Approachability and the new term

Written by Esther Townsend, Student and Youth Intern

5… 4… 3… 2… 1… *blows party popper* HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

September always feels more like a new year than January ever does, and I don’t think that back-to-school feeling will ever properly go away, even if I don’t get a new pencil case.

It’s that time of year again when students start new modules, get free pizza from freshers fairs and flock back to this city we call home. Even for non-students, September is a time when workplaces re-group after the summer, when activity groups start up again and the kids go back to school.

It’s a time when we meet many new people – as a church and in wider life – and its probably a good idea to remember what it feels like to be a newbie, as well as considering how we can make people feel seen, known and celebrated, in whatever context we’re in.

I used to think that welcoming was simply about ‘doing’ lots of things. Like offering a cup of tea or showing someone where the loo is. However, while these things are important, I’m learning that in order to make people feel invited and wanted, I must simply seek to become more approachable. This certainly doesn’t mean pretending to be an extrovert and channelling kids TV presenter energy - I just mean consciously being open to the people around us as.

Approachability seems to be a pretty apparent characteristic of Jesus’ ministry. Throughout the gospel accounts Jesus is constantly approached by people from all walks of life.

Therefore, as we dive into this new term, it may be useful to take a second to consider how we (myself absolutely included) can become more approachable and by extension a little bit more like Jesus. These are a couple of things I’ve been considering…

Being approachable means sacrificing our status

In Matthew 19 Jesus’ disciples “rebuke” Jesus for allowing children to approach him as it was seen as socially embarrassing and dishonouring for him to be seen interacting with little children. Jesus chooses to break from custom, sacrificing his status and welcomes the children saying, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these”.

When we decide to be approachable, we don’t get to pick who approaches us, and this forces us to swallow our pride and meet with people that society tells us will ruin our social status… which is sometimes a tricky thing to do.

Being approachable means being interruptible

Matthew 9, Mark 5 and Luke 8 all tell the story of Jesus going to heal Jairus’ daughter and being interrupted by an outcasted woman who had been bleeding for 12 years and was cruelly branded as dirty and unclean. In these accounts, the woman approaches Jesus in a crowd and touches his cloak believing she shall be healed. Jesus then stops in his tracks, pauses his plans, and says to the woman “Daughter, your faith has healed you… go in peace”.

When we choose to be approachable, we allow for our days to be changed. Our plans become more flexible as we respond to those around us, being prompted by the Holy Spirit along the way.

I pray that we are all able to mirror Jesus’s approachability and reflect his love in this coming term.