Inviting Without Exception

October 15, 2023                28th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

“The servants went out into the streets, and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests."
- Matthew 22:10

There are a number of songs in our hymnal about the Church adopting a welcoming attitude toward everyone (as in everyone, no exceptions!). We’ve got #421 All Are Welcome, #311 Table of Plenty, #305 You Are Welcome Here, and specifically the sixth verse of #492 Where Charity and Love Prevail, which goes: “No race nor creed can love exclude, if honored be God’s name; our family embraces all, whose Father is the same.” I like to think of these as “the inclusivity hymns,” and my favorite in that category is #310 The House That Love is Building. If you’re a regular at the 5:00 PM Mass, you may have heard that one a few times. This Sunday’s Gospel has prompted me to pick out some of those inclusivity hymns – see if you can spot them at the Mass you attend. 

Speaking of inviting everyone, those of you who attend the 5:00 PM Mass may have noticed that our Worship Band has a new member. Her name is Michelle, whom I met under some wonderfully unexpected circumstances. See, I was shopping at Walgreens one morning, and it was very early so there was no one else in the store, or so I thought. Then I heard an absolutely gorgeous voice singing I Just Can’t Wait to Be King from Disney’s The Lion King. I looked around the store to find out where this voice was coming from. Lo and behold, it was Michelle, singing to herself, unaware that I was listening to her and enjoying every bit of it. Now in that song, there’s a part that goes, “Everybody look left, everybody look right, everywhere you look I’m standing spotlight,” and then the character Zazu responds with an emphatic “Nnnnooot yyeeet!” So as Michelle sang that part, I chimed in with Zazu’s response, and she was surprised to find that I had been happily eavesdropping the whole time. From there, one thing led to another, and I invited her to sing with us at St. Joe’s. She seemed very surprised about the invitation, like I might be joking or something, but I was dead serious! She asked, “would it be a problem if I’m Jewish?” I said, “If it’s not a problem for you, then it’s not a problem for me.” And now here she is, singing Christian songs with us, while also contributing her Jewish heritage to our music ministry – if you were at the 5pm two Sundays ago, you may recall her exquisite rendering of Amazing Grace in Hebrew. 

Pope Francis has repeatedly emphasized that everyone is welcome in the Church. Vatican II makes it clear that “The Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against men or harassment of them because of their race, color, condition of life, or religion.” (Nostra Aetate, Art. 5) It is my hope that in these times when humanity is so divided, we may hold ever more firmly to the love that embraces all, welcoming everyone to the house that love is building. 

With my peace,
Carlo Serrano, Music Director