ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
October 3, 2026
As I mentioned in last Sunday’s sermon, the church has enjoyed a strange relationship with gatekeepers—those who understand their task as vigilantly guarding the entrance into the Body of Christ. And though many churches may wave banners of welcome, giving the impression that all will find a place at the table, the gatekeepers limit access until one has proven him/herself worthy. The ancient temple in Jerusalem featured four main concentric courtyards, arranged in order from less holy (furthest circle out, and the largest) to most holy (the center circle, and the smallest). As one might attempt to move inward, there were literal gatekeepers, those who could say YES or NO. The intent is not to simply call out ancient Judaism, but acknowledge how religion has this exclusionary attitude, and in recent years, certain segments of Christianity have really gotten good at it, especially when it comes to who is allowed at the Communion Table. This sort of gatekeeping seems to offer an alternative reading to what I believe is pretty clear in Luke 15:1-3,
“Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’”
There is a lot of grumbling at the gate where too many are made to feel unwelcome, yet the gatekeepers were grumbling about Jesus’ hospitality, love, and wide-open welcome wherever he might sit for a meal. Well, as much as the grumbling gatekeepers are not the most enjoyable guests to invite to the party, Jesus seemed to enjoy meals with them as well. Tomorrow is World Communion Sunday, and though things will not look all that different at Cypress Creek Christian Church, our prayer will be for the church to challenge the gatekeepers in the name of Jesus, the one who wasn’t interested in the identity markers assigned to people. Instead, he was interested in the people and their yearning to find true and transformative welcome.
Teach me, O Holy God of Welcome, to dismantle the gates that too many enjoy standing watch over. Let’s start with the gates, and then move to the fences that have for far too long been used to identify who is IN and who is OUT. All the wood used for the gates and fences could be repurposed to expand the table and create more chairs, a true act of grace. Amen.
