Thus says the LORD: Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed. – Isaiah 56:1
The above passage from Isaiah addresses the idea of reframing our human notions of inclusion to see things from a divine perspective. The people of Israel were in a very bad way. They’d been carried off into captivity, their temple destroyed, and their lives in ruins. But God never leaves them. God is right there encouraging them, telling them what they need to do, and preparing them for the way ahead. What we learn in the rest of this chapter is that God intends to include a whole lot more folks than just the people of Israel and in order for them to “get it”, they had to take their experience and reflect on it in order to welcome others.
I’ve been wondering…how are we doing with including others in our community? What could we do to be more welcoming and inclusive? How can we make all people feel welcome here? How can we share what we have without being afraid that there won’t be enough?
One of my favorite quotes—and I don’t know where it originated—is, “When you have more than you need, build a longer table not a higher fence.” I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather fix up a table for a communal feast than build a higher wall or fence to keep other people out. God’s generosity and abundance ensures there will always be enough if we will only open our hearts, eyes, and hands to one another.
But we humans seem to be much better at building fences than at crafting communal tables. It’s not a new problem. One might think we’d learn. Maybe we’re just a little slower on the uptake. More likely we just need a discipleship refresher course to remember why we are called to be “little Christs” in this world.
We can reframe our ideas and grow into the fullness of discipleship and life in Christ. We can become more generous table builders so that there is no need for higher walls; in fact, let’s just go ahead and break down walls and barriers whenever we can and use the raw materials to build a better table, a more just world, and a community of faith where all are welcome.
God is not in the business of building higher walls that separate and divide. God wants to gather us in, give room for everybody, a place at life’s table and a chance to live in God’s abundance forever.
