All Are Welcome?

 

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Cambridge, MA            The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling 

Just this month, our Bishop shared with members of the Diocese of Massachusetts the work that we have been doing over this past year regarding our new core values, mission statement, and the strategic priorities for the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. According to the Bishop, our hope is that these values and priorities will guide us in our life together for the next several years to come. Today I want to focus on our five core values. They are: Welcome, Courage, Justice, Joy, and Love; and I’d like to focus most specifically on the core value of Welcome.

Many years ago, one of the hot topics in our church was encouraging the practice of radical hospitality. In his sermon last week, the Rev. Dan Bell mentioned that he had recently learned a new word called “Sonder.” It is defined as realizing that every other individual has a life as full and real as one’s own. It can also be described as the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.” (John Koenig, Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.)

Put another way, according to St. Benedict’s Way of Love, radical hospitality “means you’re open to the gift of discovering what any person has to offer no matter who they are.” (Radical Hospitality, Benedict’s Way of Love.) Or as Brother David, one of the monks affiliated with the Society of St. John the Evangelist, has said, we can only know another individual as the tip of an iceberg. So much of our lives and stories, our thoughts and experiences, lie beneath the surface, unknown to others, perhaps even to ourselves!

 Why would our church place such importance on radical hospitality? Why would our diocese recently name welcome as one of our core values? Well, because Jesus did!

In Luke’s gospel today, Jesus specifically talks about what it means to be a guest in someone’s house. And here we are today, gathered in God’s house which we call St. Peter’s, and at today’s Eucharistic feast, we are all invited to be Christ’s guests at His Table. Everyone is invited. Indeed on your website you say to expect A Radical Welcome at St. Peter’s!

What do we mean by “a radical welcome?” Your website claims that Saint Peter’s “welcomes the voices, presence, and power of all people, including those who have been defined as The Other, pushed to the margins, or silenced.” You say that “We will welcome you if you are ready to walk the path of Christ in fellowship with others; if you are struggling to find your way forward; or if you need a quiet place in which to pray. At Saint Peter’s, there is room for everyone at God’s table.” Everyone?

Remember that oft repeated marketing line that hangs from church banners or appears on our church websites? “All are Welcome!” we proudly proclaim. Now I have a friend who lives in Minnesota and often makes fun of that claim. He says, “Do you really think churches would welcome a violent and criminal predator to join them without practicing safe church guidelines? Do you really think that anyone would welcome a stranger at their church door who is masked and holding a gun in their hands? Would you welcome a young man carrying three guns who appears at your church ready to kill the children who are praying inside during mass?”

 Because of its dwindling numbers of parishioners and its desire to address a social need within their community, a church in Somerville decided last year to convert its church into a homeless shelter. Partnering with the Somerville Homeless Coalition, they created everything needed for a shelter for the homeless people in their neighborhood, with a sign that said, “All Are Welcome Here.”

Unfortunately or fortunately, depending upon your perspective, the neighbors have taken them to court, arguing that it is against the law to create this shelter in their neighborhood. Pointing to NIMBY, “Not in My Back Yard”, the church members are pushing forward to open this shelter. Why would you complain about certain problems if you’re not willing to find and create solutions for them, they argue? Pointing to increased drug use, petty and violent crimes, and more litter on their streets, opponents offer their own rebuttals.

How often have you been excluded from a conversation or a gathering because you seemed to be the wrong age, the wrong skin color, or wearing the wrong clothes? How often have you been avoided just because you’re new and different from the people who know each other already? How often have you felt a cold shoulder rather than a warm welcome because of one thing or another?

Over the years I’ve learned variations of the word “radical.” Unfortunately it is a word that is often misused or misunderstood. Politically, we group people into far right and far left camps and we call them radical. We claim that certain politicians are so radical that they would destroy our country if elected into office. Judging books by their covers we consider certain lifestyle choices as being radical. In fact, blue hair and tattoos belong to the young and old alike. And if human nature isn’t radical enough, how about Mother Nature and the radical changes we see in our climate?

I learned that the root meaning of radical invites us to dig deeper. Indeed radical means just that….to be radical is to go to the root of something or someone. It is a way of going beyond surface manifestations, beyond the tips of our icebergs, and ‘digging’ deep into the core of something or someone. It means practicing “sonder”, which means seeing individuals just as they are, with so much more of their lives and stories hidden beneath the surface.

