Daily Bread

"But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves."

Okay, cards on the table time. If there's one thing I cannot bear, it is anything or anyone that prevents someone from coming to know Jesus, for example, through the preaching of exclusivity towards marginalised groups, church buildings that are unwelcoming or inaccessible to those with limited physical abilities, the use of words that are too difficult to understand, or traditions that seem anachronous or irrelevant. As Christians we are called to be conduits of grace, to create spaces and conversations where people can meet with God, and to do all we can to encourage and support those that are seeking to know, and be known by, God.

Jesus reserved his strongest words for those that stood between people and God and even called them 'children of Gehenna' which refers to the Valley of Hinnom, a physical location outside Jerusalem where the dead and garbage were disposed and continually burned. This led to the valley becoming a symbol for the place where all that is bad is destined to end up. Wherever and whatever it is, you don't want to go there!

You see, it is not up to any human to say who is in and who is out. When Jesus told us not to judge, he meant in terms of condemning someone or making pronouncements about their destiny. If the gospel stories tell us anything, it is that those we might expect to be excluded are included, and those we might expect to be included are excluded. Also, it's not 'sin' that keeps us out of the kingdom of heaven, for as Paul wrote, "Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus." And nothing means nothing!

As Christians we must always be aware of barriers we or our church communities put in place that prevent or exclude people from coming to know and be known by God. We need to audit regularly our welcome, our inclusivity, our accessibility, and our openness.

Holy God
May I never prevent
someone from coming to
know your great love.
Help me identify
and tear down
barriers that exclude
people from knowing you,
and continue to be
welcoming and accepting
of all those you place in my path.