“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.—
Today Jesus talks about welcoming. When we read this passage we tend to think outwardly. Will those people out there welcome me as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Let’s take a moment to see who Jesus might be talking aboutA special note of thanks to exegesis and homilies from the following: The Great Woman of Shunem by the Rev. Jai Mahtani and Sermons from Seattle – Series A, Gospel Analysis: Welcome based on Pentecost 6A, Matthew 10:40-42 by Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church.
In today’s first reading from the book of Kings we read of the godly woman in Shunem who showed love and hospitality to the prophet Elisha. This Shunammite woman did something rather extraordinary:
she said to her husband, “I know that he is a holy man of God. Since he visits us often,
let us arrange a little room on the roof and furnish it for him with a bed, table, chair, and lamp, so that when he comes to us he can stay there.”
The Shunammite woman had already shown great hospitality toward Elisha, inviting him to come and dine each time he came by their way. Through these encounters she recognized Elisha as a holy man of God and for that reason she went above and beyond. She convinced her husband (who was elderly) to put an addition on their house.
Can you imagine? Let’s say that you run across a holy person, a real person of God, and you get to know that person. Then you talk to your spouse and you convince your spouse to take out a home improvement loan so you can add-on. Then you build an addition for this holy person, you furnish the room, and you give them a key to the house.
The Shunammite woman engaged in that kind of radical hospitality. She welcomed a prophet of the Lord and thus she welcomed the Lord. Because of this she received a great gift – a child.
Brothers and sisters,
Jesus wants the same radical hospitality. In the gospel He says:
—And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple–amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.—
Now in those days there was no such thing as a cup of cold water. Remember, no refrigeration, no ice makers, nothing of the sort. You couldn’t walk into the next room and grab a cold one. If there was water in the house it was lukewarm at best. To get cold water you had to run down to the well and draw it fresh and cold. Remember too that in those days there was only one well – probably in the center of town. It could be a couple miles away.
Jesus was going beyond the example of the Shunammite woman. She would have run to the well because her guest was a person of greatness, but Jesus tells us to draw cold water for the —little one.— Jesus wasn’t just talking about children, He meant the little ones, the least among us. He wants us to draw cold water, to serve the elderly, the forgotten widow, the abandoned, the poor, the harassed illegal immigrant, people outside of our social, ethnic, cultural, and class milieu.
The people of Jesus’ day would have said, —A cup of cold water for them? Unheard of! Insane!— But here is Jesus calling us to radical hospitality toward all. Radical hospitality to those who are like us, who we worship with weekly, and to those who are so different from us, who are unknown to us, yet who all bear the image of Jesus Christ.
My friends,
Jesus call is radical because it forces us to recognize the fact that we are uncomfortable with the unknown, the different, the stranger. We look at Jesus’ words and expect the world to throw the doors open for us, to welcome us as disciples, yet when the disciples appear, often times out of nowhere, we unconsciously screen them out.
Inherently, in every choir, in every confirmation class, in every Bible study, in every worship service, in every coffee hour the natural inclination is to be friendly to our old friends, with the members of our family circle or clique, and not to truly and genuinely incorporate others into our circle.
To succeed the old disciples who are outside of our circle and the new dsciples must all be welcome. Jesus has sent His disciples. We and they bear His image and His word. We and they seek welcome, warmth, love, and compassion. We and they seek a place in the choir, the confirmation class, the Bible study, the coffee hour, and at worship.
Paul tells us:
you too must think of yourselves as (being) dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.
Living for God in Christ Jesus makes us different. It makes life different. It makes our task different. We must look with clear eyes, the eyes of Christ. The sin of exclusion must die. We must open our hearts and doors and consciously resist words that say welcome but actions that set us apart from others.
The disciples of Jesus are here and out there. They are seeking community, the Church where they can grow in Christ. That Church is here as long as we recognize our call to radical hospitality, to welcoming all. It is the role of our Church, our parish, and our personal responsibility. We all have a part and our welcoming makes the whole family of God greater. Amen.
