Hospitality is a Divine Encounter

A sermon from the third Sunday after Pentecost. 

The audio can be heard here. A note on my method - I write a manuscript, but do not use it while I preach. The following manuscript is close to the audio, but not exact.

Matthew 10:40-42 (NRSV)

Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple — truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.

Hospitality is a Divine Encounter

Three weeks ago I was on a bus with 12 of our youth and another adult sponsor. We were on the final leg of our road trip to Colorado for a week at Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp. By mid-Sunday afternoon we were road weary and ready to start our week at camp.
    The journey was winding down to its final miles when the horizon began to darken and it became clear that we were about to pass through a storm. While it never rained hard, the driving wind pounding on the bus was enough for me. The final leg of the trip found us on a road with very little shoulder. We seemed to crawl along at 40 miles per hour. After what seemed to me like an eternity, we finally pulled off the state highway and began our final four mile stretch into the mountains. Signs for camp shone out like beacons on the road side. And then finally we saw it.
    The main lodge smiled before us as staff ran around to make their final preparations for the week. We were immediately greater with huge smiles and helping hands. The bus was unloaded and parked in minutes. We waited with baited breath for registration to begin. And then it happened - the counselors came running down the hill towards the pavilion, and in an timeless Rainbow Trail tradition, they welcomed us in with song.
    It is a welcome I will never forget. It set the tone for the whole week. In an instant I knew that the staff had been thinking about us, getting excited about us, praying about us, and could not wait to meet us. Their enthusiasm boiled over and infected the whole camp. On a damp, chilly afternoon, after a white knuckled final stretched of the road, the hospitality of that camp staff was a heavenly welcome.
    The power of great hospitality is transforming. It can help to sooth nerves. It can can indicate a level of care. It can set the tone for a whole visit. Hospitality can move us from a place of uncertainty to a place of excitement in what amounts to a heartbeat. A great welcome is a powerful thing. And it’s an integral aspect of following Jesus. 
    The mission the disciples share, the calling that we have from Jesus, moves us into a place where we are in contact with others. This is not an individualistic way of life. It involves other people. It involves a relationship - between family, friends, and complete strangers. Jesus sends his disciples out, sends us out, not to develop their personal relationship with Jesus, but to encounter others and bring the kingdom of heaven into their midst. Jesus sends us out to do the work of the kingdom, the work of God’s love.
    The hospitality of discipleship is a group activity Jesus knows this. It’s hidden in plain sight in his words this morning. The word we read as “you,” is actually plural. Jesus speaks with a Texas accent this morning - “Whoever receives you (y’all) receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.” Hospitality is a communal calling. Hospitality is a divine moment. It is a thin place, where people encounter each other, perhaps at their most vulnerable.
    Jesus knows that there is a possibility, and a great one, that the disciples will be rejected on the journey. But he knows that there will be those who receive the disciples. There will be those who meet the needs of the disciples, providing them with resources - food, water, a place to stay. They will open their lives to the disciples in moments of hospitality. And in those moments, Jesus tells the disciples, the ones who are receiving them are receiving God. Hospitality is a divine encounter.
    Hospitality is a central theme and marker of the people of God. In fact, the Old Testament contains a great deal about how we receive one another. Abraham is remembered for his welcome of the strangers in the desert. Abraham, sitting in the shade of his tent in the desert, sees three strangers approaching. The natural reaction would be to run inside, lock the tent, and hide the goods, because the odds are the strangers are bandits. But that’s not what Abraham does. He jumps up, tells Sarah to throw more cakes in the oven, goes out back to get a bucket of water, and meets the strangers with open arms. Abraham reaches out with hospitality - he meets the basic needs of food, water, and shelter, lifesavers in the desert. These strangers turn out to be messengers from God, bringing word that Sarah would indeed bear a son. Hospitality is a divine encounter.
