Sermon: Very Hospitable

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Very Hospitable

By Al Bunis

May 30, 2010

[ Audio (mp3, 5.5Mb) ]

d like to begin this morning by sharing with you some words that have meant a great deal to me…words that helped propel me on a path of deeper faith. It's a benediction. In fact, it's the benediction I've used each time I've preached.

Go now with God.
Be not tempted to stay in the safety of known places.
Be not tempted to go only in your own time.
Choose not to go alone.
Elect to go with God.

Go in the faith that
there is no valley so low,
no wilderness so vast,
no passage so crooked,
that God is not already there,
waiting to be with you.

This is actually the benediction that my former pastor in Brooklyn also used it each time I heard her preach. And the funny thing is that no-one knows who authored these words.

But what was it about these words that helped lead me to a life of deeper faith? The answer is that they invited me…invited me to a deeper relationship with God. They encouraged me to look to my faith...to rely more on my faith. They didn't tell me the right way to have faith…the right method…the right theology. They didn't warn me about what can happen if I don't have faith. They didn't tell me that if I have faith, I will achieve a great reward. These words simply invited me…in a non-judgmental way, they simply welcomed me.

This idea of invitation to faith…I think it's among the most basic of Christian ideals. Christianity, at its core is supposed to be an invitation to a life of faith with God…perhaps with Jesus extending the invitation. Christianity was meant to transcend national and ethnic allegiances…to extend hospitality to people of all backgrounds…a hospitality that transcends differences.

And I think that this is also the key message of our reading from the Gospel of John. Although this text has a mysterious aspect relating to Jesus' resurrection…I also see it as a simple invitation to relationship with God. God's house is a dwelling place with many rooms…for all types…By God's grace, those rooms are already prepared for us. This passage…just like the benediction…they both feel like God's Hospitality.

Our reading from Matthew 25 shows us a different angle on hospitality. This passage reminds us that this theme of hospitality…that it's about more than inner spirituality, belief and faith…that Christian hospitality also has real world meaning…that it is tangible…that it's also about us reaching out to help others. It reminds us that Christian hospitality is not just God's hospitality…it's also about our own hospitality.

This passage from Matthew speaks to this real world hospitality so beautifully and simply that it hardly needs explanation. “For when I was hungry, you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”

This passage is so basic to Christianity that many simply refer to it as “Matthew 25”. When you hear someone say Matthew 25, this is usually the passage they are referring to.

From a class in seminary, I have a great little book called Biblical Social Values, by Bruce Malina…and this book describes the core social values from ancient society…values like faith, trust, love, envy. One of the core values the book speaks about is hospitality.

The book says that the ancient take on hospitality was quite different from the way we think about it today. In those days, hospitality was not so much about welcoming friends and family… as it is in our society. Instead, it was about welcoming the stranger. In ancient times, there was thought to be an almost mystical quality to welcoming the stranger…one of transformation. If properly hospitable, you were thought to “transform” the stranger into a guest.

Actions like foot washing and putting oil on guests' heads were viewed as noble actions…truly welcoming…truly hospitable. The outsider was thought to have no standing in the community…and hospitality could actually make the difference between life and death in this rugged world. But hospitality was not without risk. In those times, strangers were viewed with great trepidation. There was real fear of strangers. So hospitality was seen as an act of courage as well.

And, of course, we see so much of this hospitality in Jesus' travels in the Gospels. We see foot washing…we see oil on the head…we see eating with outsiders. In fact this theme of eating with outsiders…Jesus carried it to extremes…challenging the basic holiness and cleanliness codes of his faith by eating in impure settings…and…eating with gentiles and sinners….sinners like those dreaded tax collectors.

Now when it comes to this ideal of hospitality…I think we are at an odd time here in America…especially with the immigration debate. Sometimes it feels like we have a sort of new Xenophobia in parts of the country…which is ironic for a nation that is composed of mostly immigrants.

And while today we certainly have reasons to be afraid of some strangers…terrorism is very real…it isn't clear that we have balance in the debate. In some places, fear seems to be trumping courage.

But there are other hospitality issues to consider. With our new cell phone technology we have a certain “Big Brother is watching” ability to capture pretty appalling behavior.

