welcome strangers as if....
Both of our New Testament readings today (Hebrews 13:1-8/ Luke 14:1,7-14) are about caring for people – about showing hospitality. In the letter to the Hebrews we have what I think is a wonderful verse, ‘Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.’ And in the gospel reading we heard Jesus telling a story about inviting people to a great banquet, but making sure to invite not friends or relatives or rich neighbours, but instead invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.
Now this wasn’t suggesting anything against having dinner with those people, but it was a reminder about motives for doing things and about looking out for those who sometimes can’t care for themselves…
And this takes us to the very heart of the gospel – a gospel which turns upside down worldly values of wealth and power and fame and success, and honours those who are prepared to admit that they have little to offer other than themselves… and what Jesus was trying to tell his listeners was that we are all in that position in the sight of God…
I told a story not long ago but about the sinking of the Titanic. One of the passengers apparently left £300,000 worth of jewellery and money, but instead picked up 3 oranges as he left the ship – he recognised that the jewellery and the money would not serve any purpose when he was cast adrift in the ocean for however long, but the oranges would be of great value…
Our values and the way we welcome and accept others are a great indicator of how we see ourselves before God… Somebody once said that those who look up to God rarely look down on others, and so that is our challenge !
As Christians we walk a very fine line between conforming to the world – in other words not wanting to look so different that people just think we’re strange, and being free from the standards of the world, in other words doing the work of Jesus as we care for those in need, as we look to honour those who are rejected by the rest of society, and as we devote ourselves to loving people – whoever they are and whatever they’ve done.
Back to the letter to the Hebrews- and that verse about entertaining strangers, for in doing that some have entertained angels without even knowing it – the passage refers back to the Old Testament, to the scene when Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent, probably thinking of taking an afternoon sleep when suddenly he saw three men apparently waiting for help.
Plenty of travellers had come to his door before, seeking help and hospitality which he had given freely. But though the heat was great, though he may have been disappointed again and again by people he had helped, he felt it better to be disappointed a hundred times than to miss the chance of showing hospitality and welcome. Therefore he sprang to his feet, called to Sarah for help, and the two of them quickly ministered to the three unknown men. How thankful he must have been that he had not refused to entertain them, for two of them were angels, and the third was the Son of God!
That story, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews is reminding us, is a lesson that whilst we entertain anyone, we are to act as if we are entertaining God himself… And that is a view that is totally at odds with what society expects of us today - looking after ourselves and our friends and family takes priority, and then perhaps looking after those in need in our community, in our country, and perhaps only then looking further afield… And in our choices of people to care for and welcome happily we are so often conditioned to choose those who are a bit like us, those we can understand, those we are likely to find some common ground with…
But that is not the way of God – his message of welcome is addressed to everyone, and to everyone equally, and so we are not just to care for those who can offer us something back, we are not just to care for those who will repay our hospitality, but to care for everyone – just as if we were caring for Jesus himself.
It is a world transforming view, and it is a life transforming view… Very often we may do something for which we receive no thanks and no outward reward, but it doesn’t matter, because in our actions we are doing the work of God…
I know of a Priest recently who was asked to take a funeral for a person whose life he had touched in a couple of meetings – the Priest, when he was approached about the service, didn’t know the person – he had touched that person’s life without ever realising it – and that reminds us that we sometimes don’t know the impact we have on people – good or bad….
Every time we meet someone we are to greet them as if we are greeting Jesus himself…
And of course there are some who will say that is an incredibly naïve view – and in some ways it is – there are some people who we may think are beyond help – perhaps the person begging for money on the street will go and buy cigarettes or drink with it, rather than food; perhaps the person we help out will forget to say thank you, perhaps the person we try to befriend will end up throwing back that friendship in our face – but every time we meet someone we are still to greet them as if we are greeting Jesus himself…
In our personal lives and as Churches we are to welcome without question – and even more, we are to be inviting… we are to welcome the person who sits in the seat we usually do, we are to welcome the child who makes more noise than we’re used to in Church, we are to welcome the stranger whoever they are…
And the benefits are huge – first we may indeed be greeting and welcoming people who will bring us far more blessings than we can ever give them. Most of us will have met someone at some time who has surprised us, who has been more interesting than we expected, or perhaps has helped us in any number of different ways…
And secondly we are told that if nobody else recognises what we have done, God does… And when we talk about naivety, when we talk about giving people more of a chance than it seems they deserve, when we talk about people being given everything for nothing, remember that is exactly what God has done for us…
God hasn’t demanded great achievements from us… God hasn’t asked us to give him gifts of money or possessions or anything else… God hasn’t made a list of conditions… he has accepted us into his family just as we are, and whatever we do, we do as a response to his love and his grace. AMEN
Now this wasn’t suggesting anything against having dinner with those people, but it was a reminder about motives for doing things and about looking out for those who sometimes can’t care for themselves…
And this takes us to the very heart of the gospel – a gospel which turns upside down worldly values of wealth and power and fame and success, and honours those who are prepared to admit that they have little to offer other than themselves… and what Jesus was trying to tell his listeners was that we are all in that position in the sight of God…
I told a story not long ago but about the sinking of the Titanic. One of the passengers apparently left £300,000 worth of jewellery and money, but instead picked up 3 oranges as he left the ship – he recognised that the jewellery and the money would not serve any purpose when he was cast adrift in the ocean for however long, but the oranges would be of great value…
Our values and the way we welcome and accept others are a great indicator of how we see ourselves before God… Somebody once said that those who look up to God rarely look down on others, and so that is our challenge !
