Day 12
Genesis 26:17‐27:46; Matthew 9:1‐17; Psalm 10:16‐18; Proverbs 3:9‐10
Welcome the Unwelcomed
He had read the gospels, curious as to what Christians believed. From what he had interpreted, it seemed that Christians were people of love and acceptance. That’s exactly what he was looking for. So, one Sunday morning, he decided to visit a nearby church in Calcutta, the city in which he lived. As he opened the doors to walk in, an usher stopped him.
India lived by strict laws of caste and this place of worship was for “high caste” Indians and “whites” only. He was promptly rejected, for he was neither high caste, nor was he British. Because of the rejection and humiliation by this one church, Mahatma Gandhi turned his back on Christianity. “I like your Christ,” Gandhi later wrote. “I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
Jesus accepted those He met as potential believers. He didn’t care what people might think of Him hanging out with undesirables. He ate with tax collectors, the most despised men among Jews, and sinners because they needed Him most.
To be Christ-like is to love people, not only as they are, but in the hope of what they can become. We are not to judge others, but we are to acknowledge our own unrighteousness and be humbled by it. Jesus said, “For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
And I am one of them.
The Rev. Danielle DuBois Morris