A couple of weeks ago The Today Show showed a series of videos of people ignoring or abandoning some pretty desperate situations. Tragically a bicyclist was left to die in the street after having been hit by a car. People just walked by. The video even showed one person coming over to take a close look at the fallen biker…and then walking away. Not exactly the ethic lifted up in the story of the Good Samaritan. Again, it feels like fear is trumping courage…in this case, probably the fear of getting involved.

Cynically, we might hope for everyone to be afraid to act so callously…for fear of being caught on video. But another hope…a more sustainable hope…is that people can take to heart lessons like the Good Samaritan…or Matthew 25…lessons that seek to instill an ethic of hospitality.

But our passage from Matthew 25 goes beyond eating with tax collectors…or helping fallen victims…it is also about reaching out to the neediest in society…those who are not only outsiders…but those who have little…or nothing.

Matthew 25 is an all-inclusive call to help the neediest…whether they are thirsty or hungry…whether they lack clothing…or are in prison…or are sick.

And I can tell you that as a seminary intern…being part of Christ Church…it has been my pleasure to witness the way Christ Church rolls up its sleeves and pitches in to help those in need…to help those lifted up by Matthew 25.

Just last night, you finished another two weeks of providing food and shelter to the homeless. As a member of the Board of World Fellowship, I have seen firsthand how involved the church is with those in need. Just think of those container shipments filled with clothing for Nicaragua…those Haiti health kits…or those Bridges runs…to name a few.

And it's not just about writing checks. You do indeed roll up your sleeves…you get on planes…and in cars and boats…and visit those places. I have learned a lot from you that I want to apply in my own ministry.

So yes…this text from Matthew 25 does speak well to this Christian ideal of hospitality…and when the passage continues it adds a most profound twist. “‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'”

Certain corners of Christianity talk a lot about belief…emphasizing inner faith…and sometimes insisting on very precise theological formulas for belief. But I don't think it always needs to be so abstract or complex. Matthew 25 breaks our faith down to the simplest of ideals. When we are hospitable to our brothers and sisters…we are hospitable to Christ.

Now there is an irony about Christian hospitality. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus and the Disciples are traveling around being hosted by others…Jesus and His disciples are rarely doing the hosting. Instead they rely on the hospitality of others for food and places to stay. They are constantly going in and out of others' houses. And Paul too…he spent his entire Christian ministry traveling from one congregation to another.

This is the model that they set for ministry. And it is the model for ministry that Christianity largely follows today. Those in ministry…and those of us training for ministry…we too rely on the hospitality and welcome of our congregations.

And from the moment I arrived here at Christ Church, I have felt truly welcomed…by Chuck and his team…and by you all. Your hospitality is most appreciated.

I'm sure most of you remember that moving confirmation service a few weeks ago…when all the confirmands passed through the baptismal. In that service, Chuck spoke to the teenagers about the value of memorization. He talked about how memorization can help bring ideas from the head to the heart. I think the same is true of repetition.

And that was certainly my experience with the benediction that I spoke of earlier. I had heard that benediction many times…that is until it finally sunk in…until it finally reached my heart.

At just the right moment...when I was ripe for a transformation…I finally noticed what this invitation was saying to me.

It was an invitation to look beyond simply my own solutions to problems…an invitation to also look to God…to know that no matter what, God will be there to help…an invitation that gave me confidence to begin to make some pretty big changes in my life.

I was ripe for a transformation of my relationship with God…a transformation from “stranger” to “welcomed guest”…welcomed guest in God's house. This invitation…God's hospitality…it didn't promise some reward or threaten some consequence. No, it simply welcomed me.

I was no longer tempted to stay in the safety of known places, or to go only in my own time. The benediction helped me feel comfortable…to know that I wasn't being judged…that I was instead being welcomed into God's house of many rooms. It helped me to realize that there is a place in God's mansion that is already prepared for me…to realize that there is no valley so low, no wilderness so vast, no passage so crooked, that God is not already there waiting to be with me.

And so what I want you to know today is that I am thankful for this hospitality…both God's hospitality and Christ Church's hospitality.

But I also want you to know something else…something else about God's hospitality and your hospitality. Whether from my perspective…or from the perspective of the many others you routinely welcome and help here at Christ Church…God's hospitality and your hospitality…they are one in the same. Amen.