As Christians we walk a very fine line between conforming to the world – in other words not wanting to look so different that people just think we’re strange, and being free from the standards of the world, in other words doing the work of Jesus as we care for those in need, as we look to honour those who are rejected by the rest of society, and as we devote ourselves to loving people – whoever they are and whatever they’ve done.
Back to the letter to the Hebrews- and that verse about entertaining strangers, for in doing that some have entertained angels without even knowing it – the passage refers back to the Old Testament, to the scene when Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent, probably thinking of taking an afternoon sleep when suddenly he saw three men apparently waiting for help.
Plenty of travellers had come to his door before, seeking help and hospitality which he had given freely. But though the heat was great, though he may have been disappointed again and again by people he had helped, he felt it better to be disappointed a hundred times than to miss the chance of showing hospitality and welcome. Therefore he sprang to his feet, called to Sarah for help, and the two of them quickly ministered to the three unknown men. How thankful he must have been that he had not refused to entertain them, for two of them were angels, and the third was the Son of God!
That story, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews is reminding us, is a lesson that whilst we entertain anyone, we are to act as if we are entertaining God himself… And that is a view that is totally at odds with what society expects of us today - looking after ourselves and our friends and family takes priority, and then perhaps looking after those in need in our community, in our country, and perhaps only then looking further afield… And in our choices of people to care for and welcome happily we are so often conditioned to choose those who are a bit like us, those we can understand, those we are likely to find some common ground with…
But that is not the way of God – his message of welcome is addressed to everyone, and to everyone equally, and so we are not just to care for those who can offer us something back, we are not just to care for those who will repay our hospitality, but to care for everyone – just as if we were caring for Jesus himself.
It is a world transforming view, and it is a life transforming view… Very often we may do something for which we receive no thanks and no outward reward, but it doesn’t matter, because in our actions we are doing the work of God…
I know of a Priest recently who was asked to take a funeral for a person whose life he had touched in a couple of meetings – the Priest, when he was approached about the service, didn’t know the person – he had touched that person’s life without ever realising it – and that reminds us that we sometimes don’t know the impact we have on people – good or bad….
Every time we meet someone we are to greet them as if we are greeting Jesus himself…
And of course there are some who will say that is an incredibly naïve view – and in some ways it is – there are some people who we may think are beyond help – perhaps the person begging for money on the street will go and buy cigarettes or drink with it, rather than food; perhaps the person we help out will forget to say thank you, perhaps the person we try to befriend will end up throwing back that friendship in our face – but every time we meet someone we are still to greet them as if we are greeting Jesus himself…
In our personal lives and as Churches we are to welcome without question – and even more, we are to be inviting… we are to welcome the person who sits in the seat we usually do, we are to welcome the child who makes more noise than we’re used to in Church, we are to welcome the stranger whoever they are…
And the benefits are huge – first we may indeed be greeting and welcoming people who will bring us far more blessings than we can ever give them. Most of us will have met someone at some time who has surprised us, who has been more interesting than we expected, or perhaps has helped us in any number of different ways…
And secondly we are told that if nobody else recognises what we have done, God does… And when we talk about naivety, when we talk about giving people more of a chance than it seems they deserve, when we talk about people being given everything for nothing, remember that is exactly what God has done for us…
God hasn’t demanded great achievements from us… God hasn’t asked us to give him gifts of money or possessions or anything else… God hasn’t made a list of conditions… he has accepted us into his family just as we are, and whatever we do, we do as a response to his love and his grace. AMEN
Comments