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Recently I have been thinking a lot about hospitality. Just exactly what does it mean to be hospitable?
Hospitality is defined as: the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers; the act of being friendly and welcoming to guests and visitors.
Do you consider yourself a hospitable person?
What do you think about our church? Are we a hospitable church?
Our mission statement says: Open arms and serving hands, transforming lives through Christ. But, do you think it would be possible for an outsider to come into our church and leave totally unnoticed? Or even worse, be noticed but ignored?
Generally, we feel good when we enter a home, and we are greeted with a floor mat in front of the door that says: "Welcome!" or a verse on the wall that says "God bless all who enter this home."
On the other hand we get defensive when we stare at a sign that says: "Beware of dog" or "No Trespassing".
We get similar feelings when we are surrounded by people who are different from us. Maybe they have a different language, different customs, food, or way of dressing
This happens not only in our culture, but also in our church life, where we sometimes avoid contact with people who are newcomers, or we stare at the young people whose clothes don't fit and haven't combed their hair properly, or when we avoid contact with a person with disabilities. Or we aren’t comfortable with those whose lifestyle isn’t what we would consider proper or in our opinion Christian-like.
As individuals and as a church body, without realizing it, we sometimes send unspoken signals that say "keep out - high voltage area", or "beware of guard dog".
I believe that as followers of Christ we carry at the heart of our very being a responsibility and a privilege to reach out to others.
Hospitality is a part of who we are (or should be) as people of God! It's in our blood! It’s in our DNA! Indeed, it's a trademark of those who are washed by the Blood of the Lamb.
Recently a dear friend gave me a copy of the heartwarming message that is posted on the door of Coventry Cathedral in England. (It has been slightly edited to be appropriate for St. John’s). I would love for all of us to adopt this guide to hospitality.
We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married divorced, widowed, straight, gay, confused, well-heeled or down-at-the-heel. We especially welcome wailing babies and excited toddlers. We welcome you whether you can sing like Pavarotti or just growl quietly to yourself. You’re welcome here if you’re just browsing, just woken up or just got out of prison. We don’t care if you’re more Christian than the Archbishop of Canterbury or haven’t been to church since Christmas 10 years ago. We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet and to teenagers who are growing up too fast.
We welcome keep-fit moms, football dads, starving artists, tree huggers, latte sippers, vegetarians and junk food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems, are down in the dumps or don’t like organized religion. (We’re not that keen on it either.) We offer a welcome to those who think the Earth is flat, work too hard, don’t work at all, can’t spell or are here because Granny is visiting and wanted to come to church. We welcome those who are inked, pierced, both or neither.
We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, who have had religion shoved down their throats as kids or got lost on Almshouse Road and wound up here by mistake. We welcome pilgrims, tourists, seekers, doubters and – YOU.
May the Word of God today refresh our memories concerning the practice of hospitality. May we open our hearts and our spiritual home - this House of Worship - to guests and strangers.
Who knows, by reaching out to strangers we too may be hosting a messenger of the Living God.
Pastor Ruth
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