Fourth Sunday After Pentecost – Pastor Ellen Mills
I am offering you two ways to receive this. In print, you will need to read the scriptures for yourself, and then the prayer and reflection that follow in this post. If you click on the audio link below (below), you can hear all of it, including the scriptures
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray,
O God, you direct our lives by your grace, and your words of justice and mercy reshape the world. Mold us into a people who welcome your word and serve one another, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
Jeremiah 28:5-9
Psalm 89: 1-4, 15-18
Romans 6:12-23
Matthew 10: 40-42
The focus of our culture today is on the individual. But back in the time of Jesus, it was on the family unit, and was seen as connected. So it was very normal for Jesus to say that whoever welcomed one of the disciples was also welcoming him, and his Father who sent him. I don’t know if you were ever told as a child that your behavior would reflect on your family. It wasn’t just about you, it was about the family that you were part of. You represented them in what you said and how you acted. The disciples weren’t just being sent out on a mission. They were sent out in the name of Jesus. They were his emissaries, his ambassadors. And there was to be an expected result. When people welcomed a disciple, they opened up themselves to listen to their words. That would lead to trust in those words, and through those, an encounter with Jesus. As they encountered Jesus through the words and lives of the disciples, they, also, would become disciples.
Welcome and hospitality were very important practices then. Part of that was about the honor of families. Part of that was practical. There were no hotels or Burger Kings. No drinking fountains, and it was a dry country. A cup of water was not only about the needs of people’s bodies, it also honored them and said that they were important. Hospitality was not an industry. It was the responsibility of every person and every family. And it was not just to people you knew. It was to strangers as well.
Each time I read this passage in Matthew, I think of an experience I had in France when our college program went there. We had landed in Paris, where Americans were just tourists. We were necessary to the economy, but not much valued otherwise. But we spent the next week of our program at a small village in Brittany, La Gascilly. There are two things you should know about that area. Brittany is the northwest part of France that sticks out into the Atlantic and is close to England. And it has small towns and villages with a culture strongly influenced by the Celtic culture. And they had not had much contact with Americans since the second world war. For them, Americans were their liberators. The Bretons understood and practiced hospitality, and they had not had a chance to repay it. They were kind and friendly to us as individual college students, but we represented so much more. Each meal, each encounter, and especially the big celebration they threw for us at the end of our visit were all about the ones we represented. We not only had wonderful traditional food and a bonfire, they wore traditional dress and sang songs to us both in French and in Breton, an ancient language related to Gaelic. By treating us well, they were thanking the country we came from for what Americans had done for their village and country during the war. “Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me.” We felt welcomed. I had six months of varied experiences in France and Switzerland, but nowhere else did I receive a welcome like this.
How do you welcome others, and how have you been welcomed yourself? Does welcome feel like just a formality, or does it draw you into the circle? Does it include you and also anyone you might represent? I like the example Jesus gives. I will be unlikely to experience a local festivity like that again, but Jesus isn’t asking us to throw an elaborate party. He is giving the example of a cup of water. And not just any water – cold water. And to offer it in the name of a disciple, which would mean for Jesus, which would mean for the sake of God. Right now, we are in a time of social distancing, with far more things being done away from each other. When we have a vaccine and Covid is no longer spreading – have you thought about how you want to relate to others? Will there be more hugs? Will there be more pauses for conversation, for asking how people are doing and then listening, and giving them the time to really respond? Will you find ways to offer the hospitality of the heart? How will you plan to welcome strangers to your worship and to your food pantry in a way that honors them? How will you be a welcomer? Amen.
Called into unity with one another and the whole creation, let us pray for our shared world.
God of companionship, encourage our relationships with our siblings in Christ. Bless our conversations. Shape our shared future and give us hearts eager to join in a festal shout of praise. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
God of abundance, you make your creation thrive and grow to provide all that we need. Inspire us to care for our environment and be attuned to where the earth is crying out. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
God of mercy, your grace is poured out for all. Inspire authorities, judges and politicians to act with compassion. Teach us to overcome fear with hope, meet hate with love, and welcome one another as we would welcome you. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
God of care, accompany all who are in deepest need. Comfort those who are sick, lonely, or abandoned. Strengthen those who are in prison or awaiting trial. Renew the spirits of all who call upon you. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
God of community, we give thanks for this congregation. Give us passion to embrace your mission and the vision to recognize where you are leading us. Teach us how to live more faithfully with each other. Guide the members of our council as they interview the candidate for pastor. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
God of love, you gather in your embrace all who have died. Keep us steadfast in our faith and renew our trust in your promise. Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.
Receive these prayers, O God, and those too deep for words, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord’s face shine upon you with grace and mercy.
The Lord look upon you with favor, and give you peace.
Amen.