WHAT’S SO HARD ABOUT INVITING STRANGERS?
Hebrews 13:1-14
This morning, I’d like to talk about hospitality. Do you know that one of the causes of the American Revolution was the issue of hospitality? Involuntary hospitality, to be precise. When Thomas Jefferson drew up the Declaration of Independence on behalf of the thirteen colonies, he listed all their reasons for separating from the Great Britain. And among the twenty-seven causes he listed was this one: that King George had placed armed troops among them.
In other words, the colonists had been compelled to provide food and lodging for British soldiers in their own homes. As you can imagine, they found this intolerable. How would you like it if a couple of Redcoats showed up at your door, demanded supper, and then informed you that they’d be sleeping in your guest room or on the living room couch for the next couple of months? That’s why, when the U.S. Constitution was written several years later, it included this guarantee, that "No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."
By the way, what I just read is the third amendment to the Constitution. How many knew that was in the Bill of Rights? How many even knew it was in the Constitution? I didn’t. But isn’t it nice to know that if a Humvee pulls into your driveway, and a bunch of Marines pile out asking what’s for dinner, you can just tell them to move along?
Hospitality. What are some words that describe what hospitality, or being hospitable, mean? (accommodations, welcome, friendliness, graciousness, sociable, neighborly, helpful) George Carlin, that once-famous nasty comedian of the 60s, asks, “If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?” Actually, one of the reasons I chose this topic was that, just as the third amendment is often overlooked when studying the Constitution, so the issue of hospitality is often overlooked when we study Christian discipleship. Think about it. If you were asked to identify which character traits a mature believer should possess, which character traits we should be striving to build into our lives, hospitality probably would not be high on your list. It seems like one of the less important, and perhaps even optional virtues, something akin to interior decorating, or flower arranging, or the art of making polite conversation.
But that’s not how the Bible presents it. In both the Old and New Testaments, hospitality is seen as absolutely essential. Christ even pointed to the practice of hospitality as evidence that we have come to know him as Savior, and a lack of hospitality as evidence that we haven’t. In Matthew twenty-five, as he describes the last judgment, he makes this rather startling statement:
34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.'
37 Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?'
40 And the king will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family you did it to me.' 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, "You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'
44 Then they also will answer, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' 45 Then he will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Matthew 24:34-46)
In other words, hospitality – accommodating, welcoming, friendliness, graciousness, sociable, neighborly, helpful – is a sign of genuine faith. That’s kind of sobering, isn’t it? Especially if we’ve been neglecting it. If we call ourselves Christians, we must live as authentic Christians. We must be careful not to be spiritual shoplifters, stealing things without paying the price. The price for the serious believer is to visit those in prison, clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and care for widows and orphans. All of this is hard grunt work; it takes our activity; we can’t just give money and let someone else do it. When we do that, we are being spiritual thieves.
In ancient times, your place in society was not based on citizenship, it was based on family; by a whole web of blood ties and marriage relationships. Back then, you would identify yourself, not by your country, but by your family, and your clan, and your tribe. So whenever you traveled away from your homeland you were in a very uncertain position. You couldn’t necessarily expect that the laws of some other place would protect you. Why should they? Their laws are for their people. You’re a stranger. What right do you have to demand anything from them? And so strangers were often mistreated, with little or no legal recourse, the same as many immigrants are today. But God specifically instructed his people not to oppress the aliens, not to exploit the foreigners in their midst. Scattered throughout the Old Testament, we find passages such as these:
"… you shall love the alien as yourself…(Leviticus 19: 34)"When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien…( Leviticus 23:22)"You shall not deprive a resident alien … of justice…(Deuteronomy 24:17)
So the strangers were not only to be fed, they were to be loved, and provided for, and their needs taken care of. Why? Deuteronomy 24:19 says “so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings.” But the reason for the command goes deeper than that. It’s the fact that God has saved us; that he reached out to us when we didn’t know him, when we were strangers. And he made us members of his own family. Our God is the one who invites the one who doesn’t belong into his own family. We serve a God who not only tolerates the stranger, but who loves him, and welcomes her, and accepts us as one of his own children. Do you see where this is going? As followers of Christ, we are to reach out, and show hospitality to those who aren’t a part of our group – our church, our Sunday School class, our Bible study, or even our own family – because that’s what God does. We are not to exclude them, or shun them, or ignore them. And it’s not sufficient merely to politely tolerate them. No, we are to intentionally seek them out; to make provision for them, and care for them, and consider their needs, just as if they were already a part of the group. We are to take the initiative to welcome newcomers and outsiders; we are to actively encourage them to join in.
