I posted on facebook the other day that one of the reasons I still go to church camp as a volunteer staff member is that being at camp with church youth really does make me a better pastor, a better preacher, a better Christian. There is a strong positive connection between church camp & spiritual growth, which in turn leads to stronger congregations. So camp is good for all of us, even those of us who don't go or haven't been in years!
A pastor friend of mine likes to take the themes of camp and develop them into sermons. This, I think, is genius. It helps him prepare for camp, and it helps him connect camp with the congregation. So starting today, I'll be preaching on the seven daily themes that we'll be exploring when I direct camp at Loch Leven this summer.
The theme for the first day of camp is hospitality, and hospitality makes me think of a man named Lot, a good man who lived as an immigrant in a city called Sodom.
But Lot's story can be found in the book of Genesis… and it goes like this.
One day two travelers appeared in the city of Sodom. As an immigrant, Lot knew how difficult it was for those travelling to foreign lands… Lot knew these two travelers would need a safe place to stay. So he graciously invited them to stay the night at his place.
At first, the two travelers refused. They said, “That’s mighty generous of you, but we don’t want to bother you; we’ll just sleep in the park.”
But Lot insisted. He believed it was important for him to show these travelers hospitality.
So the two travelers accepted Lot’s offer of hospitality, and they went with Lot to his house. Lot invited them in, made a big meal for them, and treated them like honored guests.
Lot assured them that whatever dangers they may have faced on their journey, they were safe at his home.
Later, as they were all getting ready for bed, a huge mob of men from the city appeared at the door of Lot’s house. They pounded on the door and said: “Where are the two travelers? We know they’re in there! Send them out to us because we want to rape them!”
Lot refused. He went out to the mob and said that he had promised the two travelers hospitality, and they were under his protection. Nothing could make him go back on that promise.
In fact, even though it broke Lot’s heart, he offered to the mob instead his very own daughters.
Do you see how important it was to Lot that he show hospitality, and that he not go back on his promise? The story may be a bit far-fetched; it most certainly is hyperbole. But the point is that nothing would or could prevent a good man like Lot from showing hospitality.
The story continues. The mob was not satisfied with Lot’s offer. The mob began pounding on the door even harder, until the door began to break.
At that point the two travelers reached out, pulled Lot back inside, and slammed the door shut.
And because those two travelers were really messengers sent from God - in other words, angels in disguise - they blinded the entire mob and rescued Lot and his family.
Now, despite what you may have heard, the point of the story is this: a good person (like Lot) never violates or goes against the code of hospitality. No matter what it costs.
When you withhold hospitality to anyone who needs it - travelers and immigrants and anyone else - you offer them up to slaughter, and you deeply offend God. But when you show kindness to strangers, travelers, and immigrants, and other vulnerable people, you show kindness to God, and God is pleased.
On the first day of camp, the idea of hospitality gets paired up with the Hawaiian word aloha. And what a good word for the first day of camp, the day the campers arrive.
Aloha embodies the spirit of hospitality. Aloha is welcome. Aloha is blessing. Aloha is love, shared with all.
In Jesus’ time, a frequent part of life was hosting and attending banquets. And banquets were supposed to exemplify the very best in hospitality. Banquets were supposed to embody the aloha spirit.
However, hospitality wasn’t always practiced perfectly. Sometimes, people manipulated the idea of hospitality, and turned their shows of hospitality into something for their own gain.
Hosting a banquet was supposed to be an opportunity to show aloha to others, to welcome guests, feed them, treat them well, and show kindness to them. Hosting a banquet is where a person could put into practice all he or she had been taught about hospitality.
But those who hosted banquets often withheld aloha. When the host was deciding who to invite, it was a very calculated thing. Only people who could benefit the host in some way would make the guest list.
If the host needed to ask someone a favor, that person would make the guest list. The host could show hospitality to that person, and that person would be more inclined to grant the favor. (Especially after a couple glasses of wine.)
Or if the host needed to borrow some money from someone… that person would make the guest list. Of if the host needed someone to put in a good word with the king on their behalf, the one who could do that would make the guest list.
And if the host needed someone interesting to help spark some lively dinner conversation - say, a traveling rabbi - that person would also be invited, so that other invited guests would say to themselves, “oh, that traveling rabbi, the one with the controversial ideas, who calls himself the Son of Man, is going to be there… I think I’ll go so I can hear what he has to say…”
And that’s how Jesus got invited to a lot of banquets.
