One of my elders asked me recently, “If you had to start over, looking at how Christians are behaving in the world today, would you still be one?”
This was a hard question to answer. My gut answer was no. Not because I don’t want to be a Christian, but when I look at the Christian world from the outside, the loudest voices are drawing lines that keep people out. These voices don’t reflect who I am as a person of faith: I want to be part of a church that draws people in. In fact, one of my favorite hymns says, “Mine is the church where everybody’s welcome. I know it’s true ’cause I got through the door!” (“A Dazzling Bouquet” by Bret Hesla).
Fortunately, I have been blessed to know Christians who inspire me in the ways they live out their faith. Andrea Baez, my good friend from Argentina, said it best: “We as Lutherans do not act in life for the sake of having more faith. Faith is not something we can accumulate like points in a game, rather our faith inspires and moves us to live and respond to the world we live in.”
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Last year I attended dinner with a church group and a man from Ethiopia who was pursuing his theological studies in the United States. His master’s degree was taking him a while to finish, and he was missing his family horribly. The church he attended was looking to help him bring his family to live with him here. He sat quietly as the group discussed the usual things that could be done when one woman brought up the subject of donating clothes.
“I’m not sure that asking for clothing donations is the best way to start,” I said, suggesting the church offer the family gift cards instead. Another woman at the table looked at me and said, “It’s free clothes – they’ll be happy with whatever they get.”
I paused before I spoke again. “Its not like they’re arriving naked,” I said. “They’ll have clothes. You would want them to have the essentials to get started right?” I then suggested it might also be helpful for the members of the congregation to be available to assist the family in case they had questions about household items.
It had bothered me the way they were talking about him.
I thought maybe I shouldn’t have said anything and later shared this with the friend who had invited me. She smiled and said, “He was happy you spoke up. It’s hard to say anything in those spaces because you don’t want to seem ungrateful of the help.”
I know what it’s like to relocate and to receive gifts that, although well-intentioned, are either unhelpful or not what you need. I only hope I can always be that brave, that I can always love enough to put myself in other people’s shoes. I think this is at the heart of what it means to me to be a Christian: to love and welcome my neighbor and to act because I have faith.