Jesus was someone who practiced radical hospitality and He practiced it by moving beyond the confines of his own religious upbringing. While the author of Hebrews wrote: "Remember your leaders, and imitate their faith”, last week Jesus called them “hypocrites.” Jesus wasn’t afraid to speak truth to power; and yet Jesus incarnated God’s radical love and encouraged us to love God as God loves each and every one of us. To love others even though it involves risks. How do we do that?

The letter to the Hebrews offers us multiple suggestions. Here are five from today’s lesson:

1.     Let your mutual love continue between you and God and between you and your neighbor. We can love others, and indeed even ourselves, because God loves us first and Jesus showed us the Way. Mutuality implies giving and receiving.

2.     Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers. If you don’t know someone here, introduce yourself. If you see someone alone or struggling, offer a word of kindness, or a look of understanding. Offer to help. Speak up; if you see something, say something.  Being radical means taking risks, and stepping out of our comfort zones for good reasons.

3.     There are many hot topics for debate and discussion these days, like immigration, gun violence and wars, gender identity, and economic challenges. It can be tempting to stay on the surface or remain within our favorite echo-chambers, and therefore avoid those difficult conversations. We often maintain our superficiality and don’t dig deeper with radical courage, engaging others with respectful dialogue, or maybe even challenging our own perspectives.

4.     “Keep your lives free from the love of money.” Soon we’ll find ourselves in the thick of our stewardship season followed by our end of year financial planning. Quickly we may remind ourselves that money isn’t necessarily bad, it’s just the love of it that causes us so much trouble.

5.     And that easily leads me into the 5th example offered in the letter to the Hebrews. “Be content with what you have.”

Today, we can only live one day at a time, trusting that Jesus is “the same, yesterday, today and forever” as the author of Hebrews attests. We are all welcome for a meal in God’s house with Jesus as our gracious and radical host. We are all invited to share places of honor, each and every one of us, at His Table. Praising God, from whom all our blessings flow, we are then empowered to be radical agents of Christ’s love, “doing good, sharing what we have, and confessing His name.” Amen.

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16                         Luke 14:1, 7-14

 

 

 

 

A Consuming Fire

 Christ Episcopal Church, Needham, Massachusetts            The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling 

             Come Holy Spirit and kindle in us the fire of your love. Amen.

             Somewhere, I seemed to have taken a turn, and to be honest with you, I’m not sure why. I used to read only books that had happy endings, little violence, and some sort of spiritual message. I think my change in reading habits all began with a colleague’s recommendation for a murder mystery, the latest in a series by Louise Penny. That first book led to another book until all 20 books had been consumed by me in short order. Like potato chips or french fries, I couldn’t stop after consuming only one.

            Perhaps I was comforted by the fact that the primary detective in these murder mysteries was a decent and good man. He actually felt called to this particular vocation and, unlike some of his colleagues, he was someone who could see the possibilities in other people. He was willing to take a risk by adding people to his team who had been short-changed, wounded, or ignored by their families and/or co-workers. Conversely, he wasn’t afraid to uncover immoral, powerful people in his own organization. This detective was a boss who gave people a great deal of trust; and these people often responded to him with deep loyalty.

          My enjoyment of these murder mystery series began to spill over into real life events. I started listening to the details of horrific crimes, ones I used to avoid like the plague. Most recently I was horrified by the murders of four university students in Idaho over 3 years ago. The trial finally came to a conclusion last month after a plea deal was agreed upon. The murderer would avoid the death penalty but he would serve 4 consecutive life sentences in prison with presumably no chance of parole.

          There was a great deal of back and forth about the plea deal. A family member of one of the deceased students claimed she had already forgiven him, while another family member described him as “pure evil” and hoped he would burn in hell. Some people felt this murderer deserved the death penalty and nothing less. Others were concerned that after many years of “good service” in prison, he might eventually be released; and yet he would be tormented by fellow inmates beginning on day one. So what was justice in this set of circumstances? And what about the issue of judgment by us? Or by God? I wondered.

          Justice and judgment are often conjoined. The definition of justice in its broadest sense is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly, and assumes that the administration of the law will maintain justice. Similarly, the definition of judgment means the ability to make considered decisions, come to sensible conclusions, and may involve the decision of the court or a judge. (Wikipedia)

          Now according to Bible Hub, “Judgment, in the biblical context, refers to the divine evaluation and decision-making process concerning human actions, thoughts, and intentions. It encompasses both temporal judgments, which occur within history, and eschatological judgments, which pertain to the end times, reflecting God's holiness, justice, and sovereignty.” Today’s New Testament passage from Hebrews refers to God as the judge of all.

