Psalm 13
Matt 10:40-42
“Welcoming the Stranger”
In a little over a month, Diane and I will travel to Disney World with our 10-year-old grandson, Austin. Several years ago, we made a promise that in the summer of each of our grandchild’s 10th year, we would treat him or her to a week in the Magic Kingdom. In early August, Austin turns 10.
I haven’t been to Disney World since the first year it opened. Rumor has it; things have changed a little bit! At that time there was no Space Mountain ride nor was there a simulated trip to Mars which I understand is not for the faint of heart! Rather, back in those ancient of days, the teacup and Dumbo rides were quite popular!
Surely, 38 years later, much has changed. Disneyworld is now huge. In fact, it’s massive! We have six day hopper passes and will certainly cover a lot of ground, but we will not be able to see and do everything! The area has grown tremendously and has undergone major changes.
But what has not changed is the Disney emphasis on its extravagant welcome. Disney World is a success because it attends well to the details of hospitality. They make people really feel welcome. In fact, they do not speak of visitors but rather of their guests.
One of their major advertising theme songs is based on the tune “Be Our Guest” which was written in 1991 by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman for Disney’s move, “Beauty and the Beast.” The success of the movie and the Academy Award nominated song led to the tune’s use in 1993 commercials. Instead of referencing the welcome to a French Restaurant, the words were changed to welcome people to Disney World including this phrase: “Come to our world and be part of our family.”
This is a great tune. It is upbeat, positive, fun, and taps into everyone’s need to feel welcome. We long to be part of a community and we crave to be affirmed for whom we are. We want not only to walk through an inviting door, but we want to be accepted once inside.
The United Church of Christ puts it this way, “No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.” Disney World and the United Church of Christ know about hospitality and they understand our deep yearnings to be part of something that affirms us no matter where we are in life.
Stories about hospitality in the Gospel such as the one we hear this morning in Matthew provide the theological basis for welcoming people. In the two verses we just heard, Jesus uses the word “welcomes” six times.
Jesus graciously welcomed people all the time. He welcomed crowds; he welcomed lepers; he welcomed the paralyzed; he welcomed the possessed; he welcomed the sick; he welcomed the blind; he welcomed a demoniac who was mute and the man with a withered hand. He welcomed everyone to his table. Jesus taught us the importance of hospitality.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to be hospitable. Jesus showed us the way and it is up to us to follow. Jesus is our model for hospitality.
This is why in this church we have guests and not visitors. There are some fine lines of distinction between these two words, I admit, but probably the most significant difference is that visitors may not necessarily be expected while guests are expected. If you find a visitor at your front door, you may not be ready to be the host or hostess! But, when you guest rings the doorbell you are ready because you are expecting this person and you have prepared yourself and your home accordingly.
Of course, digging into language is always fun. Not to get too technical my old Webster’s Dictionary (1964) defines “visitor” using such words as “to see a person or spend some time in a place.” Things can even get even negative around visits as we invoke phrases such as we might hear in movies, like “Somebody needs to pay this guy a little visit!” “Pay someone a visit” suggests, in fact, paying someone back, or as the dictionary says, “to give a person what is due.” I can assure you that this is not what Jesus had in mind when he spoke about hospitality or when he welcomed people!
On the other hand, the dictionary says that the word “’guest’ applies to one who is hospitably entertained at the home or table of another.”
One of the crucial parts of our Sunday morning as a congregation is to provide hospitality to our guests. Besides the fact that hospitality is simply a part of who were are as a community in Jesus Christ, there is a practical side: According to Barna Research, “90 % of all people who visit a church make up their minds about coming back before the pastor gets up to speak.” Before the personable, seminary-trained, experienced, likable, and even inspiring pastor opens his or her mouth, the guests that day have already made up their minds about returning!
Now, I don’t intend to go negative here and elaborate on churches that signal “closed shop” or “members only”- there’s no point in defining what doesn’t work and why so many churches are not growing. Rather, I want to emphasize our efforts to be a new community here in Mashpee that welcomes all people. I want to remind you that we have people to guide first-time guests to the proper parking area; that we have greeters who welcome everyone with a smile; that we have ushers to help you find a seat; and that we have folks who keep an eye on things in general in an effort to see that guests are not being neglected. These teams demonstrate our sincere expression of the ministry of hospitality to which we believe Jesus calls us.
Hospitality is crucial because beyond all the reasons about why it makes good sense for growing a new church, the fact of the matter is that we have no idea what may be on that guest’s mind or in his or her heart as he or she comes to worship. A guest may be burdened with a personal loss; a guest may be struggling with a major life decision; a guest may be searching for meaning in these times of economic volatility and environmental disasters just around the corner. We don’t know and for that matter, we don’t know what is on the minds of many of the people who are already a part of this congregation.
Failure to welcome a person who has made that sometimes huge decision to go to church is inexcusable. Jesus wants us to welcome and affirm people just as he did. This is why we help guide people to parking; this is why we greet people and literally show them where the doors to the church are; this is why we hand them a bulletin and help them find a seat; this is why we welcome guests to remain after the service for a time of fellowship.
If we truly believe in the life saving love of Jesus Christ; if we truly believe that by following the ways of Jesus Christ wean make our lives and the lives of those around us better; if we truly believe that Jesus Christ is the way to everlasting life, then all these details, all these weekly and routine acts of working the parking lot, welcoming, greeting and inviting are not merely gimmicks to bring people back so that our numbers can grow. Rather these details of hospitality become sacred acts of love and reflect the open arms of the very Son of God who comes to redeem us. Our hospitality flows out of our conviction that claiming Christ truly makes a difference in our lives and we want our guests to return so that somehow through us and all that we are about, their lives will be blessed.
To our guests here this morning, welcome. We are glad you are here. We invite you to stay so we can get to know you better and to hear your story. Now, I know that long before I even opened my mouth, Cathy played the prelude or the choir sang the introit, you pretty much decided whether or not to come back. I truly hope you plan to return to share in our journey as a new community of faith.
Amen.
