The other day, as I was helping prepare my kids for bed, my middle child asked for me to read him a book (he really meant four books, but I digress). I agreed, and he went and grabbed a book from the small bookcase he has in his room, and he picked out a Story Bible that his older brother had received several years ago.
I flipped to a random story in the Bible to read to him, and I came across the story of Abraham and Sarah encountering three strangers. The story is summarized (read Genesis 18:1-15 for more) by Abraham noticing three men near where he is resting in the shade on a hot day. Not recognizing the men — though it is apparent to the reader that they are of a divine nature — Abraham rushes to meet them, then offers them hospitality of water and bread, as well as an opportunity to rest. Abraham then instructs Sarah and his servants to prepare a much more impressive feast than first offered to his guests, and then he sits nearby while they eat. After they eat, they ask about Sarah, and they reveal that Sarah (in her advanced age) will bear a child.
A lot of fun things happen in this text, but I’ve been dwelling most recently on the idea of the hospitality that Abraham offered the divine travelers. First, these travelers didn’t ask Abraham to offer them anything. In fact, Abraham rushes to meet them, and then offers them to come and enjoy his hospitality. Abraham is the primary actor in this story. In addition, Abraham downplays what he is intending to offer his guests. It’s unclear whether that’s because he wanted to take inventory before offering anything, or if he wanted to impress them with his generosity. What is apparent, however, is that without prompting, Abraham seeks to welcome these strangers, and beyond that he welcomes them lavishly.
Here at Esperanza, we are blessed to have a facility where we have the ability to welcome others in. We welcome in 12 Steps groups that seek to provide support for a variety of addiction issues. We welcome in scouting groups that seek to guide young folks in how to be better people in our world. We also welcome in various music groups and programming to use our space. This doesn’t even begin to touch on our preschool ministry, our various church affiliate groups that gather here, and the worship that gives us a common reason to have created this space for our community as well. So many of these things happen because Esperanza has decided that our community has a Spirit-led mandate to welcome and serve others that we encounter. And I’m thankful that we try to live that out.
But welcome doesn’t just happen where we have home-court advantage, because Abraham and his family were a nomadic people. They didn’t have a permanent home to reside in, but instead would travel to where the crops were plentiful. While Abraham was familiar with the territory where they had placed their tents for that season, I’m not sure he would have considered it home. In the same way, for us, we find that sometimes we’re invited to be people who offer welcome even when we aren’t somewhere we might call “home.”
But as people who follow the Way of Jesus Christ, we are a people who are called to offer welcome wherever we are. That means we are called to offer hope to the hopeless, mercy to those who are suffering, and kindness to the stranger. Much like Abraham, we have received the promise. We know the blessing of being children of God. So when we enter into God’s holy mission that is the entire world, I invite you all to be people of welcome, people of joy, and people of the promise – and in so living our lives, we will be people who welcome others who all are made in God’s image, sharing that love with all the world.
Pastor Chris