Saving a Spot & Making Room (02/12/2024)

Yesterday, as I walked up the aisle at church looking for an empty pew, I noticed a young lad meticulously laying out coats on a pew. He was alone. I wasn’t sure where he got all the coats or what he was up to. He laid out the fourth coat, gave the arrangement a once over glance and then darted up the aisle, to the sacristy. I guessed he was a server. About five minutes later, his mom arrived. The rest of the family arrived shortly afterward. Then I watched the mom as she began collecting the coats into a pile. I smiled and thought to myself, what a wonderful family that saves a spot for one another but also makes room for others.

We’re all called to walk the way of this family, caring for one another but also welcoming others. This family and their loving care and kindness stuck with me all day. I found myself asking how well I do both in life.

As individual Christians, we are called to be people of community, caring for one another as the members of the early Church demonstrated in the book of Acts. But we are also called to be welcoming, to invite others into the community, to extend hospitality to those whom we don’t yet know.

One of the things I love about Christianity, if fully understood, is that it’s not all about the individual. As a Christian, it is essential that I come to know Christ and embrace the gift of His salvific sacrifice for me, but it’s equally essential that I share this with others. The saving love of our LORD is not a possession to hoard but a gift which I did not earn that demands to be shared with others. We do this by caring for one another and by welcoming others into our midst as members of the living Body of Christ.

Christianity has no room for selfishness nor exclusion. As Christ hung upon the cross at Calvary, He had all of us on His mind, not just those whom I send Christmas cards to in December. I am constantly reminded that the LORD desires the salvation of all of us. Every day we are called to love our LORD and one another as part of our journey, we are called to look out for one another, include one another, help one another, love one another.

As we continue on our way, let us commit to watching out for one another along the way but also to opening ourselves and our community up to include new members who are also on the journey.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.

Thoughts? Questions? Requests? – katewiskus@gmail.com