Welcoming the Stranger

Dear Friends:

At the end of the gospel of John, Jesus asks Peter, "Do you love me?" And three times, when Peter replies, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you," Jesus says, "Feed my sheep."

"Feed my sheep." Not, "Bask in my love with no thought for others." Not, "Enjoy this pasture all by yourself." Not, "Stay within the inner circle of the chosen." But, "Feed my sheep."

It's a big job, feeding sheep. Conditions have to be right if the sheep are going to eat. The sheep have to be brought to the food, or vice versa. The sheep need to feel safe and secure. Their appetites are best when they are healthy and clean. It requires thought, and planning, and effort to be a shepherd in charge of sheep.

In reflecting on the gospel command to tend to others, Elizabeth Canham observes that, "Many of the strangers (or guests) who find their way to church are people searching for a faith that makes sense in a turbulent world. Many abandoned their childhood religion, some have been disappointed by the church, and a few have searched the world's religions before coming (or coming back) to Christianity." These "sheep" are looking for spiritual sustenance. They hope to be fed.

"It is not always convenient to welcome others," admits Canham. We'd rather things stayed the same. We'd like to stick with our routines and spend time with the people we already know. But if we're going to feed Jesus' sheep, we have to start by making room for them in the pasture.

At PB UMC, it is not necessarily a new thing for us to challenge ourselves by welcoming the stranger, or the outsider. Our facilities are filled to the brim every Wednesday night with struggling and homeless neighbors. Represented in our sanctuary every weekend are people who are gay and straight, old and young, coupled and single, with children or not, healthy and sick, sad and happy.

But just because we've done it before doesn't make it any easier. In fact, sometimes the hospitality efforts we've already made in the past incline us to think that we deserve a rest. And maybe we do! However, Jesus still asks us to feed his sheep.

The proposed new Sunday morning worship schedule is our latest attempt to respond to Jesus' plea for help. We hope that by offering worship services at both 9 and 10:30 a.m., following the current 10:15 format, we will be able to make room within our fellowship for more of God's people who are in search of a home. In making this change, we trust that our loving good shepherd will help us offer to others what we have so generously been given.

Elizabeth Canham urges us not to forget that new people bring new opportunities for all of us. "When we see that they have gifts to offer us, new relationships are born."

May God help us to step gracefully into the new, and to celebrate whatever we might find.

In the peace of Christ,

Pastor April

P. S. The start date for the new schedule will be October 26.

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