|
And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. 8For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” 9When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” –– Luke 7:6-9
Sometimes, you back into grace. Initial invitations bring hesitation instead of anticipation. They threaten to disrupt established and comfortable routines. They may involve a deviation from a common agenda. Invitations can spark excitement, but they can just as easily provoke wariness, skepticism, or anxiety. And so we use delay tactics to avoid making a commitment to the invitation –– Let me get back to you … Allow me to check my calendar … Let me check with my spouse. Jimmy Fallon reported on a study saying that people lie more when they are texting. He then suggested the most common lie in communication today –– Sorry, just saw your text… We’ll do anything to forestall commitment as we perseverate –– Is this worth the sacrifice of time? Money? Sleep? Effort? How high maintenance is the person giving the invitation? If I say no, am I a bad guy? If I refuse, will they be hurt, mad, disappointed? Leaping into yes is much harder than backing toward no. Yet, there are times when in backing away you find yourself backing into grace. No or not so sure are captured by Yes. Wariness is transformed into wouldn’t-miss-it.
Following another grace-enveloped event with our Muslim friends of Mosaic of Charlotte, a friend asked me, How did your church form this connection with this group composed of Muslim immigrants from Turkey, Kazakstan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan? My answer –– They did it. They initiated it, supported it, pursued it.
Was there an agenda? Did they want something from us? Absolutely! What they desired was relationship, friendship, dialogue, and understanding, treasures that are rare in a fracturing world, qualities that increasingly authoritarian societies view with suspicion and even derision. Consequently, our meeting together was in some ways a radical act, and I would suggest such gatherings represent one of the more important works taking place in our world today. We cannot live together if we cannot be together. Good fences may forestall open hostility, but they do not make good neighbors. Conversations require risk, but that risk is mitigated where hospitality is practiced.
During the Q&A portion of our recent gathering, a young member of the Mosaic community stood and confessed that he anxiously did not know what to expect when he came to SMPC for an earlier gathering of our two communities, and he remarked that what he experienced was welcome and hospitality. He said that this second event not only reaffirmed his earlier experience, but that he felt at home among us. It was a joy to hear that, particularly considering my own experience of learning a great deal about the hospitality of Christ from the generous spirit and intentional initiative of our Muslim friends at Mosaic. I now understand at a deeper level, Jesus’ joyful surprise at the witness of faith offered by the Centurion –– “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” Faith ignores fences.
| 
