What is your definition of “community?’ How do you decide who is ‘in’ and who is left out? Is there a simple way to determine how we let others into our community?
I’ve heard a few pieces of advice over the years that have made their way into my ‘theology of community.’ The first comes from the 1976 album Wings at the Speed of Sound, where Paul McCartney sings,
“Someone's knockin' at the door.
Somebody's ringin' the bell.
Do me a favor,
open the door, and let 'em in.” (Paul McCartney, Let ‘Em In)
Another quote, possibly more familiar to the theologically minded, is from Christ’s Revelation to the apostle John on Patmos,
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” (Rev. 3:20, NIV)
There is one thing I’m theologically certain of: Jesus and Paul McCartney can’t both be wrong. There must be something to the notion that we should welcome in anyone who comes to our door seeking our company. Of course we can exclude those coming to our door with ill intent, or those who pass by our homes but never knock. Still, Sir Paul and Christ Jesus our Lord must have a bigger idea of community than those who traversed the Wilderness of Sin with Moses. Moses sends the Hebrews on a marauding campaign against all who stand in the way as they conquer and claim the Promised Land.
“When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites,Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites,seven nations larger and stronger than you— and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy…For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” (Deut. 7:1-2, 6, NIV)
From the outset of the habitation of the Promised Land by God’s Chosen people we see the idea of casting and keeping out those who don’t belong to the community. There is no distinction between tribe or nation, except who is Hebrew and who is not. What’s more, this activity of forcing out and keeping out “foreigners” is blessed by God. All of this could simply be stated as Biblical truth without commentary by the likes of me, excepting the modern notion of inclusivity and community with which the early actions of the nation of Israel doesn’t align.
This is the trouble I have with what Jesus and Sir Paul tell us: God blesses exclusivity in the early days of our Jewish ancestors, yet Christ’s call to inclusivity regardless of background appears in example after example from the Gospels. Old Testament community guards the people from foreign infiltration, protecting the familial, ancestral lineage claims to membership in the community in every way possible. New Testament community throws off the shackles of race, ethnicity, prior religious background, previous sinfulness, and any other delineation to accept all who would seek to follow Jesus as Children of God.
Where does all this leave the modern Christian trying to navigate inclusivity while maintaining community integrity? Are we to ignore the blessings God has given us in protecting and preserving the faith through the witness and actions of the faithful? Are we to discount the teachings of Christ who ate with sinners and praised the faithful actions of the foreign ‘Good Samaritan?’ Where is the line between protecting and preserving the integrity of our community of faith and failing Christ’s commission to reach the whole world with his Gospel?
I’ve thought a lot about this question and I can’t find a simple answer. Yet, what about our faith and our God is ever simple? Rarely do we get the answer we are seeking from God wrapped up in a neat package with a pretty bow on top. This question of community integrity versus open reception of all is a tough one. Just like so many tough questions we bring to God, listening intently for God’s answer will be key. So, listen up. And yet, if while you are listening, you hear someone knocking, you might just want to let ‘em in. After all, there is one thing I know for certain: this thing is big enough for everyone.
J.M.D.