a few strange looks from parishioners and passersby that morning.
“Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?” He answered, “What’s written in God’s Law? How do you interpret it?” He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as much as you do yourself.” “Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live.” Looking for a loophole, he asked, “And just who is my neighbor?”
These men, and many others like them, are not going to come to our church. They are not what people think of when they are planning for church growth. They are largely invisible to the church in many ways. Yet, they are our neighbors.
We are called to love our neighbors, all of them. But even more than that, we are called to love them as much as we love ourselves. On its face, this is startling! God may be asking too much of us. How are we to love all these people, especially when they don’t come here and ask for help?
Let’s take our cue from Jesus. Did Jesus wait in the synagogue for people to come to him? He taught in the Temple and the synagogues, but most of Jesus’ time was spent going into the world. He didn’t wait for them to come to him, Jesus went to them.
But you are thinking, that was Jesus. I don’t have the same skills, training, abilities to do what he did. That may or may not be true, but it doesn’t mean you cannot love your neighbor. Much of my time as a priest is spent in what we call pastoral care. The church loves to develop our own language, and this is no exception. This makes it sound like something done only by the
pastor, or the clergy. That is not the case. Pastoral care is an ancient model of emotional and spiritual support that can be found in all cultures and traditions. It is part of our call as Christians.
“A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver
coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I’ll pay you on my way back.’” Jesus tells us that it wasn’t a priest, it wasn’t a government official that helped the man. It was a passing traveler, and worse still, it was a Samaritan. There was great enmity between the Jews and the Samaritans, so this was especially galling to those who heard the parable.
The Samaritan knew something that the Priest and the Levite didn’t – that this man was his neighbor. He didn’t call for a pastor or an official, he simply saw someone in need, and he acted.
That is what we too are called to do.
Don’t wait for the need to come to the doors of the church. The world around us is full of neighbors who are in need. Notice I said pastoral care is to provide emotional and spiritual support to another. Not everyone will be lying on the ground needing medical care. Most people you will encounter are hurt or broken or feel lost or depressed. The best thing you can do is listen to them and let them know that they are loved by God. Most of my pastoral care time is basically sympathetic listening and giving folks permission to feel the way they already feel. That too is showing love, for which of us does not want that for ourselves?
“Which of these three was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” When we are dismissed from worship with the words, go in peace to love and serve the Lord, that is what we are actually being told; Go and do likewise.