    Israel is reminded of the gracious welcome that they received from Egypt when there was a famine in there own land. The law contains commands for the farmers of Israel. God calls the people to farming practices that  leave crops on the edges of the fields - grain on the stalk and grapes on the vine - for the immigrant and the stranger that pass through the land. A mark of God’s people is how they receive one another, and the strangers and immigrants in their midst. Jesus continues this tradition.
    Jesus tells his disciples that when they are received, they are received in his name, and are thus received as God’s presence. Jesus does not say that they will always be received as God. We know the troubles and hostility that can arise on the journey of a disciple - but that is not the whole story. Hospitality is the act of receiving others as God’s presence. Hospitality is a divine encounter.
    There are two sides to hospitality. One - how are we received as people of God? For me, I have received divine hospitality since I started here at Bethany almost a year ago. Katie and I have felt welcomed. Y’all helped stock our pantry last August. You continue to ask how we are doing, how we are adjusting, is there anything we need - we have been welcomed very well in this place. I am humble and gracious for your hospitality. I am sure you can think of moments in your life when you can feel the energy of someone else’s welcome of you. Hospitality is happening in our midst.
    And on the other side - how do we received others in the name of Jesus? Our hospitality demonstrates how we recognize the presence of God in our midst. Our welcoming of others communicates if we trust the promise from Genesis 1 - that all peoples are created in the image of God. Do we recognize this? Do we welcome others in the name of Jesus, and thus welcome God into our midst? This is an integral question for us who follow Jesus.
    We do that here at Bethany. I hear over and over again how welcoming were are. We reach out to visitors. We put energy into welcoming others. But we are human. We still have work to do. It’s hard work cutting through our egos and welcoming all people - ALL peoples - as if they are God in our midst. Hospitality is a muscle that must be exercised. Hospitality is a muscle that must be stretched in order to grow. In order to learn new ways of welcoming. And the expanse of God’s presence in this world. By God’s love we are able. By God’s love we are open.
    Jesus helps to stretch us this morning. He gives a three fold example of those who are welcomed - the prophet, the righteous, and the little ones. With triads, the emphasis is on the third part of the group. And often, especially in the Gospels, the third is unexpected. As it is here, when Jesus names the “little ones” alongside the prophets and the righteous. The “little ones” are the unexpected group named by Jesus. Not children, or youth, here the “little ones” may point to those who are in need. Those who are vulnerable - those who are hungry, thirsty, in need of shelter, or cloths, or community.
    For us in the context of Texas - in the borderlands - the little ones could be understood as the immigrants in our midst. If you have been paying attention, you know that the issue of immigration has come up with renewed energy in the last few months. Especially in the last few days. The politics are messy. The media is not often forthcoming with the whole story. These are murky waters.
    National politics aside, we who follow Jesus have something to say about this issue. I am not trying to solve the problem, but the Gospel offers us something in the midst of these tense times. We are called to be a people of divine hospitality. To receive the little ones, the vulnerable ones, as if they are God’s presence in our midst. 
    God is on both sides of the border. The cross is big enough to transcend any boarder or wall we can build with human hands. God’s love is big enough to hold all peoples in love. The Gospels are a witness to this understanding. Jesus helps us to encounter the world as God encounters the world. Jesus stretches our understanding of hospitality and how we encounter God in others. Jesus helps us to understand that our resources and our impact are much bigger than we can even imagine. 
    Hospitality is a divine encounter. Hospitality has the power to change us - to transform our lives and move us to a place where we encounter the world through God’s eyes. I remember the welcome of the Rainbow Trail staff. Their energy. I knew for the minute we got there that we were thought about, prayed about, and welcomed in the name of God. It was transforming. That’s the power of hospitality. 
    Hospitality - in receiving and giving, in being welcomed and welcoming others - changes us. The divine encounter of hospitality, the thin places between the people of God - all peoples - is powerful. Practicing hospitality shapes us into God’s image of divine grace. Being welcomed - and welcoming others - especially the little ones, transforms ours lives and helps us to the encounter the height, width, and depth of God’s love.

