Sermon #13 @ St. Paris UMC (9.20.09)

Pastor Dave Kepple

Text: Luke 7:36-47

Title: “Cultivating Fruitfulness, Part 1: RADICAL HOSPITALITY”

Date: Sept. 20, 2009 (16th Sunday after Pentecost)

Internet Link for primary scripture text used in this sermon:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%207:36-47&version=NIV

I trust most of you have been reading the daily devotions in Cultivating Fruitfulness.
Frankly, I’ve been enjoying them more than I expected. They are short, well-written, biblically-based, and have been genuinely helpful in providing a deeper understanding of what “Radical Hospitality” is all about.
That one we read for Wednesday – Day 4 -- grabbed me, in particular.
It was about the pastor who was working in a hospital training program, and who was called in to support an older man whose wife had been brought to the hospital by ambulance. Soon, a doctor told the man his wife had died, leaving him stunned with grief.
The poor man had no pastor of his own – no church connection of any kind. His family members were scattered across the country. He was about as alone as could be as he left the hospital that day, to cope with his wife’s death all on his own.
Bishop Robert Schnase, the author of “Cultivating Fruitfulness,” notes that “life is not meant to be lived that way. God intends for people to live their lives interlaced by the grace of God with others, to know the gift and task of community from birth to death, to have faith to sustain them through times of joy and periods of desperate agony.” (1)
Schnase adds: “Practicing hospitality is not inviting people to join a club in order to enhance revenue through dues. We invite people into that mysteriously sustaining community that finds its purpose in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (2)
Let me repeat that last statement: “We invite people into that mysteriously sustaining community that finds its purpose in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
That’s who we are. That’s what we are called to be. We are the church!
And what we have received through God’s amazing grace is simply too good to keep to ourselves. We must open our doors, and extend the invitation to experience God’s love and mercy to everyone. Jesus himself calls us to radical hospitality, for it is the way he lived during his earthly walk. It is the way the Holy Spirit beckons our hearts to follow.
As a newcomer to Saint Paris United Methodist Church, I have seen and appreciated all that you are already doing in the area of hospitality. The Fellowship Time before worship is a wonderful way of welcoming people on a Sunday morning. The Block Party, which I’ve heard about, has been a meaningful outreach to the community. The rocking chair in the back of the sanctuary affirms the message that mothers with young children are always welcome in this place. (And as pastor, I want to go on record that the sound of a crying baby on Sunday morning is not a problem at all – it is something to be cherished.)
Our bulletin reminds us weekly that this is a “Come as you are church,” as it should be, for God loves us just the way we are. Not only are casual clothes OK, but so are people who may not look like us . . . people with tattoos and piercings, people in tattered clothes, people for whom the thought of stepping inside a church may be a scary thing.
I think radical hospitality means we operate on the assumption that each new person who comes through our doors, whether a bank president or an outlaw biker, deserves to be treated with love and respect – indeed, treated as an honored guest as if Jesus himself were the one being received.
Yes, we are already doing some things well in the church when it comes to Radical Hospitality, and the other areas we’ll be looking at in the coming weeks, such as Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, Risk-Taking Mission and Service, and Extravagant Generosity. Those are the five practices of fruitful congregations. And these are practices we must continue to work on, if we are to fulfill our calling as the Church of Jesus Christ.
Maybe you’re thinking: “But we’ve been doing those kinds of things for years, in one way or another. Why do we need to put so much emphasis on all that now? Why can’t we just do our usual “church thing” and go home and get on with our lives?
Well, the thing is, we never outgrow the need to work on – and improve -- the basics. Bishop Schnase gives a wonderful example of this, when he writes:
“When elementary-age Little League baseball players practice their sport, they practice batting, catching pop-ups, scooping up ground balls. When professional Major League players practice – adults at the height of their abilities – what do they do? They practice batting, catching pop-ups, scooping up ground balls. Players at all stages and abilities repeat and deepen and improve upon the same basic practices. The same is true for congregations.” (3)
And Schnase adds: “The greatest difference between stagnant and declining congregations and those that are continually growing is that in fruitful congregations, the pastor and staff are constantly learning, the leaders and volunteers are constantly learning, and even the members and guests are practicing and improving the basic elements of ministry.” (4)
Now it’s not that hard to practice hospitality, but the call to “Radical Hospitality” suggests we go the extra mile to welcome people into the community of faith – in whatever form or fashion it may take. This is where we may start to quietly cringe a little bit on the inside.
Because sometimes, in our humanness, we struggle with the notion that the mission of making disciples for Christ takes precedence over our own comfort and convenience.
Nevertheless, it is true.
Today’s gospel lesson shows us two extremes concerning the all-important matter of hospitality. Let’s set the scene.
A Pharisee named Simon – one of those religious leaders who were always challenging and testing Jesus, because they saw him as a threat – invites the Master to have dinner with him at his house. So far, so good – it seems like the religious man is offering some hospitality to Jesus. But is he really?
For as the story unfolds, one of the women in town who had kind of an unsavory reputation got wind that Jesus was at the Pharisee’s house, and she decided she had to do something special to show her love for the Lord. Clearly, she was one of those sinners that the Pharisees always wanted to keep at arms length – but that Jesus seemed more than willing to associate with.
So this unnamed woman boldly entered Simon’s house and then does an amazing thing. She washed the Lord’s feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair, and she kissed his feet, and then anointed them with a jar of expensive perfume.
Simon was appalled. If Jesus was such a big-deal prophet, he thought to himself, surely he would never allow this tramp to touch him in this way. But Jesus, knowing what Simon is thinking, offers a parable to illuminate matters. He tells the story about the two men who have their debts cancelled, and how one of them has a debt that is 10 times greater than the other.
“Now which of them will love him more?” Jesus asks Simon.
The Pharisee, perhaps warily, not knowing where Jesus was going with this, replied: “I suppose the one who has the bigger debt cancelled.” And that, of course, was the right answer.
Then Jesus speaks about matters of hospitality – and radical hospitality.
“Do you see this woman?” Jesus asks, knowing full well Simon had been upset about her presence. Jesus notes that Simon has failed to show him even the basic hospitality that guests had a right to expect in ancient times.
Simon did not give Jesus any water for the cleansing of his feet after a day out on the hot, dirty roads of Palestine. He did not give Jesus a welcoming kiss to show his friendship, nor did Simon anoint Jesus’ head with oil. In short, Simon had not done much of anything to make Jesus feel special or welcome in his home.
On the other hand, the woman with the “bad rep” was so moved by the presence of Jesus, that her own tears bathed his feet, and in the deepest humility, she showed her love by using her hair to wipe those feet clean. She humbled herself further to kiss those feet in what must have been both reverence and awe, and finally she anointed the feet of the Master with perfume.
If that isn’t radical hospitality, I don’t know what is. And this woman wasn’t even the hostess for this dinner party – she just came on in because she knew Jesus was there.
With such an attitude as this, one that clearly demonstrates her profound love for Jesus, the woman’s many sins have been forgiven, Jesus tells Simon.

