HOSPITALITY

Matthew 10:40-42; I Peter 4:7-11

July 6, 2008 – Rev. Jerry Duggins

(This sermon was originally presented in a conversation format.)

The gospel is about welcome, but a kind of welcome that goes beyond “hello.”

Think about what kinds of places you have been welcomed to as a guest; what kinds of welcome have you received?

What special things do you do when you host a gathering of guests in your home?

Consider the difference between being a visitor and being a guest

Visitors sometimes pay for the privilege of seeing an exhibit,

Guests are often (though not always) welcome without financial obligation

Consider the difference between being a host and being a greeter…

Hosts take responsibility for the quality of the experience

Greeters merely welcome leaving the visitors to fend for themselves

Changing our language only makes a difference when we internalize the distinctions. . When I do more than say just hello, when I care about tenting to your needs/wishes

Being a guest for the gospel means receiving from Christ the love we need to remove the obstacles to faith,

it means fostering an openness to the presence of God.

It means seeing with the eyes of faith (this is God’s world. What might God want me to do?...)

Being a host of the gospel means paying attention to the details of people’s lives.

It means sensitivity to the needs and desires of others.

It means developing a maturity in faith that becomes aware of the relevance of faith for the needs people face.

It means learning the tools of hospitality

At the Lord’s table we come as a guest, but before long we become “members of the body of Christ”: Hosts for other guests around the table.

Here Jesus is our host… what does that mean? How does he make us welcome at the table?

But we are more than guests. We are members of the “family”. As members we become responsible for bringing guests to the table. How might we – how might you – take up that call?