Embrace his love
One of the problems that each of us are faced with on a daily basis is recognising people who are good and who are bad, and the large majority who are not all good but certainly not all bad ! But we are challenged to live as people who recognise the good in others – we are to be people who are able to see people who are, in spite of their faults and failings, originally created in the image of God himself.
Many of you will know the words of Mother Teresa. She was asked how she could tend the sickest and poorest people in the slums of Calcutta. Mother Teresa said that as she looked at each person for whom she was caring she tried to imagine that she was tending the Lord Jesus’ wounded body – His nail-scarred hands, feet, and side. And so it was that in each act of caring, she was welcoming Jesus, treating that person as if they were the Lord himself !
That sort of compassion and care is rare and yet it is one to which we are all called to aspire. And so we are called to look out for saints all around us, and of course, to be saints ourselves. There’s a story about a man who made his living selling plaster statues of Saints – one day someone bumped into him knocking a figure of St Anthony out of his hand, and breaking his arm off.
The salesman was very unhappy and said that he could never sell that statue now. The person who had bumped into him replied, ‘Of course you can, stick a patch on one of his eyes, and sell him as Lord Nelson !’
Recognising the true saints is a challenge !
Today’s gospel (Matt.10:40-42) recounts Jesus’ words saying that whoever welcomed people as Jesus or as a follower of Jesus will be rewarded as such. He says that even giving a cup of cold water can be an act of great hospitality…
And so we are told to look out for those who welcome us – and this has some relevance as we seek to share the gospel message – we need to look at those who are ready to listen, and they may very well not be the obvious candidates…
But as well as looking for the blessings that others offer, the gospel teaches us first of all to look at how we behave to others – indeed it is not our position to judge, but as a follower of Christ, we put ourselves up to be judged as one of his disciples – as Christians we are ambassadors, and everything we do represents Christ himself…
And so we are to be people of hospitality, people of compassion, people of welcome… And we do it not just because we are told we should, but we do it as a response to the love and compassion and grace of God…
In the letter of Paul to the Romans (6:12-23) we heard about sin – it’s never the most fun topic ! Testing a Sunday School one day the teacher asked “what are the sins of omission ?” to which one child replied, “They are the sins we should have done but didn’t !”
There’s another story about a preacher who preached about sin, saying that there were 700 sins – soon after he received 46 requests for a full copy of them !
But back to Paul and his letter to the Romans ! In that letter he talks about sin, and he says that sin will have no power over us, not because a law says so, but because of the grace of God. In other words we are not free from sin because we have obeyed every rule or law completely, but because God has freed us from those things we do wrong by his grace… by his mercy…
And that leads us to look at our motives for our behaviour. We try not to do things wrong, not just because there’s a law that says we shouldn’t, not even just because it seems the right thing to do, but because of our response to what God has done for us.
God, we are told, will forgive our sins over and over again, but that is not an invitation to keep doing wrong however tempting it may be at times… Instead it is a promise of love and a promise that God is never going to walk away from us. In spite of our rebellion and wrongdoing, and in spite of the rebellion and wrongdoing of people for centuries before us, God is not ready to give up on us !
And that love is a love that demands a response… And that response, as well as to be people of praise and thanksgiving, must be to try and be people who live as God wants us to live, to welcome as he welcomes, to love as he loves…
Some of you will know the story of when I was newly ordained – wanting to be a good curate I had gone out to visit a lady in a nursing home – this lady was seated around a small 4 sided people, and there was a person on each side, so I crouched down between her and a man who seemed fast asleep with his head down on the table.
I talked for quite a while – perhaps too long although the lady I was visiting was very polite to me… But after some time the man who was sleeping slowly lifted his head and picked up a glass of water – to my surprise instead of drinking it, he poured it over me !
It was my clue that I had outstayed my welcome – and it gave a very different meaning to giving a person a glass of water from the one we have heard about in the gospel this morning.
But that glass of water (the gospel one rather than the nursing home one !) is a reminder that in simple ways we can help people to see Christ – in small things and big things we are ambassadors for him…
We must be people of action, people ready to stand up for good against bad, for justice against injustice, for the needs of all people, and we must be people ready to introduce others to the person whose love and grace has done so much for us… Our good works, our welcome and our compassion and love must never be dependant on a person’s willingness to accept Jesus, but we are neglecting him if people can’t see his work through us…
A group of Churches decided to get together to deal with a massive drug problem in their area. As they met their vision inspired others – and they decided to invite some of those with problems to come and talk to them about their problems and perhaps how they could be helped. Most were young people, and as they spoke, a man who was listening stood up and said that he was involved in a University and said that he would like to offer a place to those who wanted to come and try and make something more of their lives. After this, another man stood up and said that he owned a carpentry business and would take on some apprentices from the group…
Then a woman stood up and said that she didn’t have a University, and not even any jobs to offer to these people, but what she could offer was a cup of coffee and a chat… In different ways all of these people had offered what they could – all had made a difference…
Every one of us can make a difference to someone every day of our lives in tiny ways or in massive ways, and as ambassadors for Christ – representing Him – may we be people who show his love… and as we reflect on our own lives may we be people who recognise his love for us – Each day we are blessed by God, the God who will never leave us or abandon us, the God who strengthens us and who welcomes us into his family…
Embrace his love, embrace his welcome – and share that love and share that welcome. AMEN
Many of you will know the words of Mother Teresa. She was asked how she could tend the sickest and poorest people in the slums of Calcutta. Mother Teresa said that as she looked at each person for whom she was caring she tried to imagine that she was tending the Lord Jesus’ wounded body – His nail-scarred hands, feet, and side. And so it was that in each act of caring, she was welcoming Jesus, treating that person as if they were the Lord himself !
