Imagine, if you will, that we were in a shared space: from the same community, maybe a few guests; 6 or 7 dozen folks all coming together for some time together, some catching up, some prayer, some music, some idea sharing.
Sounds great, doesn’t it?Actually, it sounds a bit like…. Church – doesn’t it?
And it is.
And this is the group of folks that are in the gospel passage today.
Normal folks.
Ordinary folks. Extraordinary folks!
Families. Friends. Neighbours.
Men, women, non-binary; young, not-so-young, old, not-so-old.
People that had lived there all their lives; and some that had just arrived in town.
Yup. It’s not a difficult mental exercise, is it?
Good! Because that’s the setting for our Gospel passage today.
And part of the focus that is often overlooked here is that the guests – the visitors – the newbies – were Jesus and his disciples.
Just before this, we heard last week, they were journeying from one village to another, seeing a place to stay and proclaiming the good news of God.
And today, we hear the very next part of this narrative.
Jesus and his disciples – one dozen people – join up with 70 others – about 6 dozen people – and they start some really exciting ministry.
And in order for this to happen, the joining part had to happen first. Jesus wasn’t just going to appoint people to go off into towns in his name if they were opposed to it: no, these were people who were willing to do this – knowing they would not always be well received – but they wanted to try anyway.
Because the Good News of God was more important than anything else in their lives.
Inspiring, isn’t it?
And despite Jesus’ commentary about what the road ahead (literal and metaphorical) would be like, they went. They carried no cash, no overnight bag, no spare pair of shoes. They were to make sure that they didn’t get distracted and off-course if they met up with friends along the way.
Instead, they were to go to places that they may or may not have already known; where they may or may not have already been known:
They were to go there, and rely on the hospitality of the people.
And this is a big thing:
Because the word hospitality was a little less complex in definition during biblical times; but it was more profound in execution.
Hospitality these days represents a field of industry – those places and practices to do with lodging and feeding, of saying welcome. We can be hospitable in our homes, but that’s generally when we invite family or friends over.
In biblical times, however, hospitality meant more than a polite welcome: welcoming was of course part of it, but the root of hospitality is hospital: a place of caring for others, whatever state they arrive in. Hospice is a place to tend to the most vulnerable.
The root of hospitality is HOST.
And in Jewish tradition, hospitality is a happy requirement; not a pleasantry.
Hospitality was woven into all of the lessons in the scriptures; going back to Abraham’s lineage God has called God’s people to welcome outsiders as guest; and to consider strangers as family.
In fact, throughout biblical times, to deny hospitality was an insult – as we saw last week – and the people who had refused hospitality were recognised to be unclean: figuratively, religiously, and literally.
For the practice of the time was to clean your feet as you approached the Temple or the Synagogue: removing particles of road dust, of course, but also removing from the body anything negative that was clinging: any grudges or hurts or negativity.
One did not enter a home of a host: heavenly or earthly: carrying that dust on their feet: just as we would want to prevent tracking dust into someone’s house, so too we want to prevent tracking in toxic mentalities or moods.
Hospitality: it’s a strong component of our faith.
And yet, sometimes we, too, like the disciples, miss the point a little bit.
And we, like the disciples, can be always reminded of our roles in God’s service: we are hosted; God is the host.
It’s why Jesus reminds the folks today – and us today – of being graciously received.
Accept what’s offered, rather than asking for something else. In biblical times, you planned your meals on a daily basis, so 2 unexpected guests could really thin out the evening meal. But it was always shared.
Share your peace: meaning carry it with you in the first place, and presume the best of people – if they demonstrate a lack of peace, leave it with them, behaving in a way that’s consistent with your values and morals.
Stay where you are: this is our proverbial greener grass on the other side – Jesus calls us to tend to our own grass rather than complain or covet the neighbours’.
And: stay off the high horse – the work of God is about God – it’s not about us. Jesus cites Satan as a cautionary tale of ego over hospitality; Paul’s letter to the Galatians goes into more detail of the problems of self-adulation.
So what about us?
What do we do – as today’s church – as the folks who have self-selected to be followers: how do we act as the church in a way that extends this hospitality to folks as they come to us? And as we encounter them?
Because hospitality is one of the spiritual gifts that we are granted; and it’s one of the spiritual practices that we’re called to live into: as individuals, as families, and as the church.
And, it’s both simple in what we do: and complex in how we do it.
Because hospitality is not merely saying welcome to someone.
It’s about truly welcoming them, to be disciples with us along the journey.
Which means welcoming newcomers into ministries and committees.
It means embracing new ideas – with an openness to success or failure.
It’s an act of joining together with a common mission – for God.
Hospitality can be easy! As easy as washing 7 times in the river, Naaman!
But it can be complex when we make it complex…
And that complexity comes because we are unwilling to be changed.
Again, just look at Naaman, refusing the healing hospital-ity of being cleansed because he didn’t want for it to be as easy as it was.
Hospitality evokes a change of heart and mind:
And that may mean a change in how we’ve always done things, or what we’ve always thought.
It means recognising that welcoming others means we will be changed: so that together we will all grow into better discipleship.
And we do this through love, and relationship, and adaptability: knowing that these are always, so long as we are hospitable, going to be evolving and growing.
Hospitality, after all, means being open to the movement of the Spirit; of the desire to welcome Christ into our lives in radical ways.
It’s why sometimes, the practice of biblical hospitality is called “Radical” hospitality.
Not because the acts themselves are radical, but because we become the radicals when we are hospitable in this way.
And radical doesn’t mean something shocking; it means an agent of change. In chemistry, a radical is “a group of atoms behaving as a unit”.
A number of individuals, coming together for a shared goal.
And when that goal is hospitality, we allow our own individual preferences to take a back seat – for the sake of the kingdom.
Just like the disciples in today’s Gospel, and the 70 that Jesus appointed:
AND it can mean us, too, should we be open to following Jesus on the way.
Bishop Robert Schnase of the UMC church says it this way:[Christian hospitality] involves seeing ourselves as sent out by Christ and going out of our way, even at the risk of a sense of awkwardness and inconvenience, to invite people into some aspect of the church's ministry.”
So imagine, if you will: a group of 6 or 7 dozen people.
all coming together for some time together, some catching up, some prayer, some music, some idea sharing.
All coming together to learn more about how to be radically welcoming, putting every effort and emphasis on making people feel not just that they are tolerated, but that they are fully engaged and embraced.
All coming together, with open hearts and open minds, desiring to open the church of God to the whole people of God: and thereby sharing in the ministry of God.
What healing can come;
What joy can grow;
What faith can blossom:
When we are all welcomed on our way.
So let’s BE radicals: sharing a true welcome as together we proclaim the Kingdom of God.
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