The 13th Chapter of Hebrews begins, “Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Let mutual love continue. Real love produces actions that we can see in our lives and the lives around us, actions like kindness to strangers, sympathy, being accommodating, welcoming, friendly, gracious, sociable, neighborly, and helpful. The Apostle Paul reminds us to “remember that you were…without Christ, strangers to the covenant of promise…But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ…So then you are no longer strangers…you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God.” (Ephesians 2: 12, 13, 19) God came to us. He drew us in. He didn’t wait for us to seek him out. He didn’t expect us to make the first move. And it’s a good thing he didn’t, because if he had, none of us would have ever been saved. But instead, he sought us out. He called us. He made provision for us. And if we are his children, then we will do the same thing. Which means that the burden of making sure outsiders and newcomers are welcomed into our fellowship, our church is on us, and not on them. It’s not their job to somehow muscle their way in. It’s our job to invite them in.
You know, it’s easy to forget what it feels like to be a stranger in a new place. After you’ve been around a few years, you become familiar with where everything is, and how everything works, and who to see about this, and who’s in charge of that, and you forget how intimidating it can be for a new person to try and figure out all that stuff. It’s hard for any new person, yourself included, to find and join an unfamiliar network of people and relationships! Anyone trying to do that will certainly feel like a "stranger" and an "outsider." How many times have you decided not to attend a hymn sing at another church or another public event unless “someone goes with you?”
“Oh, I don’t want to go alone,” you say. Why? Because it’s hard to walk into a room of strangers who appear to know everyone in the room…except you. But Jesus says DO IT. Jesus says extend hospitality-- be accommodating, welcoming, friendly, gracious, sociable, neighborly, and helpful, because when you do that to the least of those strangers, you are doing it to Jesus himself.
Notice that Jesus doesn’t say be selective and only welcome those with a smile on their faces. Notice Jesus doesn’t say only invite people you know into your homes. Strangers. Foreigners. Illegal aliens, Mexicans, Iraqis, Koreans, Iranians, Saudis, as well as middle class white people. And I don’t mean to imply that the only people we should show hospitality to are strangers. 1 Peter 4:9 instructs us to "be hospitable to one another without complaining." You know, men, don’t complain when your wife has invited someone over for dinner that you really can’t stand the thought of spending an evening with. Be hospitable without complaining. Ladies, don’t think about what the house looks like or worry about what you should cook. Just be hospitable without complaining. So both are important; reaching out to strangers and also showing hospitality to one another. You know, I’ll bet there are people in this church, probably sitting right next to you, who could use some encouragement. I bet it would just make their week if someone were to invite them over for dinner after church, or maybe call and invite them over this evening, for watermelon or popcorn. Just to talk, see how they’re doing; shoot the breeze for a while. Lend a sympathetic ear. It doesn’t take much. You just have to do it.
Hospitality is inviting people into your life, just as you are. Hospitality is walking into the living room two steps ahead of your guests and kicking the toys or the magazines behind the couch. Hospitality is sharing whatever you’re having, even if it’s just a cold meat sandwich and potato chips.