Theology on Tap: The Movement of the Spirit - Jesus, Pentecost, and Us

The rhythm of God’s Spirit and the community of faith.

In this session of Theology on Tap we engaged the movement of God’s Spirit in the books of Luke and Acts, with a focus on the Pentecost event as a catalyst for the community of faith.

These are my notes. 

 We did not engage the Holy Spirit in a doctrinal way. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit, specifically in its relationship with the Holy Trinity, did not develop until after the time of the writing of Luke and Acts.

This discussion was grounded in the movement of the Spirit of God that is presented in Luke and Acts.

For this discussion I worked with the book Prophetic Jesus, Prophetic Church, by Luke Timothy Johnson.

“The dominant characteristic of pneuma (Spirit) in the New Testament is its association with power (see Romans 1:4; 8:2-26; 15:19; 1 Corinthians 2:4; 12:3-13; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18; Galatians 3:5; 5:25), a power that elevates human capacities for knowing and speaking, touches humans in the capabilities of thinking and willing, and transforms humans into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).” (Johnson, 52)

2 Corinthians 3:17-18
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.”

We encounter this characteristic of the Spirit beginning with Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, moving into the community that Jesus starts in the Gospel and in Acts, continuing through the work of Paul and his associates in Acts, and still at work in our midst today.

Jesus promises his disciples that they will be “clothed with power from on high” in both Luke 24:49 and "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" in Acts 1:8. 

Movement of Luke/Acts

The narrative arc of Luke/Acts is important to understanding the movement of the Spirit. The author makes important statements using setting as a guide. From the perspective of the ruling powers at the time of Jesus, and Luke, the center of the world is Rome. Rome is the light. Galilee and the locations of the ministry of Jesus are on the margins of the world. To the Jewish people, the center of the world is Jerusalem - the center of political, economic, and religious life of the people.

Luke begins the Gospel on the margins of both - in Judea - on the margins. The ministry of Jesus will move him to the center of the Jewish world, but still at the margins of the Roman understanding.

The book of Acts begins in Jerusalem, still on the margins according to those in power. But Jesus promises his disciples, “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).” The movement of the Spirit will take the community of faith from the center of the world, according to the Jews, and move them into the margins. It’s a radical reversal for the status quo.

The light is not in fact Rome. The ultimate power is not in Rome. The power is at the margins, in the movement of God’s Spirit through Jesus and through the community of faith.

 The Spirit’s Movement through Jesus

From the beginning, the Spirit is a major character in the Gospel of Luke.

The Spirit is present with Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, who was thought to be barren. John is the forerunner of Jesus - the one who prepares the way.

The Spirit is present with Mary, the mother of Jesus - “The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.’ (Luke 1:35-37)”

The movement of the Spirit is present from the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry - the catalyst of his work in this world. We encounter this in his baptism.

Luke 3:21-22 - "Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.'"

“The reader is to understand from this point forward that the power at work in Jesus as God’s son is the power of God’s Spirit (Johnson, 57).”

This sets the tone for the entire Gospel. Jesus’ ministry unfolds through the power of the Spirit.

The movement of the Spirit, and it’s power in the life of Jesus, is articulated four times by Luke in chapter four.

Luke 4:1-2 - "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil."

Luke 4:14-15 - "Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. 15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone."

Luke 4:16-21 - "When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

18 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
        to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
    and recovery of sight to the blind,
        to let the oppressed go free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.'"

The life and ministry of Jesus is driven and empowered by the Spirit. This carries throughout the Gospel, all the way to the cross and the empty tomb of Easter. God’s power is at work in Jesus.

It is this same spirit that is promised to the disciples in Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8. This power is poured out upon the disciples in the event of Pentecost. The world has never been the same.

The Spirit moves at Pentecost and the disciples proclaim the story of God’s life-giving work through Jesus to all those who are present. Those of various languages are able to hear the Gospel proclaimed. That’s the power of the Spirit.

