Tradition
Stop.
Consider the churches and places of worship from your life and history. Did people in those places look and act mostly like you? How has it felt to be in an unfamiliar place of worship? What did you learn about your faith when you worshiped someplace new or different? If you can’t answer these questions, find someone who can.
Listen.
Save us, Lord our God, and gather us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord. – Psalm 106:47-48
Reflect.
In his sermon on Sunday, May 9, Pastor Steve reflected on chapter 2 of Galatians. He talked about the church and its expansion into Gentile (non-Jewish in ethnicity and practice) communities. As Jesus and his disciples were Jewish, that had been the limit to the faith in its earliest days. However, the Spirit made it clear that all were welcome into faith as more and more Gentiles came to faith.
Some believers from Jewish culture didn’t think this could work. They insisted that Gentiles had to follow Jewish cultural and religious expectations, even if that might make it impossible for Gentiles to follow Jesus. As Pastor Steve said, they told the Gentiles, “You have to be like us to be considered a true disciple of Jesus”.
The diversity of faith expression is as old as the insistence that you can only worship God one way. People of faith have constantly wondered who is welcome and how should we act. Unfortunately, our own tendency towards what is familiar and compatible often leads us to insist that others need to change to be part of our church.
The Psalms regularly reflect on the praise of God coming from all nations. There’s no caveat that the nations have to become something they’re not to join in worship. While the Lord is the God of Israel, it’s not a limit to God’s love. God is for all people, God made all people as they are, and all faithful expressions of worship and praise are welcome in God’s house.
Pray.
Open my eyes and ears, God, to the wide diversity of expression and practice among your people. Help me to value them as they are and readily share my own traditions to your glory. Together, may our many languages, beliefs, backgrounds, and styles bear witness to the fullness of your love for all people. Amen.
Carry On.
Visit https://www.easter.org/justice and read more about what Easter Lutheran Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the St. Paul Area Synod are doing to promote equity and full inclusion in our communities.