Disciples Welcome All People

Rebecca Sheridan
Sunday, July 2, 2022
Matthew 10:40-42

Pastor Rob Moss of Lutheran Church of the Master in Lakewood, Colorado, wrote a blog awhile back called, “We Will No Longer Be a Welcoming Church.”   When you hear that title, of course, at first you are like, “What? Why on earth would a church not want to be welcoming?”  It’s a provocative article.  Instead, he argues that his congregation intentionally chose to become an “inviting” church, beyond being welcoming. When you think about it, “welcoming,” while a great word, is passive – focused on waiting for people to show up.  Welcoming puts the focus on how well WE do as the insiders at church helping newcomers “feel welcome.”  Instead, disciples of Christ, as we’re seeing in the gospel of Matthew, are sent by Jesus to go out into the streets and neighborhoods beyond the church walls, meeting people where they’re at, shifting the focus from us to those we meet “out there” in the world.  The language of inviting helps us be more proactive in sharing our faith by going out to build relationships and invite people to follow just as Jesus invites us to follow him.  Inviting does not assume that people know we are here at church on Sunday morning at 10am and that we’re a lovely group of people to get to know, that we are committed to serving Christ in several ways.  Inviting reminds us that we have a story to tell that others might want to hear who do not necessarily automatically feel welcome to come to church to hear it.
Notice, first of all, that in our short gospel passage for today Jesus is not talking so much about how we welcome others as Christians, but how others welcome or receive us when we put ourselves out there.  “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me,” Jesus says.  We are called to be Christ to others AND see Christ in others – it’s a two-way relationship.  We are called to be hospitable and receive hospitality from others.  Jesus encourages us that he is present out there in the world beyond the church doors, among us as we go about our daily lives, within us and also surprising us in the hospitality and receptivity to the gospel that we experience in others when we dare to share our faith and be inviting.
Here's the challenge – inviting people to church is scarier than waiting to welcome them.  It is more comfortable to come to church prepared to welcome people we KNOW already want to be in a church; otherwise, they wouldn’t come, right?  I truly do not want to dismiss the importance of being welcoming at church.  We have all visited churches that aren’t welcoming.  I would say welcoming people at our church is a strength of ours – we like to eat and chat and support one another on Sunday mornings!  We want to continue to make sure that people feel welcome at Faith and that we improve our welcome.
However, we should also be aware that the average churchgoer invites someone to church once every fourteen years, even though Jesus consistently calls his followers to share their faith and make disciples of all nations.  Pastor Moss encourages those of us intimidated by inviting someone to church to first recognize that 1) the majority of people invited to come to church actually take you up on your invitation. 2)We can invite people in different ways – maybe not to worship on Sunday, but to a special event we’re having at church, to an activity like Bible study or children’s choir, or simply write a positive review on Google, or post a positive church experience on social media – we can think of an invitation for someone to experience our faith community creatively, beyond Sunday morning worship.  All of us have a story to share about Jesus making a difference in our lives – we can share that story, or how this church in particular has made a positive impact in your life.  Pastor Moss says we can start the process of being more comfortable inviting by simply trying to use “my church” in a sentence with someone we know.  What did you do this weekend?  “I enjoyed worshipping at my church, or I had lunch with a few people from my church…or I went grocery shopping to support the food pantry at my church…” leaving the door open for more conversation, to see where that conversation might lead.
As you can see, Pastor Moss’s church wasn’t actually giving up on welcoming, as Jesus commands us to do today as his followers. Hospitality is an important Christian value.  Rather, the mindset of being invitational helps us live out our faith as disciples throughout the week, not just waiting to be hospitable and friendly to people who walk through our doors on Sunday morning. In the image of offering a cold cup of water to any of Christ’s little ones, we are reminded that we can do more to share God’s love in Christ beyond Sunday and outside of our church walls.  The good news is it doesn’t have to be complicated or fancy.  Most of us, including the children among us, can handle getting someone a cold cup of water.  We do need to take that first small step to offer it.
    “Welcome” is a powerful word.  Let’s think of how we feel when we feel welcome.  Who are friends we have that know how to put on a great dinner party, or make you feel at home away from home when you visit.  As we’re traveling this summer, if we attend church elsewhere, what do you notice about how other churches welcome people well or not?  What could we improve or learn from in terms of hospitality?  And in receiving welcome when we visit others, how do we recognize Christ in the other person to deepen our own faith and hospitality? Is our welcome also inviting?  
    For the past five weeks, I’ve tried to emphasize some themes about what it means to be a modern-day disciple of Jesus that we hear in our gospel from Matthew.  We heard the great commission, Jesus’ call to make disciples of all nations baptizing them and teaching them; so we strive to do what Jesus does.  We were reminded that Jesus calls sinners like Matthew the tax collector to follow him, and so Jesus can work through sinners like us.  Jesus asks us to travel lightly in following him, recognizing the Holy Spirit has already given us the spiritual gifts we need – God created each one of us to be uniquely suited to serving Christ and fulfilling his mission!  Last week, we heard that Jesus gives us courage to follow when his call is difficult.  And so while inviting and welcoming may be intimidating, we have Jesus’ courage and strength to take a risk and share our faith.  We have gifts to share, and it’s what Jesus has called us to do.  May others know Christ’s warm welcome through us.  Amen.