The Spirit drives the actions of the community of faith. It moves through Peter in his public witness of Jesus Christ - “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders…” Acts 4:8

The Spirit moved through new members of the community as the Word of God spreads - “What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.” Acts 6:5

The Spirit met Philip in the wilderness, in his encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch - “Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” 30 So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.” Acts 8:29-31 The eunuch is baptized because of this encounter.

Saul, renamed Paul, receives the Spirit in his call from Jesus to proclaim the Gospel - “So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.” Acts 9:17-19

The movement of the Spirit, the power of the living God, is present throughout the spreading of the early church. This movement has not stopped. The story is still being written. We are continuing to experience the writing of this story with our own lives.

The movement of the Spirit is still at work today. We have been empowered by this same Spirit. The Spirit moves through us to write new chapters to God’s story.

A few parting thoughts from Luke Timothy Johnson.

“God as Holy Spirit moves ahead of human action and calculation and is capable of doing new things that are beyond human capacity or understanding (Johnson, 65).”

“At the most basic level, this perception (Holy Spirit as the symbol for the living God) leads the church - and every individual within the assembly - to grasp that the church is not answerable to itself or to its traditions, but to the presence and power that presses upon it at every moment (Johnson, 66).”

“If paying attention to the Holy Spirit’s work in the world is risk-filled, the failure to recognize the work of God in the world is more dangerous by far (Johnson, 67).”

“Luke’s point, however, is that God works through human agents, discloses his (sic) will through human spokespersons, finds expression for God’s spirit through human bodies (Johnson, 67).”

The Way of the Cross - Jesus Does Not Use Fine Print

A sermon from the second Sunday after Pentecost. 

Matthew 10:24-39 (NRSV)

²⁴A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; ²⁵it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!
²⁶So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. ²⁷What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. ²⁸Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰And even the hairs of your head are all counted. ³¹So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
³²Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; ³³but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
³⁴Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
³⁵For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
³⁶and one's foes will be members of one's own household.
³⁷Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

