Sunday, July 18, 2010
Colossians 1:15-23
“Don’t Dwell ON It, Dwell IN It!”
Franklin Circle Christian Church
Rev. Allen V. Harris

Hear this sermon in MP3 format by clicking HERE!

*Hint: do a right click on your mouse and click "open in new window" to have the text and your media player open at the same time!  You may have to minimize the media player to see the text screen.


I have to admit, I love the idea of hospitality, but I dislike everything that goes with it. Now, don’t get me wrong, if you’ve visited my home I can assure you I had a most wonderful time, and there is a huge satisfaction in welcoming folks into my dwelling place. It’s just that I have a few, let’s say, barriers to overcome. And I dwell on these points of resistance FAR too much. I have come to see these barriers not simply as unhelpful, but actually sinful.

I love the idea of hospitality but I resist the reality of hospitality because I am a packrat and I hate to have to move my piles of stuff out of the way so people can sit at the table. This is sinful, and I confess it! I love the idea of hospitality but I resist the reality of hospitality because I am a selfish man and I want my dwelling space to be my dwelling space, without all those people in it! I confess, this is a sinful attitude and I seek to repent and be transformed! I love the idea of hospitality but I resist the reality of hospitality because I know that having folks over will force me to clean a house that always needs cleaning and prepare food in an intentional way, which I rarely do but certainly should! I confess! Sin abounds!

Now, how do I know this is sin? Well, before I explain why I know my feelings are sinful let me share with you some things I learned from Emily Post, etiquette expert extraordinaire, about hospitality. I went to her website, EmilyPost.com, and found a helpful list: Six Ways To Be A Good Host (1). Here’s what she recommended:

1. Invite clearly. I do that fairly well. I can remember to give the correct date and time and tell folks what to bring. No problem.

2. Plan well. Again, on paper, I do this fairly well. In reality, I’m usually putting away the vacuum cleaner when the first doorbell ring sounds.

3. Remain Calm. Okay, here I blow it. Calmness is one of my worst traits, at least that’s what it feels inside. I’m constantly thinking, “Did I miss a pile of dust-bunnies under the table?” “Did I leave underwear hanging on the bathroom doorknob?” “Is there enough ice or soda or napkins or….”

4. Keep your guest feeling welcome. Well, only folks who visit can tell me whether or not I’m successful at that! She does go on to say, “Look after each guest as much as you can.” Dear Lord, I’m never gonna be a good host!”

5. Be flexible and gracious. Okay… I’m outta here! I tense up like a dry stick and am quite certain my fear and anxieties of hosting are as evident in my eyes as a treed cat in the midst of a dog park!

6. Be appreciative. And I don’t think she means, “Be glad they all finally left!” Actually, I am very appreciative, because no matter how ill prepared I am, no matter how anxious I feel during a party or having a house guest overnight, I see the appreciation in their eyes and hear the appreciation of their hearts, which brings out my deepest gratitude. Dust bunnies aside, hospitality is a wondrous and magical affair.

So, back to the question about how I know being resistant, sometimes even resentful, about hospitality is a sin. I know it is a sin because the Bible is packed with examples of parties, visits, folks dwelling with other folks, taking care of travelers, and caring for the stranger and alien traveling through your land. The word that echoes throughout the Hebrew scriptures is one which reminds the people of hospitality once provided that must be transformed into hospitality now offered: “You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt,” reads the words of Deuteronomy 10:19.

But if this wasn’t enough to convince me my attitude was sinful, several texts about hospitality came together in a pointed way. Today’s assigned scripture readings include the famous visit of the “three men,” known to us as messengers of God, to Abraham and Sarah. They will deliver the stunning news that Sarah will give birth to a child in her old age. But before doing so, the elderly couple invited the travelers into their tent, washed their feet, and fed them. The gospel lesson for today tells of Mary and Martha hosting their beloved friend, Jesus, in their home, and the understandable dilemma of wanting both to soak up every word that he says while at the same time wanting to serve him and care for his needs.

