Speaking Truth | The Good News in Short Shorts

Matthew 10:40-42

Compassion and mercy are the model given to us by Jesus for loving and welcoming every person who comes to us in His name.

The difficult task is that it will take more than a little bit of grace to open the doors of the church that have been closed to so many people - the LGBTQ+ community, single or divorced adults, those who haven’t opened a Bible in decades or ever. Then there are the doors of the church that have been used to segregate Christ’s body simply because the color of someone’s skin does not match ours.

The task before us is monumental, and frankly long overdue in being addressed. But the Good News in Jesus words are not only for the ones being welcomed or ushered to the balcony. The Good News also is for the church where people are sent to the balcony to make us more comfortable, the church where a hand of welcome is not extended to someone whose hand looks different from our own, and the church where we may not participate in such actions but we certainly are not doing anything to address the actions of the larger body. The Good News is for them and for us is that we are not the Queen’s guard. We are not the gatekeepers of Christ’s body and we certainly are not the gatekeepers of the Kingdom of God!


Praise be to God that we are not!

Our work is monumental and yet it is simple: to offer welcome. To extend a hand of invitation to experience the same amazing grace that changed our lives when we ourselves were once lost and hoping to the be found. The work ahead of us is to offer an embrace when an embrace is invited, and to give a cool cup of water in the sweltering humidity of a Virginia summer. God will take care of the rest, even when a button pushing pastor shows up on Sunday morning wearing too short running shorts.