In the middle a recent rainstorm, I answered my door to find two young men, neatly dressed in black and wearing name tags identifying them as members of a Christian church. I didn't notice what church; I just registered the words “Jesus Christ” on the tags.
My personal-sized lunch pizza was awaiting me in the oven and these two young guys were standing under one umbrella in a rainstorm. With a smile on my face, I quickly gave my standard spiel. Something like: “I respect your religion, but you don't want to talk to me. I'm a Unitarian Universalist. I don't believe Christ was the son of God, but a revolutionary rabbi. And I think God just might be a woman.” This latter usually sends them scurrying.
The two earnest young men were not deterred. They continued to smile, and the oldest asked if I had time to talk to them because he really would like to hear more from me. I told them I really didn't have time. "Could I come back another more convenient time?" he asked. For a moment, I wavered, but by then could smell my pizza charring at the edges. "Sorry," I said. "You two need to get out of the rain." Then, I closed the door.
It was not too many minutes later that I came to regret my decision. If I had possessed the missionary zeal of my visitors, I would have asked them in, invited them to share my charred pizza, and talked to them about what I believe and why. I would have engaged them in a dialogue about their beliefs. And, I would have just possibly dispelled some negatives beliefs of theirs about non-Christians.
And, then, I had another thought. Would I be willing to go out on a stormy day and knock on strangers' doors to talk to them about my beliefs? Yes, of course, we Unitarian-Universalists don't proselytize. But, do I have the same dedication to my beliefs as those two young men? Do I share their zeal?
I'm not sure I know the answer to those questions. But, I wish I hadn't passed up the opportunity to reach out beyond our church walls to communicate with those two rain-soaked strangers. I bet it would have been an interesting conversation.
submitted by Pat Curtis
