Welcome Home
Genesis 18:1-8
When have you been a stranger and welcomed by another? If you are like me those moments when someone has received you as a special guest have left an impression on you. It can be a humbling experience. Hospitality can change your life.
Interestingly the word in the New Testament for hospitality is philoxenia or “love of the stranger.” New Testament people are called to love the stranger, not fear them. When Jesus teaches about hospitality it is about loving one another.
Luke 14 Jesus is the guest at a Pharisee’s house. He offers advice about hospitality. “do not sit at the place of honor”, “do not invite your friends”, “invite the poor, the crippled, the lame.”
Romans 1:11-12 Paul says, “For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged in each other’s faith, both yours and mine,”
In welcoming one another our faith is strengthened. We have shared a number of moments where our love of the stranger has strengthened the faith of another. Sometimes it was for the one who was welcomed, sometimes it was for the one welcoming, sometimes it was mutual.
It will take continued effort to welcome the stranger into our community of faith. Each of us must be willing to love the stranger. You never know when the next member of LUMC will sit for the first time as a guest in “your” pew.
You are the welcoming team for LUMC. There are some items that it would be good for us to remember as we become ready to welcome the stranger.
Gathering and greeting time. It is vital that the entrance to the church be a positive experience for our guests. Some of our guests have been building up the courage to come to a church for a long time. Some of their experiences in church have been harmful and they come wounded and fragile. Some want to talk with many people, some simply want to sit down. We must find the right balance of attentiveness and giving space.
Make an effort to remember the names of those who sit near to you. NAME TAGS are helpful for this. Some people are visual learners and need to see your name as well as hear you say it.
“Passing the Peace” or “Holy hub bub” as I have heard it called. Again we need to have the appropriate balance of welcome without smothering.
It is important that you let us know that you were in attendance but also to set the example of writing your address and other contact information in the attendance pads when they are passed out. With this information we are able to deliver a gift for our visitors and inform them about the ministry of LUMC.
“Fellowship Time” can be one of our strengths but we need to be diligent. It is tempting to sit with our friends and catch up, yet when that happens we might be unintentionally forming “cliques” that exclude others.
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