Lent – Day 19
Lent 2010: A Season for Listening
3/10/10 – Day 19
Listening to The Teachings of Jesus: Part 8
“Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” – Luke 10:16
If we were to take a poll among ourselves regarding reasons we don’t share our faith with others, I suppose that fear of rejection would top the list. The fear of rejection is deep and primal. It is part of our hardwiring that reminds us that we are created to live in community with other people. For our ancestors to be rejected was to be alone was to die. This has stayed with us even to the present, some fear speaking in public or sharing personal information is as strong as the fear of snakes or heights are for others.
This we understand, but if we stop to think about it what we are offering when we talk about God to others is community and survival. We are not a people defined by exclusion. We do not seek to make ourselves stronger or more holy by keeping people out. Instead we are a people of embrace. We seek strength and holiness by welcoming others into our lives. We seek others to surround them with love and forgiveness. We go out of our way to invite others into a community of faith where they can be nurtured into an abundance of life that can only be found in Christ.
Ultimately this is not about us, it is about Christ and the Church as the body of Christ in and for the world. Any unwelcome response is not directed toward us but is a conversation between that individual and God. We cannot become discouraged or assume that this is the end of the dialogue. For years when I worked for the State of Florida I kept a Q-tip taped to the monitor of my computer. The message I was leaving for myself was “Quit Taking It Personally”. In the course of my work I had to deal with unhappy people in unhappy situations, but I was not the one they were unhappy with I was just the person there trying to help them through it! The same lesson might serve us well during Lent. “Quit Taking It Personally”, this is about God.
Today we will try to invite 5 people to go to church with us on Sunday. Why? We have learned from several polls and studies that 25% of unchuruched people say that they would attend religious services if invited. That is one out of every four persons that don’t attend church that are just waiting on us to ask them. Almost 50% more said that they would at least consider it. So statistically speaking of out 5 we will get three maybes and likely 1 yes. That is not something to fear! However if you are hesitant to invite people because you are not comfortable with your church, you have some different work to do, don’t you? – Rev. John Mattox
Let us pray,
Gracious Lord,
Rejection hurts!
It is difficult for us to understand
how anyone would want to reject
your loveor our efforts.
Help us to remember to
pray for those who reject us,
and to remember that
it is not us that saves people, but you.
Amen.
-Rev. Katie Mattox