The guests would accept the invitation because they wanted to hear what Jesus had to say - and maybe they could ask him their questions, test him, perhaps even laugh at him.
Guests might also accept the invitation because they saw it as an opportunity to impress others - the host, or other guests - and maybe get something out of going. A favor, a good word, something that would help them move up in society.
So although the banquets were supposed to be about hospitality, about showing kindness, about sharing aloha… often they were instead about impressing others, and showing off, and getting favors.
And maybe a guest would initially accept an invitation, but later decide that there really wasn’t anything in it for them, that they didn’t need any favors. Maybe they saw the guest list and realized that there wasn’t anyone attending who could benefit them in any way. Maybe they got a better invitation from someone else. Maybe they decided that day that they’d rather just stay home and watch netflix. So they’d cancel, or just not show up.
This would be an insult to the host. A first-century banquet was a huge undertaking. To go to all that work and have no one show up would be frustrating!
Which is why the banquet host in Jesus’ story was furious.
In the story Jesus told, the banquet host had prepared the banquet, but all those invited made excuses as to why they could not come. The host was furious, but he decided he was still going to have a banquet. He sent out his servants to invite others… to bring to the banquet those who did not receive an invitation. To bring in those who could do nothing for him.
Maybe he did this out of spite. “My guests aren’t coming? Well, I’ll show them. I’ll have a great banquet anyway.”
And even though he would get no personal benefit from inviting in people he didn’t know, people from off the street, he did it anyway.
So what happens next? The Bible story kinda ends with the people from the street being brought in to the banquet. Did the host show them the same level of hospitality and welcome that he would have showed to his original invited guests? What happened?
Here is how I imagine this story ends...
When these guests arrived, the host was still bitter and upset and filled with anger. And maybe he didn’t show them the absolute best in hospitality, because he was still fuming over the rejection by those who were on his guest list.
But these who had been brought in off the street…
Maybe they had never been to a meal like this before! Such a magnificent feast! Maybe they had never been welcome at a table as grand as this one. Maybe they had never been shown such hospitality, since they could offer little in return. More likely, they were used to being ushered away. They were used to being kept off guest lists and kept out of special places like this.
So these guests were amazed. They were filled with joy. They were full of gratitude. They were smiling and laughing and even crying tears of joy at this unexpected gift.
Seeing their reaction, the host’s bitterness melted away. This is how I imagine it. The host saw their joy, and in that moment, his tiny heart grew three sizes, just like the grinch.
He saw their joy, and their expressions of astonishment and gratitude at having received such a magnificent gift, one that they could of course not ever repay, and which they were not expected to repay.
And the host found joy in himself, and discovered what a powerful gift the gift of hospitality is, and from that day forward, he vowed to always show greater love and hospitality and aloha to everyone, not just those who could do something in return or grant him a favor.
And the guests, who could never repay the gift, nevertheless left with a desire to show greater love to one another and to their neighbors, so that all people could experience the joy they got to experience that day.
And in the midst of all that love and hospitality and aloha, the kingdom of God became present and real. That’s what the kingdom of God is: it is people showing kindness to one another, welcoming one another.
This is how Christ calls us to live. We are called to show hospitality to one another. We are called to show welcome to one another. Romans 15:7 says “welcome one another, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”
And we are called to especially welcome foreigners and immigrants and refugees, because they are vulnerable, in need of safe refuge. There are literally hundreds of verses about this in the Bible. It’s one of the Bible’s most repeated ideas: welcome the foreigner. Treat the immigrant as you would treat one of your own people. Love your neighbor, whoever they may be. Show hospitality and love and aloha, without expecting anything in return.
This is the kingdom of God.
We host a banquet every Sunday. We do it at camp, too.
This banquet is all about hospitality. It’s all about welcome. It’s all about showing love and kindness and aloha to one another and to strangers. Especially to strangers. Strangers who we call “honored guests.” Those who accepted the invitation, whoever they may be…
At this table, we get a glimpse of life in the kingdom of heaven. We who may have been denied welcome, denied a place at so many other tables, are welcome here. Immigrants and refugees. People of all races and from every nation. People of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
If you have been denied a place at the table - any table - you are welcome here. Who you are, and all that you have to offer, are accepted and welcome and affirmed in this place.
The welcome offered at this table isn’t just a part of who we are; it’s central to who we are. As Disciples of Christ, we have an identity statement which says: “we are a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world; as part of the one body of Christ, we welcome all to the Lord’s Table, as God has welcomed us.”
Now, as we move into the next part of our worship service, let us turn our focus to the table where all are welcome.
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