Sunday Worship
Welcome to our Sunday Worhip in Leesfield Parish. Our Church services are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11.00 am at St Thomas'. If you're not able to be with us in person, you'll find the Gospel reading, a reflection and prayers below to help you worship at home.
Our first hymn this morning is "Let us Break Bread Together on our Knees"
Today's Gospel
Luke 14:1, 7-14 Jesus at the Pharisees House
On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.
When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, `Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, `Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."
He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
Reflection
I would like to focus this reflection on the second part of this Gospel reading and also the related epistle from Hebrews 13: v-8. “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” [V2].
As part of my annual training at work and also with various groups I am associated with, it is mandatory to spend time studying all about safeguarding. It is important not only for our own safety but also the safety of the vulnerable people in our communities. When I was younger there used to be public information films warning us not to accept sweets from strangers and also messages about “Stanger Danger”. All wise and sensible, especially for our children.
But we do have to put this into context and be sensible, not least when we are in groups where it is relatively safe to engage with strangers. When I read this passage, I started wondering about my friends and thinking about how those friendships started. In some cases we make friends because we are in an environment where we are forced together, such as work or school. We are forced to mix with the same people day after day and as we engage with each other we learn more about them, their hobbies, likes and dislikes and feel comfortable including them in our circle of friends.
Sometimes we may meet a group of new people because we share a common interest like joining a choir or gardening in an allotment – so although we may not initially know a person, we already have a shared interest which creates an affinity that can overcome other barriers. In other cases we may meet new people because we are introduced by an existing friend or we meet people at a party where there are already lots of friends around. We feel safe talking to them.
But how comfortable are we welcoming a total stranger who no one in the group knows? One of my neighbours decided to host a party for the Jubilee weekend and thought it would be nice to invite all the street to come along to his house – he even laid on entertainment and food. They printed off invitations and his daughters posted them though all the letter boxes. Sadly, only a few people from immediate surrounding houses responded – the ones we regularly say hello to if we see them coming and going. We don’t know why the other neighbours didn’t reply. Maybe because they had other things on over the Bank Holiday weekend, or maybe they were worried about having to reciprocate the offer at a later date, or maybe they were just not comfortable about mixing with strangers, even though we live close by. Maybe, they were just worried they might not fit in. Whatever the reason, they missed a great party!
It has also been good over recent weeks to see some new faces in church on Sunday and I am pleased to say that in the main they have been greeted and made welcome when they have walked through the door.
Yet, are we as welcoming as we could be? Yes it is good to greet someone and give then a hymn book and show them where to sit. But what happens after that? Have we really ‘welcomed’ them or have we just gone through the motions? Do we think to invite them to have a coffee after the service or is that an afterthought that might or might not happen? If we do, do we then make time to include them into our conversations and to sit at our table or do we expect them to make to the first move and be brave enough to invite themselves to join in? Maybe we think that initial engagement is the job of the clergy or the churchwardens?
I suspect that the circumstances will be different depending on the type of person, are they elderly or young for example? Perhaps we are each making a judgment call, either consciously or unconsciously, about who we would we feel more ‘comfortable’ talking to.
We might find it easier to talk with a more senior lady who is on her own than say a burly six foot two man who is covered in tattoos and has a scar on his face. Would we treat the well dressed smart looking person any differently to a somewhat scruffy looking and dishevelled person, whose hair looks greasy and untidy. To use an idiom, are we likely to ‘judge a book by the cover’?
All that said, I know that it’s not easy approaching strangers. Some of us may have the confidence to talk to anyone, it might come naturally to strike up a conversation with a person we don’t know. For many, we seem to struggle with strangers, we’re just not sure how to act, what to say, or how to behave. We are frightened about the unknown. We are frightened of making ourselves vulnerable - possibly because of all the training and messages we have had drilled into us over the years. Some folk may even be frightened to answer the door to a stranger or take a phone call from an unknown number.
However, Jesus is telling us that we need to show hospitality to everyone, the hospitality of His Kingdom. A hospitality that reaches beyond friends, relatives and neighbours. A hospitality that reaches, “to the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind” to those who are different to us with no ability to pay for what we give – even if it’s only tea and biscuits.
Jesus not only tells us about Kingdom hospitality, but he shows us how to go about it in his actions. Jesus repeatedly opened his heart to all variety of strangers, the hungry, the sick, the poor and the weary. He even opened his heart and showed mercy to those who were despised or outcast; prostitutes, tax collectors, lepers, to foreigners and Gentiles.
Next time you come into church, please take a moment to look at the notice on the main door, you will see that we class ourselves as an inclusive church. That means we too are called to show the same hospitality, to everyone, irrespective of who they are or what their circumstances and background may be. We are also expected to show unconditional hospitality, in that we should not give to others in the hope that we will get something back in return. Kingdom hospitality is given with love and it is a hospitality that extends beyond the door of the church into our whole lives.
The hospitality that Jesus teaches is not always easy, and yes, we will still feel vulnerable at times. But Jesus is calling us to open the door to our hearts as well as the physical doors that exist between ourselves and the stranger. To be clear, I am not suggesting that Jesus wants us to throw caution to the wind and put ourselves at risk by letting strangers into our homes when we are alone, that would be folly, not hospitality. But Jesus does call us to open the door to our hearts to show generosity and love without judgment or prejudice. Who knows, when you do this, you might just be entertaining an angel! Paul
Our Prayers
Father of all glory and hope,
We thank you for the blessing of friends and neighbours.
We thank you for what we have in our lives.
Give us the confidence to reach out to strangers and make them feel truly welcome and wanted.
Open our hearts to be more generous to those who are less fortunate than ourselves,
to beggars outside the supermarket, refugees and those starving in famine stricken countries.
We ask this in the name of Jesus our saviour and redeemer.
Amen
This morning's final hymn is "Tell out my Soul"
