Leviticus 19: 33-34
Hebrews 13:2
Matthew 25: 31-40

May 21, 2006
Rev. Linda Fernandes-Bailey

Welcoming the Stranger

            When I took my mission trips to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation as part of the Re-Member program there was a Community Supper during the week of your stay. It was an evening in which all those attending the mission trip cooked a meal for those who live on the reservation. Word gets out and all are invited and I suspect up to a hundred people might have been there. There was much work to be done in preparation. I personally cut up pounds and pounds of potatoes for potato salad. Others set up tables and grills…set out all the fixings for a barbeque and did what ever had to be done to receive our guests. Hospitality to the stranger. Suddenly everyone arrives and we as participants of the mission trip were expected to mingle and get to know people…the hope being that strangers become friends….that in the midst of conversation we might suddenly be filled with compassion and understand the continued plight of the Native American. Striking up conversation with a stranger is not always an easy thing is it? At least it’s not for me. What do you say? What do you talk about? Like anything else practicing your faith in my experience is never easy! But somehow in spite of our discomfort people are fed and friendships are formed. AND in some ways the stranger becomes the host after all it is their land we are on…their home. The boundaries are blurred between stranger and host. Both are giving. Both are receiving. That is the point really that it is in giving you receive. In each of these people we welcome we are challenged to see the face of Christ or as St Benedict would say to “welcome all as Christ.”

            The moral mandate to extend hospitality to the stranger is woven throughout scripture. It arises knowing that God first has shown hospitality to us. Abraham and Sarah  answered God’s call to leave their home in search of a promised land. Their descendants  spent years in exile and slavery in Egypt .They were refugees. These descendants wandered in the wilderness and again were sent into captivity. Since it was God who delivered the people from slavery in Egypt and they were once strangers in a strange land their laws required them to deal justly and compassionately to strangers.  Today’s reading from Leviticus says “you shall love the alien as yourself; for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” Just as God had cared for the people of Israel when they were exiled now God insists they must do the same.  And while you may think you are far removed from these people they are our spiritual ancestors they are part of our story.

            Hospitality was an important practice in the ancient world…. And a scary one.  In the ancient world people lived surrounded by extended family and usually stayed close to home. A stranger could be a threat to their very existence and therefore it was smart to make a stranger a friend. When Jesus sends out the disciples to share his ministry they are sent relying on the hospitality of strangers for their food and place to stay. And when Paul travels to spread the message of Jesus he too relies on the hospitality for his room and board. Their very existence depends on hospitality. They rely on strangers to provide a safe haven in their travels. Traveling in the ancient world could be dangerous as travelers were easy prey for robbers. Even today traveling can make us vulnerable. So, think about how radical and risky it was and is to extend hospitality to a stranger.

             I think one thing that prevents us from extending hospitality is fear. Fear that we will put ourselves in harms way. Fear that letting a stranger in will change our comfortable world. Fear that maybe we can’t really trust this stranger and they might take advantage of us. Just think even in our own families when change takes place and people grow up and start to marry and more and more strangers (at least initially) become part of our families…it’s not always an easy adjustment is it? In some families it causes quite a bit of friction. So we are leery of the stranger. We like things comfortable. We like to keep things the way they’ve always been. In our faith communities we fear that if we keep letting new people in things will change…the church we once knew and loved becomes different. We liked the way things used to be. It seems to me that since 9/11 we have become a more fearful people…especially of the stranger. Who should we let in? Who will harm us? Hospitality to the stranger can indeed be a scary thing. But this is how we practice our faith. This is woven throughout our scripture that we call holy. It is a moral mandate. Remember you too were once strangers in a strange land. Don’t we all have experiences in which we were strangers in a strange land and our discomfort was eased by a friendly face?

             I have a friend who lives in Waterbury and on several occasions while her husband was on business trips strangers came to her door pleading for some kind of help or other. My friend was rightfully scared and hesitant not sure what to do. Afraid to even open the door and once she opened it hesitant to believe the story of desperation. She asked some good questions in the process. Was I wrong to turn them away? Was I wrong to be afraid? How do I practice my faith? Did God send these people to me expecting a response? Ultimately what I thought was important was that she was paying attention and trying to discern what kind of response God wants.

            In today’s reading from Matthew Jesus talks about his coming again to judge the nations and what that judgment will look like. Quite simply he says “Whatever you do to the least of these you do to me”…. Feed the hungry, visit the sick and those in prison, welcome the stranger. These are members of my family and whatever you do to them you do to me. We will be judged by what we do to the least among us and welcoming the stranger is included in the least. Because in each stranger is the face of Jesus. SO we are called to welcome each stranger as if they are Christ. Now if you want a challenge try reflecting on that as you go about your day. Think about the people you run into…the people who annoy you…the people that make your blood boil…Can you welcome them as Christ? Try it for a day! I guarantee it will make you think!

            So what is hospitality? What are we called to do? In this church there seems to be considerable resistance to wearing name tags. I don’t quite understand this. I wonder if wearing name tags in church is a form of hospitality? Doesn’t knowing one another’s names help us go from stranger to friend quicker? How do we spend our time in coffee hour? Do we visit with friends and try to get church business done OR do we seek out the stranger eager to extend hospitality? Our UCC identity campaign that Gordon talked about last week seeks to identify the United Church of Christ as a welcoming church…one that does not reject anyone. How welcoming are we at First Cong Church Southington?

            What does hospitality look like in our lives? Is it opening our home to our children’s friends? Welcoming the lonely to our family gatherings? Is it listening deeply to one another especially amidst our differences?

            What about in our world? Right now the debate on immigration continues. Talk of securing our boarders and dealing with illegal immigrants are front page news. Is extending hospitality making sure our immigration laws are just? Will we continue to be a country that welcomes the stranger?

            Where else can we extend hospitality? Is it serving at the soup kitchen? Going on a mission trip? Think about it.

            When I participated in AmeriCare a few weeks ago the woman whose home we were making over was walking around rather overwhelmed… Overwhelmed by the sight of all these strangers tearing apart her home. Overwhelmed I think by the thought of the tremendous kindness extended by all.  She asked “How can you people do this?” Team work I said. “YES!” she said “one person can not do all this.” As I thought about our conversation I wondered was she asking How or WHY? Why would a bunch of strangers want to come into my house to paint and repair and beautify? Why? Weren’t we just practicing our faith? Weren’t we remembering the moral mandate from God to extend hospitality? If we dare to call ourselves God’s people, then we must show hospitality to the stranger. And who knows as Paul says…”Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Amen