Inclusion Is The Heart Of The Gospel

An expression I hear people say often is, “The honeymoon is over…” You may have heard it as well. I remember trying to explain this saying to an English-language learner who heard it and had no idea what it was referring to. I wonder how you would’ve tried to explain it!  But I did my best to convey the idea that it’s what happens in the relationship when the initial euphoria goes away.

In relationships this phase is often referred to as “limerence.” It’s a concept developed by psychologist Dorothy Tennov that refers to the initial stages of a relationship being filled with intense feelings, idealization of the other and desire. And when it ends, it can be the end of some relationships.

In our first reading from Acts 11 today, I couldn’t help but think, “The honeymoon is over…” Just a few chapters earlier (Acts 4), the disciples “were one in heart and mind” sharing everything and tending to the community. It did not take long, however, before there was conflict! Some non-Jews had accepted the “good news” preached by the apostles and were admitted into the community as members and this caused some serious disagreement. 

Peter is accused of going into the houses of the uncircumcised and eating with them – treating them as equals and eating food that was impure. He is confronted by a group of “believers” who are appalled at his actions. Peter talks to them about a vision he received during prayer in Joppa in which it was revealed to him that “What God has made clean, you are not to call profane” and that “the Spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating.” His testimony was powerful enough to convince those present that inclusion – not exclusion – was at the heart of what the followers of Jesus needed to be about.

In the gospel today from John 10, we hear from the “Good Shepherd” passage where Jesus describes himself as the one who knows his flock and is willing to lay down his life for them. It is a tender and touching passage that shows how deeply Jesus loves those who follow him – seeking us out when we stray and keeping us safe from harm.

And yet, right in the middle of it he says these words, “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice.” 

Wait, what? His followers are not the only ones in the fold? There are others who are “in the fold” that we may not know or be familiar with?

There’s an old joke about a man who dies and goes to heaven. St. Peter welcomes him at the gates and brings him around to tour the facilities. At one part of the tour, St. Peter instructs the man to be very quiet as they’re walking by this particular room. After they pass the room, St. Peter says, “Sorry about all that silence stuff back there. That’s the Catholic room and they think they’re the only ones up here…” (although you can substitute just about any denomination in there)

While it may not be much comfort to modern readers, it is interesting to note that conflict almost immediately emerged related to who was in and who was out in the early church – and that this has continued since that time! What is even more interesting is that even the early followers of Jesus – some of whom heard and experienced Jesus’ teachings and modeling firsthand – quickly got caught up in binary belonging conflicts (meaning you’re in or out based on some criteria).

Related to this process, I often turn to the work of john powell. 

Powell – a fierce proponent of creating a world where all belong – says that so many of our efforts at “inclusion” go like this. We build an escalator to help people gain access to the things/benefits that everyone else shares. “And then someone comes along in a wheelchair. So the system we built doesn’t work for that person, and so it looks like that person is asking for something special, but that person is asking for what everyone else was asking for, the resources and support to fully participate in society as a person and as a human being to contribute, but what people need to get there or groups needs to get there, is going to be different.”

It may not be much different in our faith institutions. We build or structure things to work for a certain group of people and then along comes someone who says, “Can I be part of that?” But they don’t “fit” with the prior criteria that had been established.

We know that Jesus seemed to always say, “Yes, you can be a part!” and then made adjustments in his movement to make it so. The church, however, has been A LOT more reluctant, and the world we live in often seems to say, “No, go away, you don’t belong!” 

Our current administration seems obsessed with building walls to keep people out or finding ways to exclude people, but they’re not alone. Our broader culture seems to like exclusion. We’re on track to build more gated communities in the United States than ever and so many of our organizations and institutions have “tiered” participation (meaning that there are various levels of access and/or privilege within those institutions).

It was important for me in my formative years in ministry to listen to stories that Fr. Jim, Rev. Mary, Sr. Margie, Rev. Myra and others told about Corpus/Spiritus where numerous groups came forward seeking to be more fully included – women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, people of color, people who spoke other languages than English, etc. Each time, there was some level of conflict, and our community needed to struggle not only with welcoming but fully including people who had ALREADY been welcomed by Jesus the Good Shepherd.

Of course we did not always get it right, and I am not sure the process ever ends. And so we have to keep asking the community, “What can we do to make it so that you can show up more fully?”

Our local PBS station, WXXI, has a new podcast they host called “Move to Include.” While I love the podcast itself, I really love the title and I think it reflects what is at the heart of the gospel – move to include.

Maybe this week we can all look for opportunities to include someone in a way that we might not normally be inclined to do. Maybe it’s an invitation to something. Maybe we offer someone an opportunity. Maybe we say yes to doing something for someone. Maybe we go out of our way to accommodate.

But it also could be including someone else’s idea or contribution or stretching ourselves internally to try to see someone else’s point.

No matter what we do, maybe we can try to remember Peter’s vision where “the Spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating” – people who are part of God’s kin-dom even if they are not recognized yet by us.

Note: If you’re interested in joining us for a multi-week bible study on the gospel of Luke (May 6, 11 and 20 from 7 – 8:30pm), you can register here. Check the bulletin for more details.