I Am so glad you are here



 “In a moment I suddenly realized that my final vocation is not only to return home but also to welcome people home by saying, ‘I'm so glad you are here! I’m so glad you’re here! Come now. Bring out the beautiful cloak, bring the precious ring, find the best sandals. Let’s celebrate because you’ve finally come home!’” Henri Nouwen, Home Tonight


I am not sure any writing has had more impact on my life than Nouwen’s two elongated reflections on the Prodigal Son: The Return of the Prodigal Son and Home Tonight. At a time I was struggling with dislocation and geographical confusion, not to mention vocation, the words of welcome and home spoke volumes and resonated like a Brahms violin concerto in me. 

Just imagine in all the isolation, brokenness, injury and dis-ease in the world today, saying, or even more hearing, those words: I AM so glad you are here! I AM so glad you are here! May that be our communal vocation to welcome all into the church of our hearts no matter where, no matter how, no matter the past. Let this be our prayer. 


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