We begin, therefore, by reciting a single verse, Romans 15:7.
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. This is the word of God. Amen.
Hospitality is kind of a big deal around here. We begin every worship service with a call and response. I stand up in front of the congregation and say “Welcome Home!” And the congregation responds “It’s good to be home!” But here’s the thing. It’s not “OUR” house. It’s GOD’s house. God welcomes each one of us as strangers and sinners, guests and travelers. We are welcome because of who God is, revealed in Christ Jesus. And because each of us has been welcomed by God’s grace, we seek to extend that same welcome to one another. Welcome home. It’s GOOD to be home.
We begin, therefore, by reciting a single verse, Romans 15:7.
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. This is the word of God. Amen.
Hospitality is kind of a big deal around here. We begin every worship service with a call and response. I stand up in front of the congregation and say “Welcome Home!” And the congregation responds “It’s good to be home!” But here’s the thing. It’s not “OUR” house. It’s GOD’s house. God welcomes each one of us as strangers and sinners, guests and travelers. We are welcome because of who God is, revealed in Christ Jesus. And because each of us has been welcomed by God’s grace, we seek to extend that same welcome to one another. Welcome home. It’s GOOD to be home.
Welcome One Another (Romans 15)
Hello, welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. This podcast is being recorded for Sunday, May 28, 2023.
Today’s sermon title is “Welcoming One Another,” and we are looking at the biblical practice of hospitality. This is more than “being friendly.” This has to do with God’s essential self-giving nature. It has to do with how God has welcomed us as strangers, how God comes to us and meets us through strangers, as a stranger. Therefore it has to do with our faithfulness to God who welcomes us, and commands us to welcome others. We begin, therefore, by reciting a single verse, Romans 15:7.
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. This is the word of God. Amen.
Hospitality is kind of a big deal around here. We begin every worship service with a call and response. I stand up in front of the congregation and say “Welcome Home!” And the congregation responds “It’s good to be home!” But here’s the thing. It’s not “OUR” house. It’s GOD’s house. God welcomes each one of us as strangers and sinners, guests and travelers. We are welcome because of who God is, revealed in Christ Jesus. And because each of us has been welcomed by God’s grace, we seek to extend that same welcome to one another. Welcome home. It’s GOOD to be home.
Hospitality is a big deal around here, because it’s kind of a big deal in the Bible. In Genesis 18, Abraham and Sarah show hospitality to three strangers—who turn out to be divine visitors. The story of Exodus is the story of God liberating a group of enslaved immigrants in Egypt, welcoming them into a land flowing with milk and honey. Their leader, Moses, teaches them that this God shows mercy to the “least of these”—the widow, the orphan, and the immigrant, and that the people of God ought to show the same kind of mercy to others. This is what Moses says:
To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it… [God] defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. 19 And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt… (Deuteronomy 10).
There is a story about a woman who practices witchcraft who risks her life to show kindness and hospitality to the King of Israel (1 Samuel 28). The prophet Elijah is welcomed in by a poor widow and her son. It turns out that he needed them—and that they needed him. When King Solomon built and dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem, the scriptures are quick to point out that this is not “Israel’s Temple.” This is God’s house, where all are welcome, including—especially—insiders and outsiders, foreigners, strangers. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Hospitality is central to Jesus’ teaching and ministry. Jesus IS the stranger. He is the word who became flesh and made his dwelling among us, who meets the woman at the well and the disciples on the road to Emmaus. He and the disciples rely on the hospitality of strangers as they travel from town to town. Whoever welcomes me, Jesus teaches, welcomes the One who sent him (Matthew 10).
He, in turn, acts as host. He feeds the 5000 and welcomes the little children. “Come to me, all you who labor,” Jesus says, “and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11). One of the many criticisms leveled against Jesus by his opponents is that he “welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
And the most radical teaching of all: Jesus tells a parable in Matthew 25 in which the king commends one group for their faithfulness. “I was hungry and you fed me…I was a stranger and you welcomed me. The group is confused. “When did we see you hungry, or think you were a stranger?” And the king—Jesus—tells them that whenever they welcomed “the least of these”—the stranger and immigrant, the orphan and widow—they were welcoming him, and therefore welcoming the Father who sent him.
And to underscore how important this is, the parable condemns the other group for NOT feeding Christ when he was hungry, for NOT welcoming Christ when they thought he was a stranger. Horrified, this group argues that they don’t recall ever NOT welcoming Christ into their hearts! But the king tells them that whenever they neglected to show compassion to the poor, whenever they failed to welcome the least of these—the stranger, the immigrant, the widow, the orphan—they were turning away Jesus, and by extension, rejecting the One who sent him.
If we take the Bible seriously here—and we should—this means that we ought to be real careful if we decide that someone or some group is not welcome, or not worthy of compassion or kindness. Amen?
Given the prominence of hospitality in both the Old Testament and the life and teaching of Jesus, it is not surprise that the Holy Spirit commands the practice of hospitality to the early church. “Welcome one another,” the Bible says, “just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7). The Greek here is proslambano, which means to accept, receive, take on, and grant one access to one’s heart. Those whose faith is strong are to welcome those whose faith is weak (Romans 14:1, 3).
