Welcome is something that must be done every day. In our sainty-sinnerness, we are not people who are frozen in time. Tomorrow we may be able to welcome people we are unable to welcome today. We may be able to understand people we did not understand yesterday. The same is true for those who have been unable to welcome us in the past.
Like the journey to live more nonviolently, peacefully, or faithfully, living a life of welcome takes a lifetime. May God bless you in your efforts to welcome God’s diverse creation. May God strengthen you to continue to enter the doors of those who feel unwelcome. And when we fail to welcome each other, may we have the grace to shake the dust off our feet, to let go of the baggage, and to give each other opportunities to be transformed by the Holy Spirit.
This message is adapted from “Extreme welcome” written by Megan Rohrer in the September 2012 issue of Café magazine. Today we remember Teresa of Avila, teacher, renewer of the church, who died in 1582.
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