WRITTEN BY: AMBER TREMBLETT

Have you ever experienced a moment so profound that it shook your beliefs and redefined your understanding of ‘welcome’?

During my time as a seminary student in Toronto, I interned at a church that also functioned as a low-barrier community center. Within those walls, I encountered a moment that would forever etch a new understanding of compassion and acceptance in my heart.

It was a Sunday morning. As our time of worship drew to a close, a woman quietly slipped through the side door and headed straight for the bathroom. Watching her go, we recognized that she knew this space as the community center and was simply looking for a restroom.

As we chatted after the service, a community member beckoned for me and the other ministry leader, concerned for the woman who was still in the bathroom.

I, an intern unaccustomed to such situations, watched as the other pastor took the lead and approached the stall.The woman emerged, disoriented, apologizing repeatedly for taking so much time in the restroom, her battle with substance use evident. Her speech was slurred and her steps were unsteady. She apologized again and again for taking so long, for doing drugs, seemingly for existing.

I watched as this pastor assured her again and again that she didn’t need to apologize. That she was welcome here. That her needs would be met.

From a toothbrush and toothpaste to winter gear to weather the cold, she was provided with everything she asked for. We offered shelter contacts, extra toiletries, and unwavering acceptance. No one rushed her out, no judgmental glances, no uncertainty. The community allowed her to be, just as she needed to be, in that moment.

When I left the community center that day, I knew I had met Jesus.

Following the Way of Jesus

Society sells us a pack of lies.

The notion that low-income individuals are less deserving of respect, and love, and joy, simply because of the circumstances of their life, is unequivocally wrong.

In his classic work, Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes that we cannot enter true fellowship with a sibling in Christ if we do not believe that our sin is worse than theirs. In other words, only Christ-like humility will allow us to stop treating others as if they are projects and not whole human beings with dreams, desires, strengths, and flaws—as if they are not exactly like us.

I say “Christ-like humility” because of the example Jesus gives us in the gospel of John. At the Last Supper, Jesus unties his outer robe, kneels before his disciples, and washes their feet. As their teacher, it was not customary for Jesus to serve the disciples in this way. If anything, Peter says, they should be washing his feet. But Jesus insists, explaining that humbling themselves before others is what it means to be a true follower of the Messiah.

Part of embracing this sort of humility is admitting that it is not our job to police the decisions of others, to dictate their lives like we somehow have control over what they do, who they are, and where they go.

As Christians our ONLY job is to welcome people unreservedly, to love people not out of pity—or even out of sympathy and compassion—but out of recognition that every individual is a child created equally in the image of God, and in need of grace just as we are. This is the way of Jesus.

In Matthew chapter 19, Jesus's disciples become irritated when people keep bringing their children to him to be blessed. In ancient societies, children had few rights and were considered insignificant. The disciples, heavily influenced by this cultural norm, assumed Jesus would simply dismiss the children.

Instead, Jesus does something radical. He welcomes the children. He makes space for them at his side. He lays his hands on their heads and he blesses them. In this one simple act, he demonstrates that even those the “least” among us are blessed by God, teaching that the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these (Matthew 19:13-15).

The Call to Kingdom Living

Radical welcome, as demonstrated by Jesus, is a declaration of the truth that everyone— no matter your race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, age, or economic status—belongs in the kingdom of God.

When we practice radical welcome, when we make genuine space for everyone at the table, we better reflect the true kingdom.

Because the truth is, our tables have never belonged to us. They have always belonged to Jesus. And our attempts at keeping people out are in direct opposition to Jesus’s call on our lives.

God’s Word is filled with examples of God letting people in. Radical welcome is a thread that weaves itself throughout scripture. The Advent season is the perfect opportunity to explore how the birth of Christ transformed our world into one that makes space for all.

So here are 4 biblical reasons why radical welcome matters to our faith:

Radical welcome is at the core of the Christian message.
Leviticus 19 emphasizes the fair treatment of foreigners, urging love and equality. Leviticus 25 extends this kindness to fellow Israelites facing poverty. Jesus lived out these principles perfectly in his life, and he taught them in His Sermon on the Mount, proclaiming blessings upon the marginalized and echoing the essence of the Israelite Law.
The message is clear: embracing those different from ourselves aligns with God's will and reflects a foundation of love, justice, and compassion.
Making space is an expression of our call to love our neighbor.
In Matthew 8, Jesus heals a man with a skin disease, an “untouchable” social outcast in ancient times. There are plenty of examples in the gospel of Jesus healing without the need for physical contact, but in this case, he heals the man through touch. It was an intentional decision that defied societal norms, demonstrating that no one is beyond God's care. This profound act exemplifies that even those labeled as "outcasts" are deserving of God's love. When it comes to following Christ and loving our neighbors, the concept of an "outcast" is incompatible with God’s love.
Opening up our tables is a reflection of God’s grace.
In Luke 19, Jesus invites Zacchaeus, a despised tax collector, to share a meal with him. Despite Zacchaeus's history of greed and betrayal, Jesus extends a radical welcome, inspiring Zacchaeus to repent and promise to give away his possessions. Like Jesus, we're called to welcome all people; and to do so is a means of grace and forgiveness here on earth, reflecting God's forgiveness displayed in the birth of Jesus.
Welcoming people regardless of their history serves as a beautiful act of reconciliation, just as God is, in Jesus, reconciling us to himself.
Radical welcome makes room for all voices to be heard.

In Luke 2, the humble shepherds are the first to hear about Jesus' birth from a heavenly host. Despite their marginalized status, God chose them to reveal Christ's arrival and share the news. Similarly, in John 4, a Samaritan woman's testimony leads many to faith. These stories of unlikely voices being entrusted with the good news underscore the importance of diverse voices within the church.

Radical welcome and inclusivity at Christ's table enrich our understanding of each other and God. Without them, we miss the complete story of God's love and grace.

“**The truth is, our tables have never belonged to us.** They have always belonged to Jesus.”

An Invitation to Audacious Love

In Advent, we wait in expectation for the coming of the Lord, who was born amongst animals, because someone met a struggling young couple and welcomed them into their home. Our practice of radical welcome does not need to be grand in its gestures. It only needs to be genuine and generous.

It starts by dismantling the barriers we’ve built around our own hearts so that we can let Jesus in. And once we do that, once we become open to the kind of humility it takes to be a representative of Jesus here on earth, He will show us how to transform our worship spaces, our communities, our workplaces, and our homes, into places where the audacious love of Jesus Christ can be felt and experienced by all who enter.

About the Author

Amber Tremblett is a full-time Anglican priest in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Besides writing, she expresses her creativity through crocheting and figure skating. She loves to read and is an avid consumer of book-related social media content. If you’d like to read more of Amber’s writing, she has been published in Clayjar Review, and she runs a personal blog, which you can find at amberiswriting.wordpress.com.

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