Hospitality . . . again
PLEASE NOTE: St. Mark’s will not be having services in the month of July this year so the next sermon will be the first Sunday of August.
It might seem strange for me to talk about hospitality again, after all, it was only a couple of weeks ago we talked about it. The thing is, the more I sat with these texts, the more I realized hospitality is a sufficiently important topic that another go at it could be a good thing.
I have mentioned more than once that it is possible to read almost everything in the Bible through the lens of hospitality. It struck me that with this Sunday being the last Sunday of Pride and the Sunday closest to Canada Day, hospitality is a pretty natural thing to consider. One of the things Pride does is to afford the opportunity for people, regardless of anything, to extend hospitality to people who might be different than them. In the same way, Canada has been a hospitable destination for many people, unlike some Canadians.
It is the responsibility of everyone to extend hospitality whenever possible. This goes “extra” for those who are in a relationship with God, through Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Today’s Gospel lesson is quite short, only three verses from Matthew. Jesus is speaking and says . . .
“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous, and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple — truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” (Matthew 10:40-42 NRSV)
Hospitality mattered to Jesus. It matters to us.
As always, let me know what you think as you are inclined and able.
Blessings,
