Whoever is not against us is for us.

Jesus, the gospel-writers tell us,

was an all-in-together
type of person. Welcoming,
including, overlooking,
forgiving. Sharing bread,
drinking wine,
laughing, and enjoying the company
of his friends.
 
His followers, it has to be said,
have found this aspect of his personality
a little challenging.
 
His splendid work of gathering and embracing
was translated through the coming millennia.
These years of ecclesial consolidation
saw exorbitant quantities of energy and passion
directed towards separating and excluding;
in determining who is in and who is out,
who will get to heaven, (whatever that might be),
and who won’t.
 
Sort of missing the point,
really.
 

© Ken Rookes 2015

Welcoming Jesus

Welcoming Jesus

In those years

when we moved in evangelical circles

we welcomed Jesus into our hearts

by invitation,

being careful to get the formula correct.

This, we were assured,

would see us transformed,

by grace, into sons and daughters of God,

and ensure our entitlement to a place in heaven.

It didn’t make us disciples;

that may or may not have come later,

perhaps as a consequence.

It’s an uncertain metaphor;

making Jesus welcome.

There he is, knocking on Holman Hunt’s

weed-locked door with his lantern glowing

in the darkness.

Open your heart, let him in.

Simple, really.

The cup of cold water

suggests a different welcoming.

Open your heart to the thirsty, the hungry

the struggling, the distressed,

the poor and the wretched.

Stand with courage to denounce evil

and oppose the unjust.

Repudiate the false idols

of wealth, comfort and power.

Give yourself, be a disciple,

create hope, make peace, do love;

that’s where the welcoming gets serious.

© Ken Rookes 2014