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NRS Hebrews 9:9 This is a symbol
of the present time, during which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot
perfect the conscience of the worshiper, 10 but deal only with food
and drink and various baptisms, regulations for the body imposed until the time
comes to set things right. 11 But when Christ came as a high priest
of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent
(not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), 12 he entered
once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but
with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. 13 For if the
blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer,
sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, 14
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to
worship the living God! 15 For this reason he is the mediator of a
new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal
inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the
transgressions under the first covenant.
Some years back my Dad was visiting churches in an effort to find a new
church. One Sunday he attended a church in the Richmond area, came in, no-one
talked to him or my step-mom as they made their way down the aisle and they sat
down in an open pew. A short time later a woman came and stood by the pew
without saying a word. Dad said hello to her at which point she said to him,
“You are sitting in my seat.” He stood up expecting her to move past him to
open places in the pew. However, she remained standing there and again said to
him, “You are sitting in my seat.” Needless to say, Dad and Marie, my step-mom,
never returned to that church again even though Dad said he enjoyed the message
that morning. I know of another story where a young couple came to the church
one morning for the very first time. People were friendly enough and welcomed
them to the church. However there were no signs to tell them that a nursery existed
and no-one said to them there is a nursery if they wanted to use it. They never
came back. Some statistics have shown that within the first 5 minutes of a
person arriving at your church for the first time, they have already decided
whether or not they are coming back.
The word radical
means “drastically different from ordinary practice, outside the normal.” Churches that practice radical
hospitality are not just friendly and courteous, passively receiving visitors
warmly. Instead, they exhibit restlessness because they realize that so many
people do not have a relationship with Jesus! Do we have a spirit of
restlessness? Let’s face it! We live in an un-hospitable world. People do not
simply go out of their way for one another. There has to be a place where people are made to feel welcome, loved,
respected, wanted and needed. What if that place were here? What if the
youth of our town had a place where they could come in, relax, enjoy a place where
they could talk with one another and enjoy a place of peace? Would they come?
They have told me that they would.
I often share
that the church should strive to be like that popular TV show from the last
decade called, "Cheers", sometimes you want to go...where everybody
knows your name, and they're always glad you came...that is radical...NORM! It
describes a genuine love for others who are not yet a part of the faith
community; an outward focus, a reaching out to those not yet known, a love that
motivates church members to openness and adaptability, willingness to change
behaviors in order to accommodate the needs and receive the talents of
newcomers. Beyond intention,
hospitality practices the gracious love of Christ, respects the dignity of
others, and expresses God's invitation to others, not our own. Many years
ago I had a boss who was less than friendly in his every day approach to
people. In fact, he was downright mean. When he held a meeting, he would always
close and lock the door. That way, if you were late, not only did you have to
open the door, but you had to knock on it so that everyone knew that you were
late. I had someone tell me one time that when they enter into a new church
they always feel uncomfortable, especially if no-one else is around. Which door
do I go in? Where is the sanctuary? Where are the rest-rooms? The doors are
closed to the sanctuary; does that mean no one is supposed to come in? These
are the questions our visitors will ask.
So what does
a radical hospitable church look like and act like? They go beyond the norm in everything that they do. They have made
a conscious decision that life for them is sharing love with everyone they
encounter no matter where you came from, what your current life is and how you
made it to their door. By the way, the door for radically hospitable churches is
the world around them as you often find them outside the doors as much as you
find them inside the doors. Radical hospitality means that where most people
would give you a map and signs when you enter the church for the first time,
radical hospitable churches greet you with a handshake or a hug, tell you how
fortunate we are to have you with us this morning (note the language there) and
to share with you that we will assist you however we can this morning. I am
grateful that we are doing a great job at this every Sunday morning. But it
extends even further than that. As we welcome folks to service we invite them
to our hospitality center, we invite them to lunch following the service and we
give them something to take home with them to remember us by. Radical
hospitable churches pay attention to details. Like the toilet paper. We’re two
ply or maybe even three ply people. Ever gone in one of those restrooms and
used the single ply stuff and you think, they’re cheap and don’t really care
about me. But when you enter a clean warm and friendly bathroom with two ply
toilet paper and nice decorations and so on, you think to yourself, these
people really care about each other and me. They have gone the extra mile. People
have told me that there is something going on here that is new. That’s a
statement that I love to hear, that we are brand new.
Radically
hospitable churches care about their communities so much that they find ways to
reach out and to be the center. I often hear that we Methodists are tooting our own
horns again and doing all kinds of stuff at the church. Hooray and Praise God!
They noticed. But rather than gloat about what we are doing, we need to invite
them in. Invite them to be a part, to be a partner, to be a member of our
family. Radical hospitality churches spend time in the community asking the
important questions like, what can we do to assist you, what can we provide to
make your life better, and how can we change the world around us to be a better
place. For those of us that grew up in the 60’s it sounds vaguely familiar and
yet it is something that resonates across generations. If you want the church
to grow, become church. What that means is that instead of worrying about
financial deficits and declining membership, we focus on giving youth a place
to congregate, adults a place to socialize and a community the activities it
needs. Maybe we need an “I’m Divorced but I still matter don’t I” class or a
class on how to get out of debt or how can I get a job. Radical hospitable churches focus not on what makes them stronger but
what makes the community better. Interestingly enough, what makes the
community better also makes the church stronger. There is something about the
love of God acted out in life that makes the message of God so much sweeter.
Radical
hospitality means that as a church we need to open our doors to all of God’s
creation, regardless of background, regardless of culture, regardless of race
and regardless of our own past. It means being radical about reaching out to
others in ways that show love and compassion for every living human being.
Anything less is a profanity to God because we are supposed to be the image of
God to the world. If you shun a fellow human being by not putting up signs to
find ways to your doors, by not welcoming strangers when they come and by not
creating an environment that is hospitable to all, then you have cursed God!
What it means to be hospitable is to reach out to the world like Jesus did.
Jesus turned no-one away, not a single one. Galatians tells us that the whole
law is summed up in a single commandment; you shall love your neighbor as
yourself. If however you bite and devour one another, take care that you are
not consumed by one another and subjected to the fires of damnation forever and
ever. Those are Paul’s words to the church. What we have to decide is who we
want people to believe we are. It starts with one hello, one shake of the
hands, one smile and one thank you for coming, please come again.
We are
continuing on a long journey. A journey that ends, or should I say begins, when
we are in the presence of Jesus face to face. I believe that the question he is
going to ask us in that moment is what did we do to further the Kingdom of God?
In other words, how did we share the love of God with the world around us?
Sharing the love of God is the one thing that radically hospitable churches do
well. Are you with me?
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