Greetings, of course, take time. This means our greeting list might be short, because we have a finite amount of time when the church is gathered—or when a friend is walking by on the street. We cannot greet everyone. So here is how we prioritize: The visitor (what Scripture calls the “foreigner” or “alien”) comes first. The visitor who returns comes next. The less popular, the introverts, the marginalized, or those sitting alone come next. Then come the children. Jesus singles them out as examples of the marginalized. “Hi, _______” is offered to as many people as possible, which doesn’t have
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remember this.