          At a very young age most of us learn that there are consequences for our words and actions. Now God’s judgment includes both justice and mercy; and it seems to me that if you don’t believe in the justice and judgment of God, then why not “eat, drink, and be merry?” Why not do whatever we want regardless of the effects on other human beings? And yet, in reality, we all fall short; we all sin; we all plead for mercy before the judgment seat of God.

While you may not identify yourself with a murderer, there are different kinds of sin. “Racism or any other kind of “ism”, greed, false teaching, misuse of wealth, and degrading words to a fellow human being—are these things that damn people to hell? According to Scripture, and the authors of the book Erasing Hell, the answer is yes.” (Erasing Hell, Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle) 

Scriptural literalists will point to passages that claim “unless you believe this” or “unless you do that” you will not be saved. It’s known as the “turn or burn” theology. Unfortunately, scripture passages vary widely; one section will claim that everyone will be saved by God’s grace and mercy, while other passages say that God’s consuming fire will be the final judgment for our lack of faith and our deplorable actions.

What are we to do, you might wonder? A Sunday School teacher was questioning her class of 1st graders about salvation and began by saying, “If I give up all my money, give everything I have to the church, and to the poor and needy of the world, will I get into heaven?” “NO,” says the class. “How about if I teach Sunday school; serve on the vestry; visit nursing homes and hospitals; and feed the hungry with good food, will I get into heaven then?” “NO,” says the class. “OK, how about if I go to seminary, and become the rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Needham, surely then I will get into heaven?” For the third time, the class of 1st graders yell, “NO!

“All right,” the teacher says, thinking that these kids are smarter than she realized, “Then how do I get into heaven?” she asked. And the little girl in the back of the room yells, “YOU GOTTA BE DEAD!”

By now you may be wondering why I’ve taken you down this difficult journey of reflection about sin and death, about judgment and justice, but I tend to be an “end-game”, mission-focused kind of person. Indeed, “Christians should think seriously about salvation, judgment and life after death,” argued Paul Dafyydd Jones in A Hopeful Universalism. “While we mustn’t ever lose sight of God’s grace, we are obliged also to acknowledge the gravity of sin. We cannot suppose that God overlooks or condones our myriad failings. Just as sin matters in human life, sin matters to God. It is the very reason that God’s saving grace passes through the horror of Calvary,” he continued. ( A Hopeful Universalism, Paul Dayffd Jones, Xian Century, June 27, 2012)

The author of the letter to the Hebrews refers to God as a consuming fire. Unlike the devastating fires that are repeatedly reported in our news, or the blazing fires of hell, I like to think of God’s fire as an eternal flame like the one that appeared in the burning bush, a fire that did not consume Moses or indeed even the bush. It is a fire that kills sins but not the sinners. It is a fire that mercifully burns off the dross of our sins, revealing the pure gold of our creation. It is a fire that reveals the passionate love of God that seeks to restore a kingdom that can never be shaken; indeed that can never be burned to the ground.

Jesus’ fiery messages throughout the gospels were not just about destruction and division, as we heard last week. No, God’s fire is also a purifying flame, naturally cleaning up our messes, warming our souls, shedding light in times of darkness, empowering us for loving action, delighting us with joyful campfires, and bringing new life into the world. Indeed, the final judgment of the cross revealed resurrection life in a blaze of divine glory on Easter morning!

William H. Willimon entitled his book “Who Will Be Saved?”

Indeed, who will be saved? By whom? How? When and Why? While these questions remain far above my pay grade, I offer them to you this morning, not with clear answers, but with an invitation for your further reflection, questions, and conversation.

However, I do believe that God’s judgment of humanity was revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and that justice was served by the mercy of God. In effect, Jesus made a plea deal with God on our behalf in which we did not receive a death sentence but rather a commuted life sentence in God’s eternal home.

Perhaps I was comforted by the fact that in Luke’s gospel the primary detective was a decent and good man named Jesus. Like Louise Penny’s detective, He felt called to this particular vocation and was faithful to that mission to the very end. Unlike some of his colleagues, He healed and set people free, offering mercy and second chances to his followers; and these people often responded with deep loyalty.

Therefore, as the author of Hebrews once wrote, “since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe.” (Hebrews 12:29) Amen.

 Hebrews 12:18-29                     Luke 13:10-17