March 2010

It Only Takes An Invitation
From the Community Spiritual Director, David Cady

I love it when over arching themes begin to emerge from the pages of the Bible. Such was the case for me this week while surveying the gospels. Have you noticed how invitational Jesus is in the gospels? Check out a sampling of Jesus’ invitations:
• “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” Mark 1:17
• “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
• “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Luke 18:16
• “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35
• “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” John 7:37

These verses say a lot about the invitational nature of God, doesn’t it?
God is an invitational God. In fact, Jesus once described the kingdom of God like a wedding banquet where all kinds of people were invited to attend. (Matthew 22:1-14)

Since God excels at being invitational, let me invite you to think about the following question. If God were holding a get together and you were invited, can you think of others with whom you would like to share that experience?

If so, make a list. Literally write down the names of people you would invite. When you get to 10 names, stop, pray, and ask God for 10 more names. When you get to 20 names continue to repeat the process. In fact, keep adding names to your list as they come to your mind. Chances are pretty good that the Holy Spirit just might prompt you to invite some of the people on your list to attend a Walk to Emmaus.

I want to encourage you, as individuals and as local congregations, to make sponsorship a priority in 2010. What would it look like for every church in our Emmaus Community to have at least one pilgrim on each of the remaining walks this year? That’s six people – four women and two men – over the next ten months. All it takes is an invitation.

So, go ahead, pick up that phone, send that email, write that letter, or initiate that conversation with someone where you say, “Have you ever heard of the Walk to Emmaus? I’d like to invite you to attend.”

Stay close to Jesus,
Dave

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