“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous, and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” (Matthew 10:40-42, NRSVue)
Welcome. What does it mean to welcome?
Merriam-Webster has a lot of different things for what “welcome” means.
As a transitive verb:
1: to greet hospitably and with courtesy or cordiality
2: to accept with pleasure the occurrence or presence of
As an adjective:
1: received gladly into one’s presence or companionship
2: giving pleasure : received with gladness or delight especially in response to a need
3: willingly permitted or admitted
4—used in the phrase you’re welcome as a reply to an expression of thanks
As a noun:
1: a greeting or reception usually upon arrival
2: the state of being welcome
So what does it mean to welcome?
I like the second transitive verb meaning, to accept with pleasure the occurrence or presence of. When we accept with pleasure the occurence ands presence of Jesus in our lives, we accept the presence of God. When we are that presence for others they are seeing and accepting the presence of God through us.
We need to be the people of welcome in the world, when so many others are trying to be the gatekeepers, or bouncers for God, we need to be the voice of welcome and understanding.
Give water. Be a place of openness and acceptance.
Remember, we are not gatekeepers, but voices of grace.
Live Love out Loud.
aSacredRebel 