Sermon:  "A Wide Welcome"
Date:   June 26, 2011
Minister:  The Rev. Susan Bjork

Lesson:  Matthew 10:40-42

Gracious God, may we listen for your Spirit’s guidance to us and experience your renewing and inspiring presence once more as we walk together on this pilgrim journey of life and faith and discern our call as a church community which seeks to serve.  Amen.

At the time the Gospel of Matthew was written in the latter half of the first century, the early Christian church was largely defined by its mission.  These followers of Jesus felt that they were sent out for a purpose: to be the church out in the world and to spread the gospel message through word and deed.  They thought of themselves as disciples, not unlike the original twelve, and they faced some of the same challenges as Jesus and his first disciples did.

In Matthew’s tenth chapter, Jesus doesn’t make light of the cost of discipleship.  He tells his disciples that it will be hard at times, that they won’t always be received with hospitality, and that they may in fact face persecution. 

Jesus asks his disciples to literally give up their families and communities and the life they knew, the life they were comfortable with (some as fishermen, another as a tax collector) and to follow him into a precarious future, taking up the cross as their own.

Wherever the disciples would go, they would be truly dependent upon the hospitality of strangers.  That was the way of life for an itinerant band of disciples.

And so as he sends them out, Jesus tells them this: “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”

In the ancient world, this was not only a theological truth, but also a cultural truth.  An individual’s identity in this world was tied up with family and community identity so to welcome someone individually really meant to welcome their broader community and family.  For the disciples, this meant Jesus and the Reign of God that he preached.

And to welcome someone in Jesus’ name, to give “even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones,” as Jesus said, was to practice hospitality towards God as well as God’s children. 

The reward which Jesus talks about for this spiritual practice of hospitality, of welcoming another, is in my opinion, a new experience of God’s love.  And this reward is not something that is earned, but something that is freely given and readily available. 

Perhaps the biggest challenge, then, is that we just need to be open enough to receive this gift, this reward.  For it is in welcoming God’s children and in loving God’s beloved, that we best express our love to God.

Perhaps you’ve seen the movie, The Blind Side, starring Sandra Bullock.  If you haven’t, you should.  It’s the true story of pro football player Michael Oher whose childhood was fraught with poverty and perpetual racial and economic injustice, and whose mother’s life was consumed by addiction to drugs and alcohol. 

As a boy, Oher spent years in and out of foster homes and even homeless at times.  Without any consistent parental care or attention to his education, Oher, like many others, almost fell through society’s cracks.

Things began to change for Oher when a family friend he was living with helped him apply for admission to Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, Tennessee.  It was there that he met Leigh Anne Tuohy (Bullock’s character in the movie) and her family. 

At first, the Tuohys invited Michael to stay with them for a few days, but that turned into a long-term stay, and eventually they legally adopted him shortly before he turned eighteen. 

During this time Oher got serious about football and his education.  With the help of a tutor and some correspondence classes, he got his grades up enough to qualify for a football scholarship to Ole Miss.  And from there, he went on to the NFL.

I think one of the most poignant scenes in the movie is when Leigh Anne Tuohy is having lunch with a group of friends after Michael has been living with them for awhile.  These women are sort of joking with her at first about her “charity work,” but then they start questioning her more seriously, asking her if taking Michael is was “some kind of white guilt thing.” 

Well, being the direct kind of person she is, Leigh Anne calls them out and basically tells them that they don’t have to do the same thing she did or even give their approval, but they do need to respect her decision. 

The women are kind of taken aback, but they apologize and one of them says, “Well, I think what you’re doing is great.  You are changing that boy’s life.” 

To which Leigh Anne replies, “No.  He’s changing mine.”

“No.  He’s changing mine.”  You see, this moment in the film changes this story from a somewhat superficial portrayal of a wealthy, white family’s charity to a poor African American teenager to a much more profound story of building community in diversity. 

The Tuohy family went out on a limb and helped a young man in need of a home.  They welcomed Michael Oher into their family.  They did a good and right thing, but that’s not the end of the story. 

The real power and beauty of this transformative relationship between Michael and the Tuohy family is that it brought a tangible experience of the love of God to all involved.

The real Leigh Anne Tuohy has said that this experience has taught her more deeply and clearly the profound truth that “we are all children of God” and that in her opinion, Michael “had an even greater impact” on her family’s life than they did on his.

I don’t know if Michael would agree with that or not, but the real truth that both the Tuohy’s and Michael Oher learned is this:  When we strive to build bridges of welcome, when we step out of our comfort zone and both offer a wide welcome to others as well as accept the hospitality of others, we may very well be changed ourselves.  And that change may very well be a transformative experience of the very grace of God.

But we won’t know what we’re missing if we don’t try.

And I think that takes courage.  Jesus offered his disciples encouragement because he knew it would take courage to go out and serve.  It takes courage to accept the call to discipleship and follow Jesus.  It takes courage to risk the vulnerability of accepting help and hospitality from others.  And it takes courage to extend a wide welcome to others in Jesus’ name.

In the United Church of Christ, we like to say, “no matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.”

Well I personally believe that ought to be true of all churches.  I believe that Jesus himself practiced a wide welcome and we ought to also.

An interesting conversation about how churches ought to practice hospitality emerged on the Long Beach Facebook fan page this week.  Someone re-posted a question I put out on my own personal page: “What is the best way for a church to welcome people?”

Some of the responses to this question of welcome were tongue-in-cheek, asking for churches to offer free donuts or turn water into wine. 

Other responses included some pretty harsh assumptions that all churches are judgmental, rule-obsessed entities who are always asking for money.  I took those responses as a sobering reminder of the real pain some have experienced at the hand of the church. 

But the overwhelming theme that emerged in most answers was simply this:  Love others.  More specifically, love people the way Jesus loved people, be kind, do good in the world, be open and avoid judgment, be relevant and creative, recognize someone’s needs and help them out.

Here’s the gist of what I posted as my personal response to this question of welcome:

Any community of faith ought to be concerned with: serving its community, being open and welcoming to all people who wish to attend its services or be a part of its activities, seeking peace and justice in the broader world, and helping people find ways to deepen their spiritual journey in ways that are meaningful for them.  And it is clear to me that we open-minded people of faith need to continue to work for healing and reconciliation with those who have been hurt by judgmental theology, including Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender folks and others.

I truly believe that practicing a wide welcome involves always working to create a safe and inviting place for people to come just as they are, to be their authentic selves – no strings attached.  This includes avoiding assumptions and judgments about others and instead inviting each other to share our lives, our faith, and our understanding of our mission and purpose with one another in authentic and honest exchange, done with respect and mutual affirmation of our personhood and our belonging to God. 

Jesus was really good at practicing a wide welcome.  And I think it is part of our call as the church today as we continue to live out our mission and ministry in the 21st Century.

Amen.