Outdoor Service – Visual Arts Centre Bowmanville

Welcome! – Rev. David Mundy

St. Paul’s continues to hold it’s annual outdoor service and picnic at the end of June. We can hope the tradition continues, although I wonder if it might be one of those “you don’t know what you got ‘til its gone” situations as people are pulled hither and yon at this time of year. Today, Loaves and Fishes will provide our music and we’ll pray no one ends up in the creek!

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‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.

Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’

Matthew 10:40-42

Many of us are getting ready for summer vacations and some of us will be travelling across the country for our holidays. Last year at this time we were looking forward to a trip to Newfoundland where we began our ministry.

We wanted to visit the outports I served, so a few months before our trip we phoned a couple we knew from those days to see whether we could spend some time with them. The shriek of joy at the other end of the line was so loud that we had to hold the phone away from our ears. Even though it was thirty years ago, we had stayed in touch and visited on several occasions. We asked whether the dates we had in mind would fit with their schedule. It didn’t matter they said. They would just change their plans to fit us. When we got off the phone we both felt uplifted, as though we were possibly the most important people in the world.

When we arrived in July we got the warmest welcome, complete with tears. It was as though we were long-lost family members. We stayed a few days with them before touring around, and during that time the woman in the couple fed us our favourite Newfoundland meals, including moose. They lead a very simple life by our standards but their generosity knew no bounds.

We returned to their place by the ocean before our flight back to Ontario and since we had a rental car we assured them that when we got up at two in the morning to get to the airport there was no need for them to see us off. So of course they got up anyway, and waved goodbye with more tears shed.

The welcome and hospitality of Newfoundlanders is legendary and we knew what to expect, but what we experienced was still remarkable in its warmth.

Welcome! What a powerful word when it is attached to the corresponding experience of hospitality and shelter. In the bible that welcome and hospitality are considered Godly virtues which need to be practised on a regular basis.

In our gospel passage today Jesus is speaking to his disciples and getting them ready to go out and share the Good News of God’s new way in the world. We have to wonder whether they are nervous about this plan, the way many of us are nervous about sharing our faith in Christ with others even when it is important to us.

Jesus seems to know that there are times when the disciples will feel vulnerable and displaced and that some people might interpret their Good News as bad news. But he encourages them to be bold in their witness and says that “whoever welcomes you, welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” Then he speaks of the virtue of sharing even a cup of cold water with others. A cup of water doesn’t really seem like much and yet so many people are thirsty for acceptance and belonging

The art and practice of welcoming others seem to be fading in our culture. We lead busy and perhaps more private lives than in previous generations, so hospitality is a challenge. And that seems to have influenced congregations as well, even though most would like to seem themselves as friendly and welcoming.

It’s fine for churches to put the words “everyone welcome” on their signs, but honestly talk is cheap. Maybe that is part of the problem, that we have signs and buildings that shelter us from actually welcoming others rather than becoming places of warmth and hospitality. The practice of meaningful welcome and radical hospitality can be challenging at times and we do tend to find our comfort zone with those we know.

Jesus’ disciples had to take their show on the road and so did the apostle Paul. Sometimes Paul would go to local synagogues when he was on his journeys but he didn’t always get a warm welcome. So, he would find some other place to share the gospel of Christ.

When he went to the Greek city of Philippi Paul went down by the river where people would gather for prayer, a little like us this morning, I suppose. We’re told that as he spoke, some of them, including a woman named Lydia were receptive to Paul’s message. The story in Acts 16 tells us that Lydia already worshipped God, but “the Lord opened her heart to listen.”

I realize that for our friends in Newfoundland “welcome” is not just a word, or even a conscious goal. It is who they are, and what they live. Isn’t that what we can hope for as Christians?

Well, we aren’t planning any baptisms in Soper Creek this morning. I’m not going to suggest that you fan out into the streets of Bowmanville after today’s service. But we can all hear the encouragement to be welcoming Christians, not just on Sundays but every day of the week.

Here’s what we can all do this morning. We can welcome one another. We can get up and move around and find someone we don’t know. Begin with the word “welcome!” and then introduce yourselves to one another.

In many small but effective ways we can practice our welcome in Christ’s name.