Sermons

“The Joy of Hospitality”

Psalm 100; Genesis 18:1-8 – Rev. Rebecca Littlejohn

Vista La Mesa Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), La Mesa, California – August 9, 2015

Holy God, bless the speaking and the hearing of these words, that we might accept your hospitality with joy and share it with abundant generosity. We pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.

We’ve been talking about hospitality a lot this week at Vacation Bible School. The scripture we just heard from Genesis 18 was our lesson on Tuesday morning. And hospitality was the theme for that particular day. But really, we were enjoying the hospitality of the Community of Disciples of Christ in Congo all week, as they shared their lives with us through this wonderful curriculum.

Sometimes I think we can learn as much from Bible stories by noticing what’s not there as we can from examining the details that are included. And there’s something major missing from this story that is sadly part of many of our personal experiences of hospitality. There is no evidence of comparison in this story. You know how when you go over to someone’s house, part of what you’re curious about is whether their house is nicer than yours? Or whether it’s tidier, or has more beautiful art and decoration? Or when you have guests over, and the thing you’re really worried about is that your dishes won’t be fancy enough for them? Or that they won’t like your cooking? Or they’ll think your yard is messy? Why do we do that? What does it have to do with hospitality?

If this lesson from Genesis 18 tells us anything about hospitality, it’s that comparison is simply not part of the deal. The way the story goes, it certainly seems like Abraham has plenty to offer. He provides water for his guests to wash their feet; he has Sarah make them bread; he kills a calf and has it prepared so that they can have a feast. So on the one hand, if we insist on making comparisons, we have Abraham welcoming guests who have been traveling in the desert with only what they could carry, and offering them the best of his abundant resources.

On the other hand, the opening line of the story tells us that these three mystery men are actually somehow God – God who could make springs arise from the desert at any moment if necessary. When you look at it that way, Abraham’s offerings seem less impressive: Meat, bread and water. For the living God, creator of the heavens and the earth? No wine? No fancy pastries for dessert? No milk and honey?

But this isn’t what the story is about, is it? And that’s important. Because we frequently need the reminder that hospitality isn’t about keeping up with the Joneses. Hospitality allows us to focus on abundance, whether we are the guest or the host. As we were virtual guests of the Community of Disciples of Christ in Congo this week, it was clear there were abundant blessings for us in being their guests. Though we did talk about resources we have the capacity to share with them, it was also clear that we are equal partners in our mutual following of Jesus, both parties having abundant gifts to offer the other. And when we focus on abundance, we have much easier access to joy. Too often, those of us living easy lives here in the United States will ask “How can they be so happy when they have so little?” But that’s because we’re focused on the wrong things. When you’re focused on the abundance of God’s blessings, joy is easy to find. And hospitality is one of the best ways to keep our focus on God’s abundance.

One of the things we learned this week was how the Community of Disciples of Christ in Congo is loving God by loving their neighbors. They run hospitals and clinics, but also schools. In fact, I think right now, I’m going to have the grown-ups here take a little quiz that I gave the kids this week. Kids, don’t say anything, okay? Don’t give anything away so the adults can make their guesses. How many schools do you think the Community of Disciples of Christ in Congo sponsors? Is it 148, or 640, or 912? (640) How many students do you think attend those schools? Is it 700, or 57,600, or 102,260? (102,260) And finally, how many teachers do you think teach in those schools? 1,032, or 2,434, or 4,209? (4,209) We were pretty impressed by their teacher-to-student ratio! What a wonderful example of the abundance of God’s blessing!

Another thing we learned this week about Disciples in the Democratic Republic of Congo is that they love to dance. They dance in worship, a lot. I don’t know if you noticed, but it was really hot this week. We were a little worried, because some of our activities were planned to take place outside. But, we said, I guess that just makes it more realistic, because it’s really hot in Congo too! How can people who live in a place that is so hot, all year long, dance in worship? Wouldn’t that just make them hotter? You might think so, and yet, dance they do. And I think it goes back to those two related blessings: hospitality and joy.

If you think of worship as an act of hospitality – we are both welcoming each other and doing our very best to offer a feast table for the Living God in our midst – then we are brought back to that grounding in an awareness of the abundance of God’s blessings. And once again, that is how we access joy. And once you’ve accessed joy, how can you help but dance? It’s going to be a million degrees anyway, so you might as well be having fun!

Maybe this still isn’t making sense, so maybe we’d better show you instead of just trying to tell you. Hospitality and joy – in dance form! [dance break!]

There is so much we can learn from our partners in the Community of Disciples of Christ in Congo. There is so much we can learn from our children. There is so much we can learn from these ancient stories of hospitality offered to presumed strangers journeying through the desert – stories that we share with our brothers and sisters in Congo, and with our children. When we come together and focus on God’s abundant blessings, joy is truly a fountain of living water in our midst. Alleluia and Amen!