But the biggest denunciation of my struggle with being a good host comes in the form of one of the most beautiful phrases in all of scripture, which sanctions all hospitality as sacred and holy. It is a line from today’s epistle reading, Colossians 1:19: For in [Christ] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. In this One being, this singular person, ALL the FULLNESS of GOD was pleased to DWELL. See, this is why the simple act of hospitality is so rich, and deep, and full of meaning. Because God chose to dwell with us so that we might also choose to dwell with God. In much of Latin America, the phrase is simple and yet oh-so-profound: Mi casa es su casa. My house is your house.

In Christ, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and we see Christ graciously dwelling with those who would have him: the couple in Cana getting married, Zaccheaus, the despised tax-collector cum philanthropist, Simon the leper and Peter his disciple, the house with the upper room, and, of course, the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Jesus chose not simply to metaphorically dwell with us. He dwelt with us, in our homes, as part of our families and lives.

But it wasn’t always so gracious. From the refusal of a room at the inn before he was even born, to the use of a borrowed tomb after his crucifixion, Jesus was frequently persona-non-grata, unwelcome. He even said, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Matt. 8:20) Grace, and Truth, and Divinity often are unwelcome guests in the houses of those who are too fearful, too comfortable, and too pre-occupied.

And, of course, this brings us to the deeper, more commanding and absolutely more critical realization. While I may rightly worry about the hospitality I provide in my home, for friends and family overnight, and fret over the hospitality I offer for groups of friends, church folks, and neighbors for parties and such, the more important question is “Do I allow Jesus to dwell within me?” See, this hospitality stuff is not about clean dishes and soft pillows, it is about dwelling with someone’s heart, it’s about abiding with God, and allowing God to abide with us. 1 John 4:16b gently reminds us that, “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.”

Which, of course, reminds me of two great songs. One is the great hymn “Abide With Me” by Henry F. Lyte and William H. Monk written in the mid-1800’s (2)
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word;
But as Thou dwell’st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.

The other is a song by the Welsh song leader, Harry Clarke, written in 1924 (3):
Come into my heart, O Lord Jesus,
Come into my heart, I pray;
My soul is so troubled and weary,
Come into my heart, today.
Into my heart, into my heart,
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus;
Come in today, come in to stay,
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.

Come into my heart, O Lord Jesus,
Now cleanse and illumine my soul;
Fill me with Thy wonderful Spirit,
Come in and take full control.

But what I must remind myself is that they go together. I can’t simply “spiritualize” hospitality. God always dwelt with humankind. From the first moments the shapeless void was formed to long after the last leaf falls, creation will be imbued with God’s presence. There is nowhere we can go where God is not already there. The Psalmist (139) exclaims,
“Where can I go from your spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
So if God was already dwelling with us, why did God need to dwell with us by dwelling in Jesus? Because there is something to the actual act of hospitality, physically abiding with others, tangibly dwelling in the midst of the people.

Ah… I shouldn’t dwell ON it, I should dwell IN it! The act of hospitality, worrying about the temperature of the room, the tastiness of the main dish, and the cleanliness of the floors in-and-of-themselves mean little. But such real tasks of hospitality set us up for, prepare our hearts, minds, and bodies for, put us in the mindset of being prepared for God’s indwelling in our lives. That is why I so vigorously avoid giving in to my worst self when it comes to hospitality: because to stop hosting people would be to turn God away… from my house and from my heart! I know, because scripture convinces me, that to welcome the stranger and the guest to my home is to welcome God to my life and Christ into my heart.

That is why Radical Hospitality is so very important to this congregation. We don’t do it because Emily Post says we should. It isn’t because we want to “grow” and “increase our membership.” We are and must continue to be committed to welcoming ALL God’s children because it is a spiritual act of first order! Our very salvation is dependent upon our ability to make our building accessible, our programs inviting, our potlucks nutritious and tasty, and our very beings welcoming. Because, God knows and we know, too, that by showing hospitality to strangers we very well may be entertaining angels unawares! (Heb. 13:2)

And who wants to turn away an angel? Not me! Not us.

Amen.

(1) http://www.emilypost.com/social-life/hosts-and-guests/466-party-etiquette-tips-for-hosts-and-guests
(2) http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/b/abidewme.htm
(3) http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/1061
 

Rev. Allen V. Harris
Franklin Circle Christian Church
www.FranklinCircleChurch.org


 

Copyright 2010 -- The Rev. Allen V. Harris

Franklin Circle Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

1688 Fulton Rd., Cleveland, OH 44113-3096