YOU WELCOMED ME:

IN THE PEW,  IN THE FAMILY.

1st Sermon in the “Sent By God” Series

 

“…I was a stranger & you welcomed me.”

 Matthew 25:35c (NRSV)

 

          Think about the first time you came to worship here as a visitor.  Were you nervous about what would it be like – the people, the type of service, the pastor, the nursery?  Did it entail getting out of bed earlier, or starting a new habit?  How hard was it to get yourself here … or get the kids ready – out of bed, fed, dressed, in the car … or get that teen to go anywhere?  Let’s recognize & honor the fact that it takes effort to be here each week, especially the first time.

 

          So, when you arrived, who welcomed you here?  During that first visit, whom did you meet that was friendly & made you feel at home?  Was it one person or many?  Was that pleasant encounter in the pew, in the lobby, or in the parking lot (& before or afterwards)?  Did you receive that kind of hospitality the first time, the first few times, or not at all?  What acts made you feel welcomed? 

 

What was it like?  Was it like this family reunion?

 

          [Watch video clip of two family reunions.]

 

          I like that video clip.  Churches are a lot like extended families.  We have married couples & their kids.  We have grandparents, single sisters, divorced brothers, widowed cousins.  There’s the overweight favorite uncle who snores at his afternoon nap, the crazy great aunt with her wild hairdo, the athletic nephew in his wheelchair, & the sickly niece who’s a bookworm. 

 

One well-heeled family in the clan annually foots the bill for renting the picnic grove at the reunion.  Other kin, the “poor relation,” can barely afford to bring chips to the gathering.  They just don’t ever seem to get a break, do they?

 

Someone talks politics.  Someone quotes the Bible.  Someone just came out of the closet.  Someone always seems to get in an argument.  And someone else always tries to keep the peace.

 

Some extended families consider themselves friendly, & they are … with each other.  Truth be told:  they’re rather clannish & keep to themselves, like the second episode in the video.  It takes them a while to warm up to someone new. 

Other families, even in the midst of the reunion’s volleyball game, see a passer’s-by car stop along the side of the road with a flat tire, run over to bring the auto’s occupants into the pavilion for food & birch beer, while others help put on the spare.   They’re both fine family reunions, but newcomers find the second extended family a lot more welcoming.

 

Christ Church being an extended family, which reunion is more like the way we are?  Which folks are the clear majority & which are few & far between: is it the welcoming, hospitable people or the ones who love their family, but are standoffish?  Which is more like us?

 

Hospitality in the ancient near east was, literally, a matter of life & death.  In an age before state troopers patrolled roads, when most travelling was done on foot in deserted, desert climes where water was at a premium, & wayside inns almost non-existent, welcoming a sojourner was both necessary & the norm. 

 

Our lesson from Genesis 18 reveals the best of ancient Palestine’s hospitality.  Abraham & Sarah pull out all the stops to welcome their three unknown, unexpected guests.  (They’re greeted with a bow.  Abe insists they stay.  He seats them, washes their feet, & gets them a snack, all before the big feast prepared from the best the couple has.)  The visitors turn out to be angels.

 

In the very next chapter, the horrid way which the people of Sodom treat two of those same visitors contributes to God’s annihilation of the town.  Sexual immorality is only part of the story.  Willful defiance of the social custom of welcoming the stranger by displaying a woeful lack of hospitality, even physical abuse, plays a major role in Sodom’s permanent destruction.  The society’s most basic, & essential custom, is disregarded.  Things were that out of control.

 

One’s good reputation depended on welcoming the stranger, even in our day in church.  That’s not only a more` from the Jewish Old Testament scriptures.  It’s a Christian standard, too.  In one of his most famous teachings about who gets to heaven, Jesus makes clear that welcoming the stranger is key.  Many of us can recite by heart his lines about feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, caring for the sick, clothing the naked, & visiting the imprisoned.  These acts of mercy address physical, emotional, & spiritual needs. 

 

John Wesley carefully advises that we not forget the item in the middle of the list, namely welcoming the stranger.  Works of mercy not only involve assisting others, but drawing them into relationship with us.[1]  You might not consider hospitality to be an act of mercy, but considering what it took for some of us to get here the first time, it really is!  No kidding.

 

Just as the Sodom & Gomorrah passage right after Genesis 18 sheds light on our Old Testament lesson about hospitality, so the passage directly before our gospel lesson has bearing on that situation.[2]  The infamous parable of the talents comes first in Matthew 25.  That parable from Jesus teaches us to boldly use what we’ve been given & not bury our gifts that were meant to be used.

 

Applied to the context of hospitality, we can interpret this passage to say that welcoming is not only the job of certain gregarious individuals in a congregation.  Yes, some persons may be particularly outgoing & put their gift to good use.  Everyone, though, has the responsibility of extending the right hand of Christian fellowship, offering others the peace of Christ, making the stranger feel welcomed & valued here.  Whatever God gave each of us, God will use, but we each have to make it available (for use).

 

Hospitality in Bible times was a matter of life & death.  I believe that our hospitality to visitors today can be a matter of spiritual life or death.  How our souls interact with others’ souls to open a relationship with one another, while initiating a relationship with Christ, can be a life-transforming occasion.  The brief encounter that begins with you, may become an encounter with Christ that holds eternal possibilities.  We’re not content to just boost our numbers & have persons in the pew.  We want them in the family -- the family of Christ.

 

In the Name….                         Copyright 2010 by G.D.Knerr at Lansdale, Pa.  All rights reserved.


 

 


[1] The Wesley Study Bible, “Wesleyan Core Term: Works of Mercy,” p. 814, Abingdon Press, 2009.

[2] It’s always advisable to read the passages immediately before & after the verses one is studying in order to establish & learn the context.