Sermon: Untitled
|
EHCC Home |
Sermon: Untitled Text: Matthew 10:40-42 Date: June 30 Rev. Emily Tanis-Likkel, Eagle Harbor Congregational Church
My husband Brett and I fulfilled one of his dreams when we went on a trip to Europe in September of 2001. We spent time in Budapest , Vienna , and Amsterdam , but the majority of time was in Prague , the city that had art and architecture that Brett had fallen in love with in college. The hotel we stayed at the first couple of nights in Prague we had an amazing breakfast in the morning. The second morning, thanks to Brett’s friendliness, we began a friendship with Helena, the woman who served us breakfast. She convinced us to stay outside of the tourist area, and connected us with a bed and breakfast in the town in which she lived, Branik. The next evening she took us to a bar where she said we would not have been able to come without her because the patrons did not trust foreigners. We met some of her friends, who were more stand-offish, and we immediately saw the difference between Helena and the others. When we were with Helena , we were welcome. When we got the news that the World Trade Center had been hit, we were touring a castle in Prague . We went back to our bed and breakfast and camped out in our room watching the news. We felt so isolated being in another country, away from family and friends. We felt completely alone and helpless. Later that evening we heard a knock at the door, it was the owner motioning us to come downstairs. Helena was there, and she rushed towards us, breathless. She seemed as shocked by the news as we were. She whisked us away to an internet cafe so that we could contact home. She took us under her wing, not just showing us where to go but taking us there herself. She listened to our feelings about what had happened, and expressed her own sadness at the lives lost. We were shown hospitality in that trip. Helena did not know us at all, to her we could have easily remained strangers, but she offered a cup of cold water to us in a myriad of forms. Jesus in Matthew 10:40 says “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” The text for today is the conclusion of a set of instructions that Jesus gave his disciples on being missionaries of the Gospel. The first readers of Matthew and Christians throughout the ages have used this teaching to understand how to speak to others about their faith. These verses on welcoming tie back to the opening verses of the instructions, where the disciples are told that they represent Jesus in their ministry. They are to anticipate that they will not receive hospitality everywhere that they go, and that conflict will be a regular part of their mission. They are given authority in Christ to heal the sick and cast out demons. They welcome others in God’s name. Welcoming is creating space for another person. Welcoming can be scary. When we let others into our lives, our lives change. Change, as we all know, can be very uncomfortable. Welcoming is a risk, because we don’t know what the outcome will be. It may ask us to give up time, money, or energy. Having an attitude of hospitality means that we put our guards down, that we are willing to take that risk. Offering hospitality to others offers hospitality to God. The disciples represented Jesus himself, so when they were welcomed by others, Christ was welcomed. We are Christ’s disciples today, and so we also represent Christ to those we meet. When we represent Jesus in our hospitality to others, we welcome the holy. Like the first disciples, we extend God’s welcome. The task to welcome one another in the name of Christ, then, becomes our responsibility and privilege. Henri Nouwen told the story of sitting down with a mentee of his and instead of getting right down to discussing theology as usual, they simply sat in silence. After a long time had passed, the young man broke the silence: ‘“When I look at you it is as if I am in the presence of Christ.’ I did not feel startled, surprised, or in need of protesting, but I could only say, ‘It is the Christ in you, who recognizes the Christ in me.’ ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘He indeed is in our midst,’ and then he spoke the words which entered into my soul as the most healing words I had heard in many years, ‘From now on, wherever you go, or wherever I go, all the ground between us will be holy ground.”’ Perhaps you have had a time when you have recognized the Christ in another. It may have been very subtle, maybe a feeling that the holy resided in the one to whom you were speaking. It may have come across in the words that person spoke, or perhaps the silence he or she allowed. We are to have an attitude of hospitality because God resides in each of us. Sensing the holy in another person is an incredible gift. Hospitality in Biblical times was extremely important. Welcoming the stranger had a reciprocity to it, as the host recognized that the guest also had a gift to give. Guests were accustomed to arriving with a contribution to the host family. They also recognized that beyond the material gifts, the host and guest would give one another valuable insights and experiences. The two followers of Jesus who showed hospitality to him on the road to Emmaus were given the gift of breaking bread with the very one that they loved. In learning to be welcoming, we would do well to learn to receive. Another story by Henri Nouwen is of a university professor who told him, “You know, . . . my whole life I have been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted, until I discovered that my interruptions were my work.” In creating space for others in our lives, we need to be willing to allow for a lot of interruptions and changes in our plans. The stranger at our door may just be a prophet. The Matthew text says that whoever welcomes a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Who are prophets today? It takes some intense discernment to figure out the real from the false prophets in any age. Prophets are truth-tellers. In the Bible the prophets were often the ones who didn’t tell people what they wanted to hear. They were not people-pleasers. Who are the people who are not afraid to speak out against the greater culture? Who are those who reveal the truth of Scripture, the truth of Jesus? Jesus tells us in Matthew to welcome them, for in doing so we welcome God. The idea of welcome is a major theme in our denomination, especially with the God is still speaking campaign. The slogan of the campaign is: “No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here. Never place a period where God has placed a comma. God is still speaking.” How is God still speaking about having an attitude of hospitality? What does it mean for us as individuals and for us as a church? As we listen to God and watch the world around us, who are those who need to be welcomed? Who might feel anxious or lonely? Who might need a kind word, a ride home, or a prayer? Jesus told the disciples, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” Showing hospitality to others is in effect showing hospitality to God. We receive one another, and together we receive God. David Adam wrote the following poem that speaks to the heart of sensing the holy in another person. Christ, let me see you in others, Christ, let others see you in me. Christ, let me see: You are the caller, You are the poor, You are the stranger at my door. You are the wanderer, The unfed, You are the homeless With no bed. You are the man driven insane, You are the child Crying in pain. You are the one who comes to me.
When we received hospitality from Helena in Prague , she took a risk by taking us to her town, by introducing us to her friends, and offering her friendship. She was willing to reach out to us and accept us even though we were different from her. Welcoming those whom we have a hard time welcoming is part of the missionary journey. Someone may be a stranger, but if we look closely enough and get quiet enough, we just might get a glimpse of Christ. Henri J.M. Nouwen. Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life , p. 45. David Adam. The Cry of the Deer .
|