{"id":3531,"date":"2023-07-05T12:26:40","date_gmt":"2023-07-05T12:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.firstpresvaldosta.org\/?p=3531"},"modified":"2023-07-05T12:26:40","modified_gmt":"2023-07-05T12:26:40","slug":"hospitality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.firstpresvaldosta.org\/index.php\/2023\/07\/05\/hospitality\/","title":{"rendered":"Hospitality"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hospitality<\/strong><\/span>
\nPs 89:1-4, 15-18<\/span>
\nMatthew 10:40-42<\/span>
\nJane Shelton, CRE<\/span>
\nJuly 2, 2023<\/span>
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Welcome, welcome, welcome!\u00a0 It is so good to be here with all of you today in the house of the Lord!\u00a0 A place where all are welcome!<\/span><\/p>\n

We often hear \u201call are welcome,\u201d and this Gospel invites us to consider how we might define hospitality.\u00a0 Do we make the new comer welcome?\u00a0 How about the visitor that ventures through the doorway, do they feel they were welcomed during their visit?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How do we know the proper way to welcome?\u00a0 Is there a correct way?\u00a0 A right or wrong way?<\/span><\/p>\n

Having a feeling of being welcomed is different for different people.\u00a0 For some, a hello and a smile may be enough.\u00a0 Although, for others, being welcomed may require a conversation or invitation to be involved or to be a part of something.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, some people may feel welcomed by having distance.\u00a0 So how do we know?\u00a0 How can we truly respond with the hospitality needed to connect with someone?<\/span><\/p>\n

Can we greet the stranger with the same quality of welcome that we offer to one another within the body of Christ?\u00a0 As those in our church?<\/span><\/p>\n

Do we welcome visitors and each other based on how a person looks, how a family looks, how a person speaks or the quality of clothing they are wearing?<\/span><\/p>\n

Can we set aside prejudices and judgements to consider that our Lord did not turn away anyone for the way they looked, rather he welcomed those with needs that could be met?<\/span><\/p>\n

When our focus becomes how much money someone has in the bank, or if they have a proper education, are we focused on the same hospitality offered by our Lord?<\/span><\/p>\n

When Jesus fed the 5,000, all that was needed was provided by God.\u00a0 Jesus showed the disciples how to entertain when they thought there was not enough to fulfill the need.\u00a0 Not only was everyone fed, but there was more than enough.<\/span><\/p>\n

In one of my commentaries, William Goettler writes the following regarding the hospitality of Jesus:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Jesus addresses the issue in the most personal of terms.\u00a0 He describes the love that families hold for one another, the tenderness with which we care for one another, the tenderness with which we care for parents and for children.\u00a0 That tenderness and compassion must be our model for loving all who come into our lives, in Christ\u2019s name.\u00a0 When we welcome the stranger, we welcome none other than Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus arrives and says, \u201cTake the love for family, love for your closest community, and extend it, extend it further and further still.\u00a0 Welcome in the stranger.\u00a0 Welcome in the one whose life you hardly understand.\u00a0 Not to change them, but simply because they are God\u2019s.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dare we preach that hospitality is good news?\u00a0 We can imagine that it is good news to those who have been previously shut out, those who in the past have been made to feel unwelcome—if, that is, they are somehow willing still to join in our song of faith.\u00a0 Of course it will take more than a bit of grace for the stranger to be willing to risk approaching the church doors that may have previously been closed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus insists that although we might pretend otherwise, we are not the gatekeepers of the community of God.\u00a0 Our work is to welcome, to offer an embrace when embrace is invited, and to give a cup of cool water for a hot summer day.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

The reference in this gospel to \u201cthe little ones\u201d is the same as the phrase, \u201cone of the least of these.\u201d\u00a0 It is referring to those who are considered \u201cless than\u201d in our society, just as members of the early Christian communities were considered.\u00a0 The disciples of Jesus were encouraged to identify themselves with \u201cthe little ones,\u201d and were also called to serve other \u201clittle ones\u201d in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus and the disciples were rejected by many in society, and yet, they were entertained by many who held no stature in society.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hebrews tells us, \u201cDo not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.\u201d (Hebrews 13:2)<\/span><\/p>\n

