Radical Hospitality

SCRIPTURE

Romans 15:7-13 (NRSV)
The Gentiles glorify God

Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
"Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles,
and sing praises to your name";
and again he says,
"Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people";
and again,
"Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples praise him";
and again Isaiah says,
"The root of Jesse shall come,
the one who rises to rule the Gentiles;
in him the Gentiles shall hope."

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.


DEVOTION

Today, I am profoundly moved by the words, “Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”

Over the last seven years I have been introduced by people in my community to the Benedictine value of radical hospitality. Their basic philosophy is, “We welcome everyone as CHRIST.”

Because they hold this value so dear, when you come into their presence, you really do feel as if you got the welcome that Jesus would receive in their midst.

I’ve come to wish that all Christians expressed this value at all times. But, the sad fact is that many churches—and Christians--do not welcome everyone who comes as CHRIST.

Instead, there are unspoken rules about who is—and is not—welcome. White people are welcome, people of color are not. Rich people are welcome, the poor and destitute are not. The housed are welcome, the homeless are not. The healthy are welcome, the sick and downtrodden are not!

I could go on and on, but if we are all being honest in our confession of sin, we know that most of our churches have unwritten rules about who is “chosen” and who is “gentile.”

Those who are “Gentile” do not receive a radical and hospitable welcome. They sit alone on the pew. No one speaks to them during worship. They are given a wide berth as they leave. And they certainly do not receive a postcard or follow up telephone call later in the week!

It makes me so sad—and God too—that our churches very often do not represent the diversity of God’s creation within humanity!

Paul address this issue, when he reminds the Jewish-Christians of his day, that God’s prophesies declared that Jews and Gentiles would confess, rejoice, and praise God together!

In Christ, we learn that there is no Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free—for we are all one in Jesus!

Nowadays, we might rephrase this to say that there is no White or Black, rich or poor, democrat or republican, we are all one in Christ!

As human beings we divide ourselves into rigorous categories of distinction, but God does not!

I love the last verse of today’s reading. It says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

What a wonderful prayer! Since God has so loved us that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life, oughtn’t we to be full of hope and joy?!

I sincerely pray that God’s love and peace will fill us with so much hope and joy that we will be compelled to share good news with everyone whom we meet!

All are welcome! All are welcome! All are welcome in this place!*

Will you invite a “strang-er” to church this week? If so, please pray with me:

Holy One, the Bible tells us not to forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing, we may entertain angels without our knowledge! This is such an exciting prospect! It is my desire to welcome every human being in the same way that I would welcome JESUS. Please forgive me for failing to do so in the past and please fill me up with Spirit so that I may do so in the future. I love you so much and I want to share our love with others. I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

*Marty Haugen, All Are Welcome

THE INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus."

http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html