Come as you are!
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
(Galatians 3:28)
One of the things that as Christians we should work on (myself included) is welcoming everyone into the Catholic community, not just those who fit our idea of what people should be like. We may unconsciously gravitate towards certain kinds of people that we feel we can identify with and relate to, but sometimes it’s good to push the boat out and get to know someone who doesn’t fit those criteria. Getting to know other people breaks down any preconceptions and generalisations we may have. We want all people to feel comfortable coming to Mass, that they won’t be judged. We can’t control everything, but even a smile and a ‘hi!’ can make a world of difference.
Yes, we may have different views on things: on politics, religion, history, sport, music; or on how things should or shouldn’t be done. Yet surely we can agree on enough, even if it’s that we can agree to disagree! And this applies to long-established members of the Catholic community as well as newcomers.
The message we send out should be, come as you are! No one should feel they can’t set foot on the church door (barring harmful intent of course). As we know from the Gospels, Jesus stood for the marginalised, those on the fringes of society. He debunked the neat and tidy stereotypes sometimes held by the in-groups, whether they were the Pharisees, or his own disciples. In this regard it often it takes courage to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, because we don’t want to be rejected by the in-group for our forays outside of this group. In often subtle ways we may be corralled back into the ‘fold’. Well, let’s try to grow that fold, to welcome all others. Then they won’t be others; they’ll be the same as us in Christ.
We are all brothers and sisters in Christ.
Tāpuakiʻi kimoutolu ʻe he ʻOtuá (‘God bless you’ in Tongan. It’s Tonga Language Week!)
Steve