Earlier this week, I was leafing through one of our local newspapers and came across the "religion" section in which there was 1/4 page public service ad showing a pair of shoes lying beside a closed door. Below the photograph was this piece of writing:
"In some homes, it is a tradition to leave your shoes at the door so the traces of the outdoors don't get tracked throughout the house. Floors stay cleaner as slippered or bare feet tread silently about. This week, as you approach your house of worship, enter God's house with happiness, don't bring the outside in. Leave your cares behind...deposit them at the door."
I can see how this piece could seem to offer a bit of wisdom, and, as a mother, I certainly appreciate the idea of a clean floor, but after reading this, my immediate reaction was, "Wait. Leave your cares behind? That's not right."
I mean, when we go through our week, that span of time between Sunday mornings, our shoes take us through all kinds of terrain. Some of it is rocky. Some of it is slippery. Some of it, yes, is even muddy. Sometimes we might even find ourselves wishing we were in someone else's shoes.
But to arrive at church and leave those shoes at the door? Even with my motherly desire for clean carpet, I have to disagree.
When we enter into our house of worship, we find family, family who has also walked for a week through the rocks, slime and mud, and when we gather together, we shouldn't leave all of that at the door, pretending we have no cares or concerns. Instead, we should bring it all in, all of the cares of the outside world, all of the dirt and grime and muddiness we've gathered, and let our church family help us bring it to the foot of the cross, let them help us knock that mud free of our shoes and come away clean, ready to step back into the world and face another week.
