Roger Lynn
June 25, 2017
(click here for the audio for this sermon)
Last Sunday we spent some time reflecting on the importance of inviting others to “come and see” what it is that God is doing in your life and in our congregation that gives you so much excitement you simply can’t keep it to yourself. Today I want to spend some time reflecting on the next step. Beyond extending a “come and see” invitation, what are we called to do, how are we called to live, in order to help create an atmosphere that enhances the possibility of someone actually responding to the invitation?
Over and over again Jesus shared with the disciples a vision of a radically different way of doing life. And over and over again the disciples failed to grasp what he was telling them. Down through the years we’ve been pretty hard on the disciples. Why couldn’t they see what Jesus was trying to tell them? Why were they always missing the point? But the truth of the matter is, we in the Church have had 2,000 years to take seriously what Jesus was trying to teach, and yet frequently we still miss the point. Even the reasons why have remained the same – it’s hard. The way of life which Jesus is promoting, and modeling, and teaching, is difficult. It’s not particularly difficult to understand. The basic idea is really pretty simple. But it is difficult to accept, and it is even more difficult to live out, because it stands in such stark contrast with so much of what our culture teaches us, and even our own common sense seems to tell us, about how to live life.
“Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35) And then, to illustrate his point, he picks up a child and sets her in the middle of the circle, wraps his arms around her and says, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:37) Unfortunately, we mostly miss the point here, because our way of looking at the world is so different from the way most people in Jesus’ day looked at the world. For us, children are wonderful, sweet and joyful. We love having them around. They easily become the center of our attention. Of course we would welcome the child in Jesus’ arms. But children in Jesus’ day did not enjoy the status they do today. Of course they were loved, but culturally they occupied the low rung on the social ladder. They were to be seen and not heard. The child Jesus wrapped in his arms may have been dirty and smelly and hadn’t wiped her nose in a while. “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me...” Over and over again we see Jesus reaching out to the last, the lost, and the least to share God’s love in tangible and concrete ways. He touches them. He talks to them. He demonstrates in words and actions and attitude that they are genuinely respected and loved, welcomed and accepted. Not just when it’s convenient. Not just when it is someone nice and sweet and respectable. Not just when they come to us. But when it is hard. When it is someone who makes us uncomfortable. When we have to go out and find them. When it costs us something.
When I was at the church in Moscow I participated in a Bible Study group with a number of other clergy in the area, many of whom happened to be Lutheran. One day the Lutherans were all making plans for a retreat they would be attending that week-end. Several of us “non-Lutherans” in the group commented that it sounded like a great event, and next time they should invite us. Someone laughed and said, “You’re always invited. We just don’t tell you about it.” Unfortunately, that is sometimes a fair description of how we practice hospitality in the Church. Of course everyone is always welcome. But we don’t go out of our way to communicate that message. And it is a message which desperately needs to be communicated. There are so many people around us who in one way or another fit into the category of last, lost, and least. They are ignored by society, and often they are ignored by the church. Or worse, they are actively reviled and rejected. As we engage in radical hospitality we seek to participate in healing some of that damage.
Please do not hear this as a harsh and critical indictment. I am powerfully aware that this congregation “gets it” as fully and richly as any group of people I have ever had the privilege of being associated with. Most people who come here, regardless of who they are, experience us as warm and loving and welcoming. Our “Open and Affirming” statement makes this abundantly clear, and our actions are generally in harmony with that statement. The problem is that there is always more to do. There are always people who need to be touched. There are always people who need to be loved. There are always people who need to experience genuine acceptance. And there are always our own boundaries and limitations that need to be pushed back and dismantled.
Radical hospitality means always being intentional about paying attention to what we do and how we do it. Even when it is someone we already accept, is our language inclusive so they will know they are accepted? Do our actions help to create a welcoming environment where they can feel safe and valued? Do we go up to the visitor and personally greet them? As an example, one of the reasons the bulletin includes as many details and instructions as it does is to help visitors feel a little bit less like “outsiders” who haven’t yet been given the secret password.
And then, beyond paying attention to how we are with the “easy” folks we already like, radical hospitality also means paying attention to where the “edge” is for us. Who are the last, the lost, and the least in our world today? ...in our own lives today? Is it the single mother on welfare? Is it the mentally ill transient who doesn’t fit in and always needs more help than we want to give? Is it the immigrant laborer with limited English skills who is viewed with suspicion by his neighbors? Is it the person at the other end of the political spectrum from our own position? And how do we begin to practice “radical hospitality” with these people? How do we begin to live out the words of James, “Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.” (James 3:13) What would it mean if we didn’t wait for the last, the lost, and the least to come to us? What would it look like if we truly practiced radical hospitality with the people who have been rejected and cast aside? How would their lives be transformed? How would our lives be transformed? How would the world be transformed? We are already well on our way down that path. May we continue engaging each other in conversation and discernment. May we continue to practice kindness and civility and respect. May we continue to explore what’s even further down the road. “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the One who sent me.”
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