Welcoming Others
Welcoming Others
12th November 2023
Luke 14:12b-23
Today we are exploring the faith practice of Welcoming Others.
How do we practice Welcoming Others?
How do we activate this, as part of how we express the faith in our hearts.
Churches are known for being welcoming (or should be)
Look at the life of Jesus – time and again Jesus is extending a rich welcome to others.
And so often in these encounters, there is a consistent element: FOOD.
Let me ask you to think about your own experiences of food.
Is there a special meal you can remember?
Maybe an occasion that stands out as a moment of profound hospitality…
When have you been so deeply welcomed that your soul was moved?
The recent trip my family and I took to the United States was for our niece’s wedding in Washington DC.
The wedding itself was a great celebration…
· Family and friends
· Everyone was happy
· Decorations – twinkly lights
· Music and dancing
· …and FOOD
· Multiple courses, lavish place settings (cutlery, glassware)
Can you recall a meal like this, you’ve been part of?
Moments like these are unmistakable reminders of what feels like to be welcomed – to be included and to belong.
And these moments can be learning moments.
Perhaps that what Jesus thought in today’s Bible passage.
Where was Jesus in this passage?
He was a guest having a meal at someone’s house.
And Jesus starts to teach about how to welcome others – who to invite to share a meal.
It is very practical teaching about hospitality: “‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner…” …he’s talking about everyday meals.
But do you notice the comment from someone there at the table?
‘Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!’
This guy takes the conversation to a super-spiritual level!
This guy is referring to the messianic banquet at the end of days; this prophetic image of the fulfilment of what God promises: God’s hospitality; God’s welcoming of all.
What does Jesus do next…?
He tells a parable:
“Someone gave a great dinner and invited many.”
Now, is the parable Jesus tells teaching about:
1. practicing hospitality in our own homes and communities? …or…
2. about the divine hospitality of the heavenly banquet to come?
The parable is about a man who widens the circle of people who are welcomed to his banquet.
Can you see how we could interpret this man as God, welcoming all to enjoy his heavenly hospitality?
But today I want us to resist that interpretation (of the man in the parable as God).
Why?
Because I want us to focus on OUR practice of welcoming all.
What might Jesus’ parable reveal about our practices?
How might it shine light on the extent we are embedded in tight social systems that shape behaviour,
govern relationships,
and even dictate emotional responses?
This man in the parable is an elite person for whom the patronage ethic of reciprocity has worked well – until he experiences the darker side of the honour-shame system:
he is rebuffed by his peers.
How does he respond?
He becomes angry (v. 21)
And that anger motivates him to break away from the dominant social order.
What ensues is a scenario that reflects the hospitality and generosity that is indeed associated with the Kingdom of God.
The practice of God's hospitality – or welcome, is not just to ‘insiders’ but also to outsiders – that is, the poor and others who may have been socially marginalised.
I think there are two important lessons here as we think about welcoming all.
1. We are challenged to acknowledge the ways we might have been deformed by the system, and then to move outside our comfort zones to engage with those who have been devalued by the same, but are deeply valued by God.
2. The parable also beckons us to imagine God's future Kingdom and to begin to take steps toward what is promised in the present, as we follow Jesus' teachings and example.
There is a tendency to feel anxiety about the declining numbers in churches.
It would be lazy and naïve to attribute the decline of church attendance to failures by congregations (and their Ministers!)
But that doesn’t let us off the hook! We are to offer a faithful witness to the grace and generosity of God.
Does this parable offer an opportunity to consider what kind of banquet we are offering?
The kingdom of God is accessible and welcoming to all.
Do we represent that experience of the kingdom?
Do we offer the kind of experience that people find excuses to avoid?
This parable might also offer us an opportunity to examine our own invitation lists.
Jesus describes a welcome offered by God’s grace that embraces all – but are we ready to join in?
Will we accept the welcome, and extend the welcome to others?
I believe it is only when we truly know that we are welcomed by God that we can welcome others.
Romans 15:7 “Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”
Churches are known for being welcoming (or should be)
Today, we have reflected on a fundamental aspect of “Welcoming All,” – hospitality.
We’re reminded of how food is a feature of hospitality;
and how meals can express a profound sense of welcome.
Let’s allow this parable of Jesus to continue to work on us, challenging the social systems we are embedded in.
Let’s risk being jolted out of our assumptions toward the Kingdom of God – and how all are deeply valued by God.
We can welcome others because God first welcomes us.
Because of God’s wildly inclusive love, we are able to share in that divine love with others.