This message relates back to the Old Testament where Abraham and Lot entertained visitors who were messengers from God.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus says, \u201cWhen we help one of the least of these, the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, the needy, we help the Lord himself.\u201d\u00a0 When we entertain strangers, we are showing hospitality to Jesus Christ our Lord and demonstrating sisterly and brotherly love.<\/span><\/p>\n

So what should our hospitality look like?\u00a0 I think the Psalmist gives us a very good idea.\u00a0 We can sing with steadfast love for one another.\u00a0 We can proclaim our faithfulness and walk in the light of Jesus.\u00a0 We can exalt God for all that is provided to us, and enthusiastically praise all that is our reward provided by God.\u00a0 In other words, we share our joy!<\/span><\/p>\n

In hospitality, we also practice repentance, turning from familiar behavior that is anything but welcoming, and turn toward a willingness to embrace and live new ways of being found in the presence of God.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although Jesus speaks of rewards in this passage, we do not offer acts of compassion and welcome with the expectation that we will be given something in return, as love is not always returned with love.\u00a0 Love is often met with hatred and acts of violence, just as Jesus was crucified.\u00a0 Yet we are called to love in the midst of hate.\u00a0 We put our love in jeopardy so that blessings may be manifested in the lives of others, and at times in our lives as well.\u00a0 We become the embodiment of a Christian compassionate welcome that leads to hospitality in God\u2019s spirit of mercy.<\/span><\/p>\n

A spiritual discipline is rooted in compassionate welcome when we extend hospitality that is something new and different to someone who has a need.\u00a0 While it may be at first rejected because it is unfamiliar, it may be a blessing later recognized and revealed by God.<\/span><\/p>\n

What if we greeted everyone as if they were Jesus?\u00a0 How would this change our perceptions and judgements of others, if when we looked at them all we see is the face of Jesus?<\/span><\/p>\n

In the role of host, we find ourselves strengthened in our own faith by the \u201clittle ones\u201d who carry no money in their belt.\u00a0 They cast themselves upon us in trust, and create the opportunity for the offer of a simple cup of water.\u00a0 In practicing hospitality we find our reward, not always in the act itself, but with our Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n

When we extend hospitality to others, we may also find that we experience new insights and hear new stories of faith that redirect our perceptions that stimulate our theological and spiritual imaginations so that we become new people.<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking at the word \u201cwelcome\u201d we could see the following:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 W- widen our spiritual boundaries<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 E – embrace new ideas<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 L \u2013 learn to love more openingly<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 C \u2013 care with a compassionate heart<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O \u2013 open our minds to a better understanding of the life of Jesus<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 M \u2013 mind our manners without preconceived ideas and judgements<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 E \u2013 entertain strangers so that we grow spiritually stronger<\/span><\/p>\n

In stretching the limits of our hospitality, we stretch the limits of the imagination of the mission of ourselves and our church.\u00a0 We make available fresh and faithful ways of seeing and being.\u00a0 Let us go forth with a warm heart, an open mind, and a cold drink of water to offer, so that we too might entertain messengers of God and Christ himself.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hospitality Ps 89:1-4, 15-18 Matthew 10:40-42 Jane Shelton, CRE July 2, 2023 Welcome, welcome, welcome!\u00a0 It is so good to be here with all of you today in the house of the Lord!\u00a0 A place where all are welcome! We often hear \u201call are welcome,\u201d and this Gospel invites us to consider how we might […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHospitality - First Presbyterian Church Valdosta<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.firstpresvaldosta.org\/index.php\/2023\/07\/05\/hospitality\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hospitality\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hospitality Ps 89:1-4, 15-18 Matthew 10:40-42 Jane Shelton, CRE July 2, 2023 Welcome, welcome, welcome!\u00a0 It is so good to be here with all of you today in the house of the Lord!\u00a0 A place where all are welcome! 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