How can we extend a real welcome to all? Here’s today’s reflection for Mass
Readings for Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter here
In the movie, Heavens Above, Peter Sellers plays the role of a priest who is mistakenly appointed to a parish because he shares his name with another priest who was, it seems, far more “appropriate” for the landed gentry who make up the church. Soon, true to his calling, his socialist beliefs and his empathy for working class people, the church begins to be peopled by those who don’t quite fit in. He creates social ructions by appointing a black dustman as his churchwarden, taking in a family being evicted from their illegal encampment, and persuading local landowner Lady Despard to provide food for the church to distribute free to the people of the town. It all leads to disastrous and humorous consequences.
In the first reading of the Acts of the Apostles, we have one of the first real disputes within the church. Is the gospel for Gentiles as well as Jews? There is some heated debate, but soon Peter is convinced that it is, when he is given a vision from God which impresses upon him the inclusiveness of the church. From then on, the trajectory of the church changes, and they can be true to the calling of Jesus to go out into the whole word and proclaim the good news.
It can be very easy to be possessive about our faith and our church. Some people may look suspiciously upon newcomers particularly if they begin to become more active. Or others may feel uncomfortable if someone very different from them sits alongside them. Jesus said, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” Who is missing from our churches? Do we reflect the communities in which we live, or do some people, for whatever reason, feel they won’t fit in? Jesus is looking not jus at the sheep he has gathered, but to those outside it, and so should we.
In South Cardiff Ministry Area, we aim to be a welcoming, faithful and just community. How can we extend that welcome to all, and how can we help all to know that God loves them?
Mass today is in St Dyfrig and Samson at 630pm.
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