At Ease

Have you ever planned to meet someone for the first time? Maybe it was a blind date. Or perhaps it was the coach of a new sports team you were joining. It can be nerve racking.

Several years ago I did some genealogical research and came across a distant cousin in Alsace while on the internet. She likewise did genealogical research, and she was extremely good. Shortly thereafter my wife and I, along with another couple, traveled to Europe and we planned to see my distant cousin, Marlyse.

 I have to admit I was excited to go, but I was also nervous. 

Neuwiller-les-Saverne

When we met Marlyse and her husband Norbert, they put us immediately at ease. They showed us the area where my direct ancestors lived and showed us their village, Neuwiller-les-Saverne.

 Norbert, the local “curator” of their church let us see the Tapestry of St. Adelphe. The tapestry had four panels and each panel was perhaps 16 feet by 3 feet. The tapestry dates from the ninth century AD, and has a history of the land embroidered in it.

 We saw many other things, and our hosts took us to dinner afterward.  I will never forget that day.

 Today’s reading is Genesis 24:59-67. Abraham sent his servant to Mesopotamia to bring a bride for his son Isaac. Following God’s leads, the servant finds and brings back Rebekah. Isaac and Rebekah meet for the first time and get married shortly thereafter.

 Although each was probably excited to meet the other, both were probably a bit nervous at first.

Today in our churches there are people who are either attending our church for the first time, haven’t been to a church in years or perhaps have never been in a church.

 More than likely, that person may be a bit nervous.

 They may not want to be there. They may believe the negative myths that our culture propagates about Christians. They may even be a bit fearful of our God.

 As Christ’s Ambassadors, we have the responsibility -- no, make that privilege -- to show them around and put them at ease.

 What can you do to put people at ease?

What Can You Do? What Will You Do?

Have you ever been in an unfamiliar place and someone made you feel welcome? Maybe you were anxious and somebody put you at ease?

Forbidden City, Beijing

 

I was in Beijing several years ago, on business. We were trying to see if our product line could be sold in China. Our team consisted of myself, a few Chinese people residing in the United States and our Chinese hosts.

 

A few street signs and shop signs had their English meaning in small letters underneath, but for the most part I had little idea what I was looking at. Since Chinese is a tonal language, I was warned not to speak any words in Chinese. I was as likely to insult somebody as to get help.

 

The second full day there, as I was beginning to get over jet lag, my hosts took the entire team out to dinner. It was quite a feast. We had tilapia, squid, jelly fish, crab, turtle soup, bird’s nest soup, scallops, oysters and other things I purposely ate without asking.

 

I liked the crab legs; they preferred the liver and roe. It seems the legs are considered garbage food in Beijing. So I was known as “man who eat garbage.” (And they graciously gave me their ‘garbage’ to devour!)

 

By the end of the day, I was at ease and felt very welcomed.

 

Today’s reading is Genesis 23:1-9. Abraham’s wife, Sarah, had just died. Living in Canaan, a foreign land, among the Hittites, Abraham needed a place to bury his wife. Because God promised Abraham that his descendents would inhabit Canaan, the Promised Land, Abraham wanted is wife to be buried there.

 

The grieving Abraham was no doubt anxious. Would the Hittites sell a foreigner some land?

 

The Hittite leaders did sell him land, giving him his choice for a burial plot. Abraham must have been relieved.

 

When we meet someone new to the faith, or is exploring the faith, they might be anxious. After all, Christianity is new to them. In a sense, they are in foreign territory.

 

What can you do to reach out to a new face at church and help put that person at ease?

 

What will you do?