Hospitality is also humble. Because if we open up our homes and our lives to people, some of the messiness of our own lives is going to be exposed. And that’s OK. Hospitality has to come before pride. Not that there’s anything wrong with cleaning the house and putting a casserole in the oven when you know that company is coming. That shows caring and respect also. But sometimes, you sense a need, or the opportunity for fellowship arises spontaneously, and you have to be prepared to invite folks over, regardless of what the house looks like. Because it’s not your house, or your furniture, or your cooking skills that people need most. It’s your friendship. Don’t let pride keep you from practicing hospitality.
Let me give you a suggestion. Once a month, or once every six weeks, or however often you can manage it, plan to invite someone home for dinner after church. Prepare some more food; set extra places at the table, and when you get to church, look around for someone who has never been to your home. After the service, go up to them and say, "We were hoping you could come home for dinner today. Would you be able to join us?" That’s all. It’s very simple, but also very powerful.
Or if the thought of that overwhelms you, invite them, on the spur of the moment, to go to a restaurant to eat after church. I guarantee that if families in the church will start to do this on a regular basis, we will see visitors coming back, we will become a closer, more supportive family of believers, and the Union Church will become to being known as a church that believes in hospitality.
Oh! One more thing. If you DO ask and they say they have other plans, then choose someone else; don’t be defeated! Just keep asking until someone says "yes." I doubt you’ll get too many “no’s.” How many of you would turn down an invitation like that today, even if you knew you were going to be eating boiled hot dogs or pizza?
If we practice hospitality, serving one another and reaching out to strangers, then God will be present in our homes, and we will see him do remarkable things. Remember what Deuteronomy 24:17 says about why we are to practice hospitality: …so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings.”
But we do it--we step way beyond our comfort zone--not just for what’s in it for us. We do it because God said we must. We do it because Jesus said we must. We do it because when we do, we are doing it to Jesus himself and we are being Jesus to another person.
It IS hard to invite strangers, and why? Part of it is fear. Get over it, God is with you. Part of it is we want our free time for ourselves. We are selfish and self-centered. Get over it. If you call yourself a Christian, then let’s start looking like a Christian. It’s time to reach out, to the homeless, the poor, the drug addicted, the single moms, and to each other.
PLEASE PRAY WITH ME: God, if we are strangers, welcome us with open arms. Return us to the world to do good and share what we have, captivated by the Holy Spirit, always making sacrifices of praise to you. Amen.
Benediction
From Psalm 27: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. People, wait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage! Amen.
Children's Story
#1
Put on a mask, and ask the children if they enjoy wearing masks. Ask them to tell you what’s fun about dressing up in this way. Suggest that masks can cover up who you really are, and it can be fun to surprise people by taking off the mask and revealing your true identity. Let them know that God sometimes puts on a mask and comes to see us. Quickly tell the story of Abraham, and how he was very kind to three men who came to visit him — men who turned out to be the LORD (Genesis 18:1—15). Point out that the letter to the Hebrews says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2). Let them know that Jesus comes to us in the form of hungry, thirsty and sick people, and when we help them, we are really helping Jesus (Matthew 25:31—46). Ask the children to look hard at the people around them, and to try to imagine that the Lord is hiding behind the masks of all these faces. Invite the children to suggest some of the ways that they can be kind and hospitable and helpful to other people. Remind them that when they behave in this way, they are not simply being good to people — they are also being good to the Lord.
#2
Ask the children to describe what an angel looks like. Find out if they have ever seen an angel. Then pull out a box of animal crackers, open it, and tell them that you are going to share your crackers with an angel. Stand up, look around the room as though you are searching for an angel, and then look down and hand crackers, one by one, to each child. Tell them that you are following the instructions of the Letter to the Hebrews: "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it" (13:2). Ask the children if they know what that line of Scripture means. Explain that we should always do good and share what we have (v. 16), because we never know whether the person sitting in front of us is an angel or not. Close by encouraging them to treat each other well, because you never know when you are going to meet an angel.
