Bible Text:

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers…”                                                                                                                     (Hebrews 13:2)

Hospitality is not always in the forefront of our thinking. Sometimes we are less than enthusiastic about the subject. I remember a story about a little girl who met a man on the street. “Good morning,” said the man. “How are you, little lady?” 

“I am fine, thank you,” she responded. 

There was a pause. The man said, “Well, are you going to ask me how I am?” 

“No, I’m not,” said the little girl. 

“Why not?” queried the man. 

Came the reply, “Because I’m not interested.” 

Hospitality is sometimes treated cheaply. There was a sign in a store window one day that said, “1/2 price sale on welcome mats.” 

Our culture doesn’t always encourage hospitality. Consider this description: “ATM machines are so impersonal. You type numbers while looking at a cold, blue screen, while being watched by the cold eye of the security camera, to receive your cold cash without so much as a ‘please’ or a ‘thank you.’” 

Sometimes we poke fun at hospitality. I read a listing of the world’s shortest books:

1.      “Everything Men Know About Women”

2.      “Everything Women Know About Men”

3.      “French Hospitality” 

So what about the church? What about you and me? What about our primary point of entry—the worship services? Some of you have probably seen the record of a typo in a church bulletin. It said simply, “Ushers will swat latecomers.” 

The church—and this church in particular—must always be a place of hospitality. No community of believers can allow ourselves anything but extraordinary hospitality. Not just hospitality, but extraordinary, exceptional hospitality. As the chair of the General Conference 2004 Hospitality Team, I suggested a vision statement for our work. We now say about ourselves, “We want to provide excellent hospitality in the context of Christian conferencing.” Again, it’s not just hospitality, but excellent hospitality, exceptional hospitality. 

The church is a place of exceptional, even extraordinary hospitality. 

Fairbanks, Alaska is the northernmost city in the United States. The Midnight Sun United Church in Fairbanks has this vision statement: “To show that God’s love and justice is for all people, and that the church can and must be a community where everyone is welcome and everyone has something to share at Christ’s table.” 

Why? Why is hospitality so important right here? 

SYSTEMIC TO BIBLICAL TEACHING 

For one thing, it’s because hospitality is systemic to Biblical teaching. Hospitality is a part of the culture out of which the Bible came. Consider Psalm 23, where we read, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” That particular passage is highly descriptive of the Old Testament people. If you were pursued by an enemy, and came into the camp of another Bedouin tribe, the other tribe was required to welcome you and keep you two nights and one day. They would offer you water, they would wash your feet (an act of hospitality for tired feet), pour oil on your head (an act of hospitality for a day in the hot sun), and food to eat. The enemy would have to wait outside the circle for those two nights and one day. The hope would be that the enemy would become frustrated or tired, or even have a change of heart. Hospitality was indigenous to the Biblical people. 

I had the privilege of knowing my wife’s grandfather for a few years. He was a committed Christian who grew up in the Holy Land. He was devoted to Jesus and to his faith. He spoke and practiced exceptional hospitality. It always seemed to me that hospitality was indigenous to who he was as a person. 

The Bible says that God welcomes anyone who will have Him. In fact, God has made the first move already. Soren Kierkegaard writes, “God does not merely stand still, open his arms, and say, ‘Come.’ No, God goes forth to seek—as the shepherd sought the lost sheep, as the woman sought the lost coin. God goes infinitely farther than any shepherd in search of sheep or any woman in search of a coin.” 

Hebrews 13:2 says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” 

Hospitality is indigenous to our faith tradition. 

JESUS PRACTICED AND PERFECTED HOSPITALITY 

Furthermore, we practice hospitality because Jesus practiced and perfected it to the extreme. Jesus was gracious and hospitable to almost everyone. I say “almost” because he did call a few religious officials “snakes” and “a brood of vipers.” 

However, the New Testament tells us that Jesus opened the door to all persons. He welcomed everyone in the crowds that sought him. He invited a hated tax collector into his inner circle. He invited himself into one tax collector's home. He was gracious to Roman officials, who were the symbols of oppression. He showed kindness to a prostitute, and to a woman who had been married five times. He celebrated some Greeks who came looking for him. And he welcomed fishermen, who were the middle class of his day. Jesus didn’t just welcome outcasts; he also welcomed the middle class. 