That sort of compassion and care is rare and yet it is one to which we are all called to aspire. And so we are called to look out for saints all around us, and of course, to be saints ourselves. There’s a story about a man who made his living selling plaster statues of Saints – one day someone bumped into him knocking a figure of St Anthony out of his hand, and breaking his arm off.
The salesman was very unhappy and said that he could never sell that statue now. The person who had bumped into him replied, ‘Of course you can, stick a patch on one of his eyes, and sell him as Lord Nelson !’
Recognising the true saints is a challenge !
Today’s gospel (Matt.10:40-42) recounts Jesus’ words saying that whoever welcomed people as Jesus or as a follower of Jesus will be rewarded as such. He says that even giving a cup of cold water can be an act of great hospitality…
And so we are told to look out for those who welcome us – and this has some relevance as we seek to share the gospel message – we need to look at those who are ready to listen, and they may very well not be the obvious candidates…
But as well as looking for the blessings that others offer, the gospel teaches us first of all to look at how we behave to others – indeed it is not our position to judge, but as a follower of Christ, we put ourselves up to be judged as one of his disciples – as Christians we are ambassadors, and everything we do represents Christ himself…
And so we are to be people of hospitality, people of compassion, people of welcome… And we do it not just because we are told we should, but we do it as a response to the love and compassion and grace of God…
In the letter of Paul to the Romans (6:12-23) we heard about sin – it’s never the most fun topic ! Testing a Sunday School one day the teacher asked “what are the sins of omission ?” to which one child replied, “They are the sins we should have done but didn’t !”
There’s another story about a preacher who preached about sin, saying that there were 700 sins – soon after he received 46 requests for a full copy of them !
But back to Paul and his letter to the Romans ! In that letter he talks about sin, and he says that sin will have no power over us, not because a law says so, but because of the grace of God. In other words we are not free from sin because we have obeyed every rule or law completely, but because God has freed us from those things we do wrong by his grace… by his mercy…
And that leads us to look at our motives for our behaviour. We try not to do things wrong, not just because there’s a law that says we shouldn’t, not even just because it seems the right thing to do, but because of our response to what God has done for us.
God, we are told, will forgive our sins over and over again, but that is not an invitation to keep doing wrong however tempting it may be at times… Instead it is a promise of love and a promise that God is never going to walk away from us. In spite of our rebellion and wrongdoing, and in spite of the rebellion and wrongdoing of people for centuries before us, God is not ready to give up on us !
And that love is a love that demands a response… And that response, as well as to be people of praise and thanksgiving, must be to try and be people who live as God wants us to live, to welcome as he welcomes, to love as he loves…
Some of you will know the story of when I was newly ordained – wanting to be a good curate I had gone out to visit a lady in a nursing home – this lady was seated around a small 4 sided people, and there was a person on each side, so I crouched down between her and a man who seemed fast asleep with his head down on the table.
I talked for quite a while – perhaps too long although the lady I was visiting was very polite to me… But after some time the man who was sleeping slowly lifted his head and picked up a glass of water – to my surprise instead of drinking it, he poured it over me !
It was my clue that I had outstayed my welcome – and it gave a very different meaning to giving a person a glass of water from the one we have heard about in the gospel this morning.
But that glass of water (the gospel one rather than the nursing home one !) is a reminder that in simple ways we can help people to see Christ – in small things and big things we are ambassadors for him…
We must be people of action, people ready to stand up for good against bad, for justice against injustice, for the needs of all people, and we must be people ready to introduce others to the person whose love and grace has done so much for us… Our good works, our welcome and our compassion and love must never be dependant on a person’s willingness to accept Jesus, but we are neglecting him if people can’t see his work through us…
A group of Churches decided to get together to deal with a massive drug problem in their area. As they met their vision inspired others – and they decided to invite some of those with problems to come and talk to them about their problems and perhaps how they could be helped. Most were young people, and as they spoke, a man who was listening stood up and said that he was involved in a University and said that he would like to offer a place to those who wanted to come and try and make something more of their lives. After this, another man stood up and said that he owned a carpentry business and would take on some apprentices from the group…
Then a woman stood up and said that she didn’t have a University, and not even any jobs to offer to these people, but what she could offer was a cup of coffee and a chat… In different ways all of these people had offered what they could – all had made a difference…
Every one of us can make a difference to someone every day of our lives in tiny ways or in massive ways, and as ambassadors for Christ – representing Him – may we be people who show his love… and as we reflect on our own lives may we be people who recognise his love for us – Each day we are blessed by God, the God who will never leave us or abandon us, the God who strengthens us and who welcomes us into his family…
Embrace his love, embrace his welcome – and share that love and share that welcome. AMEN
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