Now today, I don’t think we are necessarily called to wash, dry, kiss and perfume the feet of people we want to reach out to in the name of Jesus. But there are no shortage of ways and means that we can use to share the love of Christ with people who don’t know the Lord – and may never know Him if we don’t stir ourselves . . . if we don’t stretch ourselves.
Maybe some of you already have ideas percolating for how we might go a little deeper as a church in demonstrating the Radical Hospitality that is so pleasing in God’s sight. I hope you do – or soon will.
Here’s one for starters. What if we invited the whole town to come and take part in our Christmas Eve service at the United Methodist Church this year? I’ve heard there were only 50 to 75 people here on Christmas Eve last year. I know we’ve got room for a lot more people than that. I’ve also been told we’re the only church in town that has worship on Christmas Eve.
What if we made a concerted effort to reach out to people, to invite people, to come and spend part of that holy night with us – and with Jesus -- here in God’s house?
Down the road, we’re going to be forming some small groups to focus on each of these five Fruit-Bearing Practices – such as Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, and all the others. My prayer is that this will prove to be a great adventure for all of us as we see where God may be leading us a group of disciples here in Saint Paris!
I want to tell a short story from one of my own memories of being touched by “Radical Hospitality.” It comes from a time several years ago when I visited the Philippines for a couple weeks, along with a group of five other people from United Theological Seminary in Dayton. (I mentioned this last month during one of the Sunday School sessions that Becky Black and Dolly Pond were leading, and today I want to share it with all of you.)
It was Jan. 18, 1996, and the sun was broiling hot. We were staying for a few days in a fishing village near the shore of the Philippine Sea. Later in the afternoon, we walked over to be with some of our poor neighbors who were living in the shanties. We visited the homes of a couple families who had invited us, and their hospitality was so overwhelming it simply melted our hearts.
These people – who truly had nothing in the way of material possessions – had spent their precious pesos to buy Coca Cola and crackers to serve us, despite our pleas that it was not necessary. Their hospitality was radical indeed! They were Christians, and they were a people after God’s own heart.
At the second home we went to, they didn’t have any electricity, and light was provided by a couple small lamps, burning fuel. It was very touching and heartwarming to be with these people, who described their lives as being “hard but happy.” Later, we would sing some songs and join together for Bible Study with our new friends. I remember telling them that we Americans could learn much about hospitality from them.”
In closing, I call to your attention the words of Jesus in the Parable of the Wedding Banquet. This is in Matthew 22, where the Lord tells of a king who is frustrated that the guests invited to his son’s wedding have all sent in their RSVPs – and are refusing to come! A sumptuous feast had been planned and everything was ready, but those on the guest list couldn’t have cared less.
As a result, the king is ready to try some radical hospitality. As Jesus continues the story, the king orders his servants to “go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.” So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.” (Matt. 22:9-10)
You know what that sounds like to me?
That sounds a lot like “Sharing the Love of Jesus Christ in the Community.”
With God’s help, may we go and do likewise.
Amen.
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1. Robert Schnase, “Cultivating Fruitfulness: Five Weeks of Prayer and Practice for Congregations,” pp. 15-16, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2008.
2. Ibid.
3. Robert Schnase, “Five Practices – Radical Hospitality,” Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2008.
4. Ibid.