Everyone wants to belong somewhere. We all like to feel included…
Probably all of us have childhood memories of times when we were not included, when we were not chosen to join a team, when others were picked but not us. We remember the sadness of being left-out, excluded by our peers. Some of our most vivid childhood memories are those negative experiences we had when we weren't wanted by the group.
As we grow older possibly we are not so affected by being excluded by peers, but at the same time it is a wonderful feeling for people of any age to know that they are wanted, are regarded as being "one of us" by significant others.
I remember when I was working as a chaplain to Indonesian migrants in Sydney. One Sunday, a non-Indonesian-speaking Aussie was a guest at Mass. I welcomed him, speaking English. After Mass, one of my Indonesian parishioners, who had never heard me speak English before, said, "We didn't know you could speak English!" I laughed, but actually I felt really good, as this was an acknowledgement that I was included in the congregation. I was "one of us", according to my parishioners.
In any society, though, there are people who just don't easily fit in, who are excluded by the majority. They are the ones who are seen as being different, undesirable. In different places, people from different cultures, nationalities or religions are regarded as "outside" and are excluded by others.
In Jesus' time it was the same. Mainstream society was generally anti-foreigner and it was particularly negative towards people whom were labelled as being "tax collectors & sinners". They were bad. They were dirty. They didn't fit in. So it's no surprise that Jesus caused a sensation when He portrayed those misfits as being special in God's eyes.
Jesus' attitude was a stumbling block for the right-living, good people of his community. However this didn't worry him. He included the outsiders, welcoming them into what was to become the Church. We can only imagine how wonderful these people felt after normally being excluded by others, and now they were included, no longer outside the circle.
A challenge for us as SVDs is to look at our own attitude to others, particularly those whom we include in our circle of ministry. Do we give more attention to "nice" people than to those on the fringe of society? Who really are our "dialogue partners"?
As the major male missionary congregation in the Catholic Church, it would seem to be appropriate for us to revue our priorities from time-to-time. We could ask whom do we favour, whom do we give most of our time and energy to. Jesus did not exclude the righteous, or the rich and powerful from His community, but he offered the opportunity for everyone to be included, and He gave priority to those whom society generally regarded as being "beyond the pale".
Wherever we live in and work in our vast province, may we be truly welcoming and inclusive!