Imagine you are sitting in your church, whether in a village, town or city and there is a buzz in the air. An unknown young preacher is coming to speak to you, what will he be like? You settle down in your usual seat, nod to your usual friends, observe the usual band is in place. Everything is ready for the usual Sunday morning. Then the young preacher confidently walks in. Wait a minute, this is no stranger, don’t we know him. Jesus said, ‘No man is accepted in his home town.’ They asked how dare he come and preach to them, they were doing very well thankyou. .
So is it the same with us? I still have a book of a narrative poem I received as a child. The first verse reads
‘ IfJesus came to my house and knocked upon the door,
I’m sure I’d be more happy than I’d ever been before.’
Would we be happy if Jesus came to our church? He would know of any tensions within the congregation, He would know that Mrs H only came for the coffee after the service. He would know everything about us and all our hidden thoughts. In fact He does come to our churches but does He receive a welcome? Do we receive Him with open arms or do we manage without Him?