In the book of Acts, the Day of Pentecost is highlighted by the gift of the Holy Spirit being given to strangers and travellers, men and women, young and old. Later, the Spirit reminds Peter, through his encounters with Dorcas and Cornelius, that God’s welcome is not limited by gender or nationality. Paul’s missionary work relies on the hospitality of others, the likes of Priscilla and Aquila. The early church learned the lesson of Abraham and Sarah. “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers,” it says in the letter to the Hebrews, “for by doing so some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2).
For Bible believing followers of Jesus, matters of hospitality, welcoming one another in Jesus’ name, is kind of a big deal. If by our actions or inactions we are failing to show hospitality, we ought to pay attention. Repent, even.
Because, as we’ve been learning from the book of Romans, we’re all in the same boat. We are all saved by grace, through faith, apart from our efforts or good works. We are all “the least of these”—strangers and immigrants, widows and orphans. “While we were sinners, enemies of God, Christ died for us.”
God in Christ meets us where we are, reconciling all of creation to God. In God’s house, all are strangers, and all are welcome. Our salvation is not based on our efforts, but based on God’s kindness. As we practice receiving God’s grace, as we practice extending God’s grace, as we learn to see Christ in our neighbor, the Spirit transforms our hearts and conforms our lives to that of Christ Jesus. Welcome one another, as Christ welcomes you, for the glory of God.
I’ve been thinking about some examples of hospitality recently, and how they apply to today’s theme. Here are four.
I think about the Mariner’s game I went to last weekend. Two things struck me as helpful. First, I felt “welcome” there, even though I didn’t know anybody. We were a gathering of 40,000 strangers! But that was okay. There were signs, bathrooms, places to sit, buy food, drink overpriced beer. There were ushers. Sunday worship is like that, I think. We don’t have to be close friends with everybody to enjoy the game.
The other thing I noticed at the game was how much public ritual plays a part. The 7th Inning Stretch—when everyone stands up and sings “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”—a ritual that creates community and shared experience. We do ritual in worship, too. We stand and sing familiar hymns. We confess the creed. We share the bread and the wine. We bring our tithes and offerings. Every week we confess our sins together. We do this every week, even when we aren’t “feeling it,” so that the words and the opportunity are there when we need it. Public welcome expects a gathering of strangers and shared ritual. In worship, at the old ball game.
Second, hospitality has to do with giving good gifts. Our son, Ben, has recently taken up bread baking. He invited us and his grandparents over for breakfast last week, bursting with a grin as he presented the pan of fresh, homemade cinnamon rolls. I think part of the practice of hospitality is learning to share—and receive—the good gifts of God. God is fundamentally self-giving—God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. Giving and receiving good gifts to strangers, as strangers—this conforms our hearts and lives to that of God, revealed in Christ Jesus.
Third, I’ve also been super excited about how God is using our church campus these days, and how God is welcoming new groups and agencies to gather here to do good, to put on musicals, to serve “the least of these”—strangers and immigrants, orphans and widows. All of us are guests in God’s house, and it is a big, big house, with lots and lots of rooms. Last week alone, CIELO distributed hundreds of boxes of food; Connection Street Theatre presented “The Pirates of Penzance;” Kid’s Cove Preschool wrapped up its fourth year here at Faith; The National Alliance for Mental Illness staged an Open House to introduce its new resource office located here, in God’s house! Faith Lutheran and Agua Viva congregations conducted services of worship. The Sandwich club made 200 sandwiches—like they do every week—for Community Lifeline. This week we are setting up for a Memorial service and Congregational Ministry Fair. And, in God’s house, there is always room for more. God welcomes all, the song goes, strangers and friends. God’s love is strong, and it never ends.
And finally, as I work almost every week with people at end of life, I think about death and dying, our experience of grief and loss, and the fact of our mortality. One reason to practice giving and receiving hospitality is to prepare us for one last welcome. Because the promise of the gospel is that Christ has defeated death, that death does not have the final say.
Not really sure exactly how it all plays out—nobody knows—but I can imagine that one day, after you or I have breathed my last breath here on earth, I’m going to hear a voice. I’m going to open my eyes, and I’m going to see my Lord Jesus. And with joy in his eyes, a smile on his face, and a plate of warm cinnamon rolls in his hand, I’m going to hear Jesus say: Welcome home. And I pray that the first words out of my mouth might be the very words you and I have been practicing every Sunday for years: It’s GOOD to be home.
Thanks for listening today. I hope God is using this podcast series to bring you faith, hope, and love. That’s what it’s all about. To learn more about the gospel or about getting connected to Faith, go to our website, www.faithshelton.org. Please “like” us, subscribe, donate, or sign-up for our newsletter. You can subscribe to this podcast on most podcast platforms, including Spotify, Apple, and Google. Chas, thanks for your production work on this podcast every week. All glory…