{"id":8650,"date":"2021-09-28T07:59:39","date_gmt":"2021-09-28T12:59:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=8650"},"modified":"2021-09-27T14:00:48","modified_gmt":"2021-09-27T19:00:48","slug":"october-3-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/october-3-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"October 3, 2021&#8211;Are All *Really* Welcome?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Tuhina Verma Rasche, San Carlos, CA<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Warm-up Questions<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>When you hear the words \u201cAll are welcome,\u201d does that describe the faith space where you\u2019re a part? How so? If you don\u2019t feel a part, what makes you feel apart?<\/li>\n<li>Would you consider yourself to be an insider or an outsider? What are the situations that bring you to your answer?<\/li>\n<li>What makes a person and communities vulnerable?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Are All *Really* Welcome?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/iStock-896458220.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-8680 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/iStock-896458220-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/iStock-896458220-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/iStock-896458220-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/iStock-896458220-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/iStock-896458220-250x167.jpg 250w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/iStock-896458220-525x350.jpg 525w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/iStock-896458220.jpg 1254w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Ever since I\u2019ve been a part of the church, I\u2019ve often wondered, \u201cDo I even belong here?\u201d More often than not, I\u2019m the only person of color in progressive church spaces. I\u2019ve been told that my ideas of God in the world and how we are to be followers of Jesus are \u201ctoo radical.\u201d Even though many churches proclaim, \u201cAll are welcome,\u201d I\u2019ve wondered if there are unspoken exceptions.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Shouldn\u2019t it say instead, \u201cYou\u2019re welcome here if you look and behave a certain way that makes everyone else comfortable\u201d? I feel hurt when a community says \u201call are welcome,\u201d and it\u2019s not actually true. I feel like I\u2019m an outsider.<\/p>\n<p>At our core as human beings, we\u2019re created to be in community with one another. With that comes wanting to belong, which makes us keenly aware that there are \u201cin\u201d groups and \u201cout\u201d groups. The division between being an insider and an outsider is painful<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>when we want to be seen, acknowledged, and loved as God created us. It\u2019s especially painful in friend groups and faith communities.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Why are there insiders and outsiders? Who gets to determine who is included<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>or excluded in a community? Jesus calls the excluded \u201cthe least of these.\u201d Those on the outside were welcome if they met certain requirements, like cleanliness, a change in social ranking, and access to power and popularity. Jesus accepts them as they are.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>He includes \u201cthe least of these\u201d in the greater community.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>He proclaims that all (regardless of popularity, wealth, social status, cleanliness) are not just accepted, but also centered in God\u2019s heart.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Discussion Questions<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Why do you think Jesus wanted to include the excluded? What ways do you practice inclusion and exclusion in your friend groups?<\/li>\n<li>In what ways do you want to be recognized for the entirety of who God created you to be? <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Are there parts of yourself you are not sure would be welcome in your social or religious community?<\/li>\n<li>Why do communities use the words \u201call are welcome,\u201d if they don\u2019t actually mean it?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>How does that happen?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost<\/b><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=499322373\">Genesis 2:18-24<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=499322408\">Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=499322449\">Mark 10:2-16<\/a><\/p>\n<p>(Text links are to <a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/\">Oremus Bible Browser<\/a>. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elca.org\/Our-Work\/Congregations-and-Synods\/Worship\/Lectionary\/YearB\">Lectionary Readings<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic <a href=\"http:\/\/www.agnusday.org\/\">Agnus Day.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Gospel Reflection<\/b><\/p>\n<p>There are times where it would be easy to skip over a Bible passage and pretend it doesn\u2019t exist. This is one of those times. Yet, if we were to skip over it, what would keep us from skipping over other parts of the Bible when we struggle with the message? Jesus often gives hard words to the disciples (and us). This week is no exception.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Gospel begins with a difficult conversation on divorce. For many people, divorce is still hard to talk about because it radically changes the lives of, not just those ending the marriage, but also family members, friends, and communities.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>We need to keep in mind that divorce in Jesus\u2019 time and divorce in our time are very different. In Jesus\u2019 time.