From the Pastor…“Them” Several weeks ago in Sunday School one of the class members told the story about her encounter with a person she invited to church. If I remember correctly, she was at a garage sale, and while she was looking over the items for sale she struck up a conversation with the woman hosting the Saturday morning sale. After a few minutes the conversation turned to church, or religion, or spiritual things. The Sunday School Class Member took the opportunity to invite the woman to May Memorial. The woman replied that she had tried church before, but when she had gone she was not accepted or welcomed. She did not feel any sense of hospitality. She never explicitly said the reason for this, but somehow it was believed that it was connected to her many tattoos. “Well,” the Sunday School Class Member responded, “I just don’t think you would feel that way at May Memorial. They are a very welcoming people.” I’ve thought about this story since it was told in Sunday School, and it was on my mind yesterday during my sermon. Yesterday we focused on the story of the deacon Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch. The Ethiopian Eunuch, for many reasons, was one of “them” to Philip. And yet the Spirit led Philip to encounter and share God’s love with him. Even though he was one of “them.” In my sermon I never said who “them” is. That is because I don’t know who it may be for you. For each one of us it may be different, or, we may share the same perspective. We may have some “thems” as a church, not unanimously, but generally. But whoever your “them” is, the Spirit is continuously calling us to share God’s love with, well, them. I love the Baptist Will Campbell. He was a preacher, college chaplain at Ole Miss, and author. His novel Brother to a Dragonfly is a great read, and he was pastor to the likes of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Studs Terkel. Campbell carried the title “Bootleg Preacher,” and he did not fit in the “Baptist Preacher Box” in any normal sense of the image. But Campbell preached that Jesus calls us to love all people, not just those we agree with. Campbell marched for civil rights alongside Martin Luther King, Jr., and he was also a friend to many KKK leaders. He was criticized for his associations, and he would reply that “you have to love them all.” That is what we are called to do, to allow that line between “us” and “them” to fade so that we may share God’s love with all that the Spirit leads us to.