Anyone who came into his circle received the message, “You are welcome here.” No one was excluded. No one is excluded. 

At one point Jesus said, “I came to call sinners to a changed life.” I learned many years ago that the word “sinners” in this context means those who are apathetic. Jesus comes to call those who say, “I’m not sure about this,” or those who say “I don’t have time for this right now,” or even those who say, “I’m too tired for church right now.” Jesus came for those who were bound up in self and schedules and systems. Jesus welcomed every person who came seeking him.  

THE UNITED METHODIST TRADITION ENCOURAGES IT 

Again, we practice hospitality because the United Methodist tradition strongly encourages it. John Wesley revolutionized England with his extraordinary hospitality. “If your heart is with me on this,” he said, “give me your hand.” Methodists have a long tradition of hospitality. 

A family moved into the Eastern Shore of Maryland, having been relocated from a different part of the country. On the first Sunday after they had moved into their new home they worshiped in a small Methodist church in that community. The following Tuesday the 10-year-old boy in the family was struck by a car while riding his bicycle. He was rushed to a major medical facility in the Baltimore area. When word reached the church, people rallied around that family with extraordinary grace and energy. They began to provide meals to the family. They provided transportation to and from the airport for grandparents who flew in to be at the bedside in the hospital. They provided care for the 5-year-old sister of the little boy so that the parents could maximize their time with their son. They did everything they possibly could to give the parents an opportunity to stay at the bedside of the boy. 

As it turned out, the boy did recover from his injuries. After a brief period of convalescence at home, the family was back in church one Sunday. On that Sunday they placed in the offering a check for twice the total of their annual pledge. That check would be what the Bible calls a votive offering—an offering out of extraordinary gratitude to God. However, it was an offering that was prompted by Methodist hospitality at the highest level. It is the symbol of what every church is called to be. 

Have you seen the videos on television this month? I think the video they’re showing this year is superbly crafted and presented. It’s called simply, “The Gift,” and it’s beautifully done. A woman shares her gifts with others, then finds herself on the receiving end of the gift as well. The tag line is always the same, “Our hearts, our minds, our doors are open: The people of the United Methodist Church.” 

Let me be clear about one thing. Hospitality is not for getting people to join our church. “Welcoming is for welcoming. It is simply to let visitors experience the hospitality of the Kingdom. It is not a technique; it’s a lifestyle.” 

And so the doors and the hearts and the minds of this United Methodist Church are open. You are welcome here with or without financial resources. You are welcome here with or without a knowledge of the Bible or the basic teachings of the Bible. You are welcome here regardless of your past mistakes or your present difficulties. You are welcome here regardless of your sexual orientation. You are welcome here with or without more than one husband or wife—though preferably only one husband or wife at a time! (We take marriage seriously, but we welcome divorced and formerly married persons too.) We are open to those with widely varied perspectives on faith issues. 

A young United Methodist pastoral associate recently wrote about her church. This is what she said. “I am very proud to be a part of a congregation that includes people who hold and live diverse theological perspectives. Each of us seeks to be faithful to God, and I treasure the openness of mind that lets us all do just that in community together.”[i] 

Our hearts, our minds, our doors are open: the people of the United Methodist Church. This has become the best low-key evangelism in a long time. It reminds me of a Swiss hotel chain motto that reads, “Where the doors are open before you even knock.” Somehow that sign sounds almost Christ-centered. 

A man wrote about his visit to a Pentecostal storefront church in New York City. The man sitting next to him said, “You’re not from this neighborhood, are you?” 

“No, I’m not.” 

“Well, you should feel welcome here. If you are looking to get you some church, you came to the right place.” 

The visitor later wrote, “I’ll never forget that phrase: ‘looking to get you some church.’ It sounded like good food being offered, and you could count on it if you really wanted to be filled.”[ii] 

Practice exceptional, extraordinary, and excellent hospitality… because it is indigenous to our faith tradition, because it was the practice and teaching of Jesus, because it is the legacy of the United Methodist Church, and because it is the godly way to live.