When the apostle Paul was ready to proclaim the good news to the residents of Philippi, he and his companions “went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women gathered there.” Outside the gate, not in the synagogues where Paul so often found hostility to his message, was where he went to find folks ready to hear the word of God, seekers hungry for the good news of God’s love.

That reminds me of a story I heard recently of a church that had a banner by the front door. It read “Welcome to the Episcopal Church.” On the back side of the banner, the side facing you as you left the church after the service, it said something like: “Welcome to the World,” the mission field that awaits us outside the gate. That’s an important reminder that, while what we do inside the church is necessary for our spiritual feeding, our equipping for ministry, it is outside the gate that we are called to serve God, to be God’s hands and feet and voice wherever we go, whatever we do.

As Paul discovered, it is often those outside the gate, the marginalized, the excluded, who are hungry, who long for the love that comes from the heart of God, even if they don’t have the words to acknowledge that desire. They are waiting for you and me to meet them with compassion and care outside the gate, being an expression of God’s love to them in the various community ministries in which we participate, e.g., Franklin’s Promise, Habitat for Humanity, Riverkeepers, the Senior Citizens’ Center, the Community Garden, the Literacy Program, the Apalachicola and Franklin County libraries, the annual walk for the American Cancer Society, St. Vincent’s Island, the turtle watch, and of course, Penny’s Worth, as well as all the others where we are called to serve.

Underlying our inspiration for service in the world is God’s desire to hear a welcoming invitation from those who experience Divine Love through us. The receptive “Come and stay at my house,” that Paul heard from Lydia who was outside the gate, is the opening God awaits from each and all.

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