Last week I wrote about religious violence… now I would seriously like to commit some toward the crafters of the Sunday lectionary. Grrr. Yesterday’s Gospel was 315 words of dense, challenging, provocative, hard-to-find-the-Good-News-in teaching from Jesus. And next week’s? 82 words in 2 sentences, four clauses, saying not all that much. Come on!
Okay, end of rant. Let's dive down and welcome the gifts of this very brief passage… which is all about welcoming. After Jesus gives his followers hard instructions about going out to proclaim the Good News and heal the sick, he softens a bit, saying, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”
Welcoming was a big theme in Jesus’ sending talk, because his followers were to go out to villages and towns taking nothing along, no extra tunics, no clean underwear, no toothbrush, no money. They were to rely on the hospitality of those who welcomed them – and if they were not welcomed some place, they were to move on, save their breath.
This is important for us to hear. So often people express anxiety about discussing faith with others; they assume that conversation will not be welcomed. Well, so what? Some will, some won’t. Move on, Jesus says, because you will find someone who does welcome that conversation, and will welcome you, and will be grateful that you had the courage to engage them in a matter close to the heart.
Our culture makes little room for the spiritual, though it is starting to work its way in from the margins into corporate retreats and yoga weekends (maybe because Christians have left such a vacuum?). When we introduce spirituality and faith into a conversation, whether with a friend or stranger, we are making space for a holy connection. And we rely on the hospitality of the other person to welcome us into that space. If the other person doesn’t want to, no problem. Try again with someone else. Be open to the conversation if someone else introduces it. Let’s invite people to see our connection to God.
Do you anticipate rejection when you contemplate talking about God with someone, or do you anticipate welcome? Either way, we can be surprised…
Can you think of a person with whom you might want to start that conversation? What do you think his or her reaction would be if you raised a spiritual subject?
Here’s the thing: we don’t have to go out cold-calling people. We can respond to the Spirit’s prompts about who might be open. We can ask God in prayer, even over a period of weeks or years, “Shall I talk to that person about my faith? What’s the right approach? When do you think I should do it?” I think that’s a prayer that God will answer… maybe with a sign of some kind, or by our getting a feeling of “wait” or “go,” or there being an opening to talk. That very prayer will open our spirits and prepare us.
Jesus implies that someone will welcome us as we go about the mission of God to restore all things and all people to wholeness. And when they do welcome us, as we go in Christ’s name, they are welcoming Him, and in welcoming Him, they are welcoming our Father in heaven. It’s like a CEO showing up on a sales call, or the chief of surgery administering a shot. We get to be the advance folks; God does the work.
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