Homilies
Whoever welcomes me...
"Holy Spirit, take my words and speak to each of us according to our need."
I’ve had a lot of time to think this week. My car dramatically decided to fail and I had to get from the Isle of Wight back to Blaina by ferry and train. A mere 7hr journey door to door.
Whilst I was travelling, I was people watching. It was a Saturday so there was a real diverse cross section of society out and about. There were football fans and police in Southampton, Sailing Regatta enthusiasts in Basingstoke, Students and Party-goers in Reading and a mix of tired morning larks going home or night owls going out in Newport.
Seeing all those people going about their lives, whilst pondering on the Gospel reading for today, reminded me of a lecture I had at college for a module in Christian Spirituality and Mysticism. One of the people we studied was Teresa of Avila. You might have heard of one of her more famous teachings. It describes the body of Christ on Earth and goes like this…
Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on Earth but yours Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.
Alongside this, the phrase that struck me from today’s Gospel reading was ‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name, welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me, welcomes not me, but the one who sent me.’
Both of these teachings spoke to me about RELATIONSHIP and although the reading today is from Mark, Matthew’s writings also summarise it well where he says in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats ‘whatever you do to the least of these, my brothers, you do unto me.’
Relationship with God is what we are called into. When we read scripture, it is God speaking to us and when we respond in prayer, we are speaking with God. See? Relationship…..balanced and whole.
Likewise, our church year is split to reflect this balance of relationship. The church year begins in ADVENT and from the ANTICIPATION of Christ’s birth, through the INCARNATION and REVELATION, to the CRUCIFIXION, RESURRECTION and ASCENSION, those six months tell the story of God coming to his people.
From around June to November, the time is given over for telling the story of God’s people and their response to God’s love. The whole year works in balance, a kind of Yin and Yang effect. As a whole, it is a revelation of God’s grace and goodness.
When we welcome people, and I mean truly welcome them and accept them as they are right now, then we not only recognise that Christ dwells within each one of us but we also respond to God’s grace and accept our own position as heirs in Christ. Christ in us and we in him.
When we welcome each other, we welcome Christ and when we acknowledge and welcome Jesus openly into our lives, we accept the full grace and love of God, as the one who sent his only son to die for us; to reconcile us back into relationship and to welcome us home.