“Welcome”.
It's such a common word, isn’t it? It adorns floor mats outside all sorts of entryways. It's often on road signs as one enters a new state, or a new town. There are places where people offer "welcome" as a greeting as you enter: "Welcome to K-Mart!" or "Good evening and welcome to our restaurant. Table for two?" or "Welcome to the greatest show on earth!" Such conventional uses hide the loveliness of this word – “Welcome”. In English, the word finds its roots in a compounding of the words "well" and "come," though with slightly different connotations to those we tend to use today. The root of "well" could go in two directions: it could mean something close to our current understanding of "well-ness" or "well-being," but it could be stronger than that, implying desire or pleasure."Come" finds its roots in an Old English word "comer," that is, one who arrives or, perhaps closer to the Greek, one who is received. Thus, "welcome" can offer in its earliest sense, an invitation to come and be well, or to be well in coming. Either way, it’s an invitation to be received into the goodness of this new place, where you’ve just arrived. While we use the word casually and commercially, making one welcome is not as simple as offering a word, though it often starts there. The art of making one welcome is rooted in the ancient practices of hospitality. Preparing to welcome someone takes thought, intention and discipline. Some practitioners of hospitality are masters of the art; they're always ready with the accoutrements of welcome: an appropriate beverage, some food, a comfortable chair and a few thoughtful and respectful questions of the "comer". Their very presence seems to wipe away the strangeness or awkwardness of the social greeting and make the “comer” feel as if they are home. If you've ever been the recipient of such hospitality, you’ll know exactly what I mean. If you are such a master practitioner of hospitality, please know that those of us who have received it have enjoyed it and we thank you. So, perhaps the measure of a true welcome is the ability of the host to make the guest feel at home. There are some places where one can go and always feel at home. It may look different. It may smell different. It may be full of strangers, but somehow, it just feels like home, and it’s good to be there. For Jews and Christians, such hospitality has always been a part of who we are. The call to welcome the stranger is anchored in the ancient Jewish book, the Torah, and was a part of the measure of the Hebrew community's faithfulness to God. When a traveller came to town, they waited by the well, and it was incumbent upon the townspeople to welcome, house and feed the visitor for the night. Of course, these travellers were not family or even locals. These were folk unknown to the community. They were aliens, often foreigners, people who had different foods, clothes, languages and often, gods. But such hospitality was central to the Hebrew identity. The risk of opening one's home didn’t deter these people, for they knew such hospitality was central to the character of their God. The same was true in the early Christian communities. Paul, in the book of Romans, reminded them to offer hospitality to the alien, and, in the letter to the Hebrews, the people were reminded to show hospitality to all - for in so doing some of them entertained angels, though they were unaware of who they were greeting. In Acts, the early deacons practiced hospitality throughout the community, bringing welcome to those in need. And in Matthew's community, hospitality still measured the faithfulness of the people. Welcoming prophets, righteous ones and disciples was a disciplined practice of the young churches. But we know that welcoming, as a practice of hospitality, doesn't just happen. It has to be learned and such lessons don't come easy to our society.It's a matter of hospitality, and it's a matter of attention. Attention to removing those barriers, impediments, biases, and obstacles that we construct - sometimes intentionally, though often unintentionally. Barriers to the Gospel, the good news, to participation in the church, to abundant life in Jesus Christ. It’s noteworthy that in the Greek, the word for stranger is “xenos” and it’s also the word for guest and host. In this age of contemporary warfare, terrorism and even gated communities, most of us are all too aware of the term "xenophobia," the fear of strangers. Such a fear leads to nationalism, racism and even genocide. However, as many scholars have noted, the call to welcome another, as offered by Jesus, is a call to xenophilia, or the love of a stranger. Hospitality should be the central practice of the Christian church today. It’s been said that hospitality is the practice by which the church stands or falls. Thus, hospitality is the central practice that should receive attention by everyone in our congregation. So how do we teach hospitality? Well, it all begins with practice. To offer hospitality, we simply bring who we are and what we have, to where we are. At times it may be grand; at times it may be very little. In every case, it’s the gesture itself that shapes the character of the encounter, of the participants and of the story of grace that’s the essence of the moment. About 40 years ago, when Lynne & I were looking for a new church in Turramurra, we were disappointed with the cool reception we got at the first one we tried. We had a young baby and felt that everyone turned around to “tut-tut” at us when she made any noises. After the service, no-one even looked at us, let alone approached us to say “Hello”. Luckily, our neighbours invited us to accompany them to the other Uniting Church in the area. If they hadn’t done so, I might not be the minister here at Lane Cove today. So, instead of just being “welcoming”, they were “invitational” and that’s a concept that we’ll be exploring more, once we’re allowed to meet together again in our church building. We’ll be looking at how we can “invite” people to join our church family, whether that’s on a Sunday morning for the worship service, or at some other church event.Some of us will find it difficult to invite others, for a variety of reasons, but together, as the family of God in Lane Cove, we’ll work towards ironing out those bumps in the path, so that we can grow in his name. Prayer: Loving and gracious God, you give us life, you call each of us into faithful service, into discipleship through Jesus Christ. Open our hearts in ways that we might reach out to people - especially those who are different from ourselves, and in so doing, may the world be transformed through your love and enlivened through our lives. In the name of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, we pray. Amen. Pastor Rick
2 Comments
Karen
28/6/2020 10:39:13 am
Thank you Rick! This is a topic close to my heart. I too struggled as a young woman in a church who didn’t initially welcome me. As I persevered and noticed people newer than me feeling a bit on the outer, I decided I would do my bit in making them feel welcome. Not only did I find this a mutually satisfying experience, but it eventually launched me into ministry too!
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David Paull
28/6/2020 10:45:29 am
Thank you Rick. A good reminder of how important sincere welcome and hospitality are for our church and community. I didn't realise it was so integral to the Hebrew way of life. It can produce great fruit for both the givers and the receivers as your experience shows.
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