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>If a woman were divorced from her husband, she would be incredibly vulnerable. The world wasn\u2019t (and still isn\u2019t) built to protect vulnerable women and femmes. He answers the question from the religious authorities forcefully because vulnerable people are being hurt and it makes him mad.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In asking them how a man may divorce his wife according to the Law, Jesus is talking about what people currently know and understand. There are structures in place to protect vulnerable populations.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Yet structures created by people with good intentions often don\u2019t go far enough. Divorce, says Jesus, is an unfortunate concession to the fact that we do not always live with love and respect in marriage.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Instead of having people trapped in situations where they were powerless and unhappy, divorce may happen, but it not God\u2019s intention for marriage.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Jesus tells us to protect the most vulnerable among us. It seems that the disciples didn\u2019t get the memo, because immediately after the conversation on divorce, they try to keep children from Jesus\u2019s presence. Jesus speaks in support of both divorced women and the little children, people who don\u2019t have power, both then and now. Jesus is all about being with and empowering the weakest and most vulnerable in society. The Beloved Community is for all people, especially those who are made vulnerable by the sometimes well-intentioned but always faulty power structures of this world.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The disciples, as close as they are to Jesus, don\u2019t understand him. In preventing people from bringing children to Jesus so that he may bless them, the disciples assume authority over who is in and who is out.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Jesus turns them around to a new way of being.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Jesus welcomes those on the outside, those who are vulnerable. That welcome challenges our notions of who belongs in the realm of God and who is the greatest. Those whom world calls outsiders, Jesus calls insiders and welcomes them in the entirety of who they are. Jesus continually challenges our expectations and reminds us that inclusion is incredibly radical.<\/p>\n<p><b>Discussion Questions<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Have you invited a friend to your faith community? Did they come with you? Has something prevented you from inviting others to come with you to your faith community? Have a conversation to how your faith community is and can be a more welcoming place.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Talk about a time where you felt like you belonged to a community and a time where you felt like you were on the outside of a community. How do these feelings feel similar? How do they contrast?<\/li>\n<li>How do you feel when another person notices a quality or attribute about you? What does it feel like to be fully recognized for who God created you to be?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Activity Suggestions<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Martin Luther wrote in the Large Catechism, \u2018But I am baptized! And if I have been baptized, I have the promise that I shall be saved and have eternal life, both in soul and body \u2026.\u2019 \u201d Baptism means inclusion in the body of Christ. When do you encounter water? Doing dishes, watering plants, washing your hands? Record how many times a day you encounter water. Anytime you encounter water, take a moment to remember that you are beloved by God and to think about God\u2019s promises made in baptism.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li>There are many members of our community who are vulnerable and on the outside. If your faith community has a visitation ministry, a food pantry ministry, or a similar ministry, make cards with encouraging messages for these ministries.<\/li>\n<li>Find smooth rocks, markers, and acrylic paint. Draw words of encouragement on the rocks and leave them outside where people can find them for a source of surprise encouragement and acceptance.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Closing Prayer<\/b><\/p>\n<p>God of inclusion, you came to us in ways that were meant to be excluded. You came as a poor, Brown, Jewish Galilean man in the midst of an empire that thought it was all powerful. In the person of Jesus, you show us just how radical inclusion can be, and that you want to include all into your community. May we extend radical invitations so that those who feel on the outside are on the inside and that those who feel excluded are included for who God created them to be. Remind us that we are loved by you. Amen.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tuhina Verma Rasche, San Carlos, CA Warm-up Questions When you hear the words \u201cAll are welcome,\u201d does that describe the faith space where you\u2019re a part? How so? If you don\u2019t feel a part, what makes you feel apart? Would you consider yourself to be an insider or an outsider? What are the situations that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1400],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>October 3, 2021-Are All *Really* Welcome? - Faith Lens<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/october-3-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"October 3, 2021-Are All *Really* Welcome? - Faith Lens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tuhina Verma Rasche, San Carlos, CA Warm-up Questions When you hear the words \u201cAll are welcome,\u201d does that describe the faith space where you\u2019re a part? 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How so? If you don\u2019t feel a part, what makes you feel apart? Would you consider yourself to be an insider or an outsider? 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