“The Faith We Share: Welcome,” Rev. Melissa St. Clair, 10/11/15
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https://heartoftherockies.org/wp-content/uploads/_file_mp3/719956-cc3aed10.mp3“The Faith We Share: Welcome”
A sermon preached at
Heart of the Rockies Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Fort Collins, CO
by the Rev. Melissa St. Clair
October 11, 2015
This morning we wrap up our 5-week sermon series on The Faith We Share. We’ve considered the basics of our faith – the things that identify us as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and that define us as disciples of Jesus Christ. We’ve moved from baptism and communion to scripture to mission and justice to unity and today we arrive at welcome.
It might be a little harder to imagine after we’ve just experienced our first week-long taste of cooler fall weather, but perhaps this weekend has served as reminder that not too long ago, we were sweating it out about as much as you do when you live in a semi-arid climate. (I thought living in a place with less humidity would help, but as it turns out, I’m a pretty good sweater no matter the weather. Probably TMI.)
So imagine sweating (you, not me!), in the heat of the day when the sun is at its most unrelenting. Maybe you have a glass of sun tea (but with no ice cubes, because this is the first century world we’re trying to put ourselves into here).
You’re trying to doze in entryway to your tent, where you’re hoping at least a little air can start to move through eventually. It feels like nothing is moving. Except for three wavy figures off in the distance. You rub your eyes. Who would be out at this time of day?? Maybe it was just the heat shimmering. This is where I would take a few more swallows of tea and roll back over, but I’m not Abraham.
READ GENESIS 18:1-15
He showed up at my door on a very lonely day – the day after my aunt, cousins, parents, and grandparents started to drive east on I-70. They were heading back to Pennsylvania after surviving an epic moving caravan halfway across the country. (When one St. Clair moves, we all move.) But now I was left in my studio apartment alone. Living on my own for the first time ever – 800 miles from home.
It was the fall of 2005, my first semester in seminary in St. Louis.
He introduced himself as Timothy. He was making the rounds, introducing himself to all the new first-year students. He was a second-year student from Paducah, Kentucky.
That was the first of many conversations with Timothy, who had no shortage of intelligence or passion for justice.
It was a few weeks into the semester when Timothy told me something that has stuck with me to this day. I don’t remember what we were talking or where. But I distinctly remember him saying these two words: “Acronyms exclude.”
Keeping in mind that I was attending a United Church of Christ seminary, there was plenty of alphabet soup to digest.
There’s
NYE
OGHS
CHHSM
JWM
OGMP
LCM
And we as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) aren’t any better. There’s
WOC
GLAD
NAPAD
COCU
CCF
BCE (now DCEF)
DHM
CWF (now DW)
CYF
HELM
NBA
Okay, time to use that holy imagination again. This time, you’re going to church for the first time. You’re pleasantly surprised to find that there are parking stalls reserved for guests. You follow the clearly marked signs to the entrance of the building. A friendly greeter opens the door for you. Someone behind a counter offers you a cup of fair-trade coffee. There are even donuts. The good kind! With sprinkles and crunchies and icing! This place could not be more welcoming. No one gripes when you bring your coffee into the sanctuary. No one gives you a withering look that can only mean one thing – you’re sitting in her seat. This place is great!
The service begins. And the pastor is speaking in French.
When you’ve been in the church for a long time, it can be easy to forget that “when someone walks through the doors of a church for the first time, they’re taking a risk.” A big risk. And if they’re met with language, also known as “church lingo,” they’ve never heard before, it probably won’t take long for them to decide that this “church” thing is more like a members-only club with a bunch of secret handshakes only the people who are “in” are allowed to learn.
In other words, if we want to welcome everyone to church, we need to use language everyone can understand. Acronyms exclude. First names assume. You know, if you’re interested in the new book study, call Sally. Um, Sally who? Does she have phone number or do I shout across the sanctuary?
It’s not always easy to remember or even be aware of, but an important part of welcome is speaking in a way that everyone can understand. No one should have to learn a new language to attend church. There are no prerequisites for being a part of the body of Christ.[1]
Abraham welcomed people he didn’t know. He saw the divine in them. He spoke the universal language of welcome – he offered them food and drink. “A little water” and a “morsel of bread.” He ended up giving them more than they could have asked or imagined – a tender calf from his herd; curds and milk; cakes made from solet, a type of fancy flour that the like of wealthy King Solomon used. You know, the kind you get at Whole Foods. A fast feast for company that’s dropped by unexpectedly in the sluggish heat of the day.
It would be easy to see this seemingly hospitable exchange as just that – a transaction. Abraham and Sarah want a child more than anything in the world. They know God knows this. So they do their best for God, they are generous to God. In turn, they hope God will be gracious to them. They give because they hope to get. They welcome because they want something.
Except we know there’s more to the story.
If we turn back a chapter in Genesis, we find Abraham wondering if Ishmael, his son with Hagar, could be the child God has promised. God says no. It will be Sarah’s son with whom God will establish God’s everlasting covenant with God’s people. The promise was made – the grace was extended – before there was mention of well-made meals.
As disciples (big D and little d), we most often express and experience welcome through a meal. The Lord’s Supper is the place we both extend a welcome on Christ’s behalf and receive one ourselves. Last week, I shared with you our denomination’s identity statement:
We are Disciples of Christ, 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.
The table is central to what we say we believe – about God, about Jesus, about one another – and the only way we can more fully know and be known is to make sure there’s a place for everyone who is hungry.
When we set the table, like Abraham, we do our best to bring our best. We don’t offer our best because we hope to earn God’s grace. It’s because of God’s grace that we can respond with our best. It’s because we are beloved in God’s eyes that it’s possible to welcome others with hospitality and generosity.[2]
Come, for all things are ready.
[1] This was inspired by and borrowed from this article: http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/church/dangers-church-lingo#Sf5Zc1OWBbZjGbbg.99.
[2] Sara Koenig, Commentary on Genesis 18:1-10a, workingpreacher.org. Posted July 21, 2013.