Good Day Brothers and Sisters in Christ! Decolores!
Messiah Lutheran Church, Brownsburg, Indiana celebrated 50 years of ministry yesterday. I served there from 2000-2005 and was one of several pastors who returned to a worship service and a luncheon. It was neat to be back and see so many old friends and dear people. As is often the case, a Sunday morning hymn lyric will stick with me all day. Yesterday it was a hymn called “All our welcome” and is a beautiful hymn about welcoming all who come to worship.
Isn’t it wonderful to be “welcomed” when you go somewhere?? Sort of like the Wal-Mart greeters? We have all been somewhere probably where we did not feel welcomed and it’s uncomfortable. We have signs in some of our homes that say “Welcome” and we have “welcome mats” and welcome celebrations. I’m not sure why we say “You’re welcome” after we get a thank you but I digress. According to dictionary.com the word “welcome” means “greeting”. Just greeting one another is all we need to do to welcome them and make someone comfortable.
When I see someone coming down the hall who I don’t recognize I will usually ask them if they need help or directions and I always greet them and introduce myself. You know sometimes this hospital environment is not very welcoming. When we ask a pilgrim to attend a weekend we are giving them the ultimate welcome from Christ. In fact, isn’t that what we do all weekend long? We make them feel “welcomed” and we greet them with handshakes, hugs, palanca, great worship, food and fellowship. Let’s be welcoming and invite someone to attend.
A line or two from the hymn along with the refrain:
“Let us build a house where hands will reach beyond the wood and stone;
To heal and strengthen, serve and teach and live the Word
Here the outcast and the stranger bear the image of God’s face;
Let us bring an end to fear and danger
All our welcome, all our welcome, all our welcome in this place”
We need not look any further than our brother Jesus who welcomed all who came to Him. Nobody turned away. No one “rescheduled”, it was Jesus spreading His arms out on the Cross to die for us and rise again for the ultimate, life giving, eternal welcome. Let’s share that today!
Pr. Doug Givan
Chaplain
Seton/Lafayette
Clay/Brazil
Eric is our current Webmaster and works on the NLS Communications Team. Raised in Judaism, he found Christ and the New Testament at age 16 in a Southern Baptist Church. He searched many denominations for the real church, only to find the Holy Spirit is present in all of them. He's worked for One for Israel, a group of native Israeli believers who are sharing the gospel in the holy land in Hebrew and is part of the only Hebrew speaking seminary in Israel.