The Way of the Cross - Jesus Does Not Use Fine Print

     We live in a world of fine print. Every cell phone or cable contract we sign has fine print. Every pill we take comes with fine print. Our lives are governed by fine print. And let’s be honest - who really takes the time to read it all. The messages are in fine print for a reason. If we really knew the details of our cell phone or cable contracts, if we really knew all the details for the medicines we take, if we really knew all the warnings that come with most of the things we deal with on a daily basis, we would never go outside. The fine print is enough to drive anyone a little crazy. We sleep better at night not having the fine print. So we leave it as fine print. We know it’s there, but we get peace of mind by not reading it all.
    Sometimes we treat the parts of the Gospel as if it were written in fine print. There are some really tough sayings from Jesus contained in the pages of the Gospels. He calls us to do some pretty absurd things with our lives as we follow him. We know he says them, but we often look right past them. It’s as if Jesus says some things that ought to come with warning labels. That’s how we treat them.
    Take today’s story from Matthew as example “A.” This passage might as well be written in fine print. We know it’s there, but do we really every take it head on? This is one of the passages that gets glazed over.
    But not today.
    Jesus does not speak in fine print. So we will not treat this passage as if it were regulated to the fine print. Listen to the words of Jesus.
    “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” These are hard words. And they seem to contradict some of the things we know about Jesus and have heard him say. Just a few weeks ago we heard the story from John of the resurrected Jesus’ first words to scared disciples in a locked upper room - “Peace be with you.” We have heard Jesus claim peace. So perhaps he is working with a metaphor here.
    Jesus and his followers and the Jewish people of his time knew the metaphor of “peace.” They knew of the peace of Rome - the “pax romana.” But the peace of Rome wasn't really peace at all. The peace of Rome was won with violence and brutality. Rome imposed it’s peace with war. Jesus and his people knew all too well of this kind of peace. Perhaps Jesus is alluding to this - pointing out that the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom he preaches about and lives out, will not look like Rome. The peace of God’s kingdom is radically different. But what about the sword?
    Jesus does claim that he comes to bring a sword - which is puzzling. But this sword is not a sword of violence. It is not meant to take life. It is meant to give life. Jesus comes wielding the sword of the Gospel. The world-changing message and way of life that is the kingdom of heaven. And this message and way of life is divisive by nature.  
    The Gospel of Jesus Christ is divisive. It is in conflict with the powers of this world - the status quo - the complacent privileged. The kingdom of God is in conflict with our rabid desire to label people as “in” and “out.” There is no clearer example of this than the life of Jesus himself. Jesus is put on political trial for pushing back against the systems that were stripping life away from marginalized people. He took on the broken systems of health care, table fellowship and economics. These are not acts that bring peace into the community. There are divisive. And that’s the point. God acts differently than we expect.
    Jesus dared to heal the sick. He upset the broken system of healing that left so many outside of the community. Jesus reached out to the marginalized and welcomed them into the community. His way of healing was divisive to the statues quo.
    Jesus dared to eat with tax collectors and prostitutes. He changed the dynamics of table fellowship and how resources were shared. Jesus reached out to those who were not invited to the table. His fellowship practices were divisive.
    Jesus dares to turn over the tables of the money changers. He reacted in anger to the abuse of the economics of the temple that devoured the resources of orphans and widows. Jesus took a bold stance on how the economics of God works and declared with his life that there us enough for all in the kingdom of heaven - not just the privileged few. His economic practices were divisive.
    This way of life is what led Jesus to the cross - where God does God’s ultimate work. God works through the cross - the most unimaginable place of all. The cross - the ultimate symbol of death. The signal that the powers have made their decision and deemed the one crucified not worthy - proclaiming the victim insignificant and powerless. This is where God does God’s work. The cross becomes a signal of victory for the people of God. And it’s in this victory that we are invited to participate. Jesus invites us to take up our crosses and follow him.
    Taking up our crosses means aligning our lives with the one who turns over tables and dines with all the wrong people. Whose very ministry was divisive because it did not play into the rhythm of the privileged or the status quo. The ministry of Jesus exposed the fallenness of the world and bore witness to a way of life based on the depths of God’s love. The divisive sword of Jesus - his life and ministry - cuts through the brokenness so that all can have life. The sword that Jesus wields cuts through the divisions we have so ignorantly made in our lives and relationships. The sword of Jesus cuts through the barriers and boarders that we erect between ourselves and others. The sword Jesus wield cuts through our own egos.
    It will disrupt the lives we think we deserve to lead. It will effect our relationships with family and friends. It will effect the choices we make about how we spent our money and invest our time and energy. Following Jesus on the way of the cross will lead to death. The way of the cross will lead to the end of life as we know it - But we have nothing to fear.
    Paul writes with great confidence in his letter to the Romans. “For if we have been united with him in a death like his (the cross), we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Paul knows what the death and resurrection of Christ has done for us all. He knows that the death of Jesus and the resurrection has united us all. He will write later on that he is convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love for us through Christ Jesus. He is absolutely confident in the love of God through Jesus Christ.
    The love of God is strong enough to united and build a kingdom that will not end. But it’s on God’s terms - and we are invited to follow. We are called to follow by proclaiming and living out the Gospel. And there is no fine print. Jesus is quite clear what will happen. There will be tension. There will be division. The road will get rough. But the love of God is strong enough to get is through. God’s love will see us through the storms that rage. And we will not be the same people on the other side. Our lives will be different. The sword the Jesus bears will reshape our lives and cast it anew in his image.     

  Friends, there is no fine print. Just the call to follow. The call to take up our crosses, trust that God’s love is great enough to weather the storms Jesus knew would come, and follow Jesus on the way of the cross. May God bless you, this day and always, as you follow Jesus.