August 28, 2022——-12th Sunday after Pentecost——-Rev. Patrick Mecham
Hebrews 13: 1-8, 15-16; Luke 14: 1, 7-14
There is a song written by Tommy Shane Steiner entitled, “What If He’s an Angel?” I’d like to share the first verse:
There’s a man standing on the corner
With a sign saying, “Will work for food”
You know the man
You see him every morning
The one you never give your money to
You can sit there with your window rolled up
Wondering when the light’s going to turn green
Never knowing what a couple more bucks
In his pocket might mean
What if he’s an angel sent here from Heaven
And he’s making certain that you’re doing your best
To take the time to help one another?
Brother, are you going to pass that test?
You can go on with your day-to-day
Trying to forget what you saw in his face
Knowing deep down it could have been his saving grace
What if he’s an angel?
Now, before I go any further, I need to give you my spin, my personal philosophy on giving cash to people on the street: NEVER give cash; never, never, never give cash. 1. It’s too easy to use for drugs or alcohol (if they have an addiction); So, 2. Your money could actually hurt the person!
BUT, as the song asks, What if he’s an angel, making certain that you’re doing your best to take the time to help one another? Ah, there’s the key. It’s not throwing a couple of bucks to a person asking for money—it’s taking time to help one another. Friends, your time, your concern, your involvement are of far more value—far more help—than your money. It would do more good to give to the local Food Pantry or Clothes Closet!
Our topic for today is HOSPITALITY, a concept that is much more broad than simply having people into our homes. It’s all about welcoming people into our hearts! Think about it: Jesus practiced hospitality, but didn’t have a home. He welcomed people into his life, into his heart.
Our passage in Luke shows Jesus at the home of a Pharisee for a Sabbath meal. He introduces a couple of radical, revolutionary ideas about being a guest and being a host. And the writer to the Hebrews suggests that some have entertained angels without knowing it—so it’s a good idea to “show hospitality to strangers.” And his idea includes caring for prisoners and keeping our lives free from the love of money—being content with what we have.
Both he and Jesus would say that we please God as we share what we have (our time and our resources). This is not Communism or Socialism, it’s hospitality. Let’s take a look.
Position in Society
Human beings have always striven (as part of our nature) to create layers within our society, always trying to show that we are in a higher layer than are others. In the time of Jesus, one of the places these “layers of importance” are revealed is at the banquet table. In Medieval Europe, lower classes had to sit below the salt and upper classes sat closer to the host. The banquet table at the Pharisee’s house had the same arrangement: The “higher” position you held in society, the closer you sat to the host at the “high end” of the table. Jesus suggested that you always choose to sit in the lowest place available, and wait for the host to “elevate” your position, rather than choosing a place too high and being “demoted” to a lower spot! (I.e. be humble.)
Then he advises those who are in a position to share, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite those who can repay you. Instead, invite those who cannot repay you!
- You will be blessed in this life, and
- You will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
Jesus is saying, “Pay attention to those at the bottom of society.” Many of you know the name of John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach at UCLA. Coach Wooden used to say, “You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”
Friends, having a willingness to welcome folks into our hearts makes possible a two-way blessing!
Hospitality to Strangers
Now for our passage in Hebrews, urging us to show hospitality to strangers. This applies wherever we are: in our own homes, or at our workplaces, or our schools, our clubs. It even applies when we are on some “neutral turf” like a restaurant, a highway, a park, a volleyball game. And it applies when we ourselves are guests of someone else—we can practice true hospitality.
The opposite side of that same coin is his phrase, “Be content with what you have.” Friends, when we practice contentment, it is much easier to focus on God’s concerns and LIFE IS RICHER! As Paul wrote to Timothy, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” When we pay attention to the way that God is taking care of us, we are free from fear, free to share what we have.
Happy Hospitality
God has designed the world in such a way that we live best in community with others. That means that what happens to the least of us impacts all of us. I love the quote from Hugh Downs: “To say ‘My fate is not tied to your fate’ is like saying ‘Your end of the boat is sinking!’” We are all in the same boat, and what happens to the least of us impacts all of us.
Friends, God wants us to be joyful, but the only way to find joy is to step beyond our focus on self. It means extending a welcome to those we encounter, and it might be something as simple as a smile or as far-reaching as a world-wide mission project.
OPEN HEARTS ARE HAPPY HEARTS
I’m going to finish by sharing something personal. SSPC is a very welcoming family. New people tell me all the time, “I felt like part of the family the first time I came here!” My time here with you folks has been blessed because we have opened our hearts to each other. It’s really hard to move on to the next chapter that we know God is leading us into, so I have found myself kind of walling off my heart in order to just get through it and not dissolve into a puddle of tears.
It reminds me of the day when our daughter got married. We loved her young man (and still do!), but that day was tough for me. I had the privilege of officiating at their wedding: first walking her down the aisle, then swinging around and performing the ceremony. I managed to keep it together.
Then at the reception, it was time for the Father/Daughter Dance with the Bride. The song was “Cinderella,” all about a dad who kept dancing with his little girl through her life, finally having to let her go. I listened to that song for months, making myself “immune” to the tears that wanted to come. I just didn’t want to get tearful snot all over her wedding dress!
I had to wall off my heart.
So, while I still maintain that open hearts are happy hearts, I also find myself closing off my heart for short-term necessity. So, if I have been a little aloof with you these last couple of months, I am sorry. It’s just that we have to say “Farewell” here shortly, and I’d like to make it as painless as possible! The good news is that, after an appropriate interval, we plan to be back. And the love we have for each other will still be flowing.
In the meantime, I plan to keep working on having an open heart, to practice hospitality with everyone I meet.
I hope you continue to do so!