Beyond our Boundaries
Years ago, not long after moving into our house, Ginger went out several yards past our backyard to clear out some brush in the woods. While there, she uncovered a stone Celtic cross under the scrub. She dug it up, cleaned it off, and set it up in our garden (photo above).
Reflecting on that experience recently had me thinking about the Church and its mission. Jesus called us to share the good news of his life, death and resurrection with those who don't know him — those who are beyond the boundaries of the church walls. It's an exciting mission that the Lord gave us if you think about it. We are called to participate in God's advancing kingdom all around us. There is no greater call than this because it involves matters eternal, connected to reconciliation between God and humanity and the eventual restoration of all things.
But I understand that this call can also be uncomfortable, intimidating and even messy. We have to be honest about this truth because as the Church we are in the midst of a spiritual battle where the Lord is using us to push back the darkness with his light and love. And the darkness doesn't retreat easily. We need not look further than our own hearts and habits to understand this.
But the comforting thing about this mission is that it's primarily a call of introduction and invitation. We're not the ones who extract people from their godless patterns or practices. Nor are we the ones who bring about healing. Rather we're to introduce them to the One who does the extracting and the healing. The One who has dug us up out of the scrub, cleansed us from our sin with his own blood, and is in the process of bringing inner healing in our hearts.
Along with the introduction, we're to invite them into the "garden" to experience the fellowship of others who have been dug up and cleansed too. It doesn't really matter what order we do this in: introduction then invite or invite then introduction. Either way, we serve simply as channels of God's love, which is operating in our own hearts and in our faith community.
Friends, as we enter this Green Season (also known as Ordinary Time), may God inspire us as a church to go beyond our boundaries to introduce and invite a broken world to experience the healing hand of Christ and the fellowship of his people.
Fr. Darin+