Hey, That's My Seat!
February 2, 2013
Saturday,
When
I saw the cartoon on Facebook, I had to laugh. I laughed because it was funny,
but it was also a nervous laugh because I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Then, it was not so funny. It was a cartoon
about a man named
I once lived on the New Jersey Shore and attended a small church a few blocks from my apartment. It was a lovely little church with the friendliest members imaginable. Our pastor was a kindly man with a heart of gold. It was absolutely a delightful place to call my church home.
Now, about the cartoon. It showed a couple sitting in the church pew awaiting the start of worship. Another couple was angrily staring at them from the isle. The caption noted that the entire congregation waited anxiously to see what would happen since the visitors sat down in the regular members’ pew.
I
immediately thought of the day that happened to
On
the Sunday in question, I was quietly standing in the back of the sanctuary
before worship was to begin. Along with many in the church, we had all noticed
the visitors that had come in a few minutes earlier. They seemed really nice,
were genuinely excited about trying out the little church, and had already
accepted our invitation to the potluck lunch that would follow. Then they did
the unthinkable—they sat in
Sure
enough, right on time,
There
was a noticeable gasp in the congregation when
The visitors were humiliated. They moved to a back pew, and quietly slipped out of worship near the end of the service. We never saw them again.
The
incident has always stood as a stark lesson for me. As Christians, we are all
very fond of patting ourselves on the back for friendliness. The fact of the
matter is, most of us really are! Even
One
of the most important jobs of a church is to always provide a genuine sense of
safe welcome and hospitality to everyone who walks through our doors. We may
laugh at a cartoon that pokes fun at a man like
When we welcome people into the presence of God, it takes more than a friendly handshake and a polite direction of where to go. It takes genuine love.