We find in today’s Gospel one of the most familiar Biblical stories of hospitality. Lazarus may have come home early to let his sisters know that Jesus and his friends were coming for dinner. Mary and Martha tidied up the house and began dinner preparations. The guests arrived as one sister prepared the meal and the other sister welcomed the guests and shared in the pre-dinner conversation. This is a scene very familiar to us, especially those of us who have homes without open concept, where one or more are preparing food in the kitchen and the others are in the living room making lively conversation so the guests feel at home.
Hospitality is all about preparation and welcome. Eugene and our adjoining communities have been preparing a long time for this weekend and the next several days, preparing to welcome athletes, the press, and visitors from around the world. New murals have been painted on the sides of buildings. Some building construction has stopped so streets are not partially blocked. Other streets have been closed to cars, and opened for pedestrians. Hotels and restaurants, and the entire hospitality industry have been shining things up and training new staff. People have volunteered to be greeters at the airport and helpers at the track and field events. Whether we are official helpers or simply walking around town this week, we have an opportunity to say Welcome, Bienvenidos.
And just as hospitality is about preparation, Luke in his Gospel has been preparing us for today’s story. A couple of weeks ago we heard the story of Jesus sending out seventy apostles. While much of the reading is about the apostles receiving, or not receiving, hospitality as they travel around the countryside, it is also about the hospitality they show to others. They give God’s peace to each house and when welcomed in, share in good conversation about the kingdom of God. This past week we heard the story of the Good Samaritan. Yes, the Samaritan traveler bandaged the wounds of the injured man, but then he took the man to an inn and saw to it he received food and drink and a place to heal. Not only does he show mercy, he shows hospitality with kindness.
Hospitality comes from both abundance and scarcity. The Samaritan had enough resources to rent a room at the inn while the injured man recovered from his wounds. Martha welcomed Jesus and his friends into her home. Her home. She had her own house and abundance of space to host Jesus and his disciples. But, sometimes, hospitality is an especially appreciated gift when it comes from scarcity.
In 1985 a famine ravaged Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa, due to adverse climate conditions and warring factions. A photojournalist, John Isaac, traveled there with a UNICEF team that wanted to bring attention to the plight of the country’s children through film, speeches, and celebrity. Isaac was there for all the official occasions. He recorded all these meetings and was quick to respond to photo opportunities to show what was being done, and what was needed to be done, to help the people of the region. Finally, Isaac had a chance to leave the group and explore on his own. That is when he met a half-blind woman who lived with a chicken in a slum called Gaza Tanika. Isaac said later to the UNICEF team: “She was a gentle old soul and she was worried about me because she had nothing to offer to me. She kept apologizing for that and kept saying to my interpreter to tell me not to leave yet. I was worried, because my ride was waiting for me because it was past curfew. Suddenly she came rushing out of her shack and said, ‘You can leave now!’ She gave me this”, he told his friends, opening the palm of his hand and revealing an egg. “She had just one chicken and she was waiting for the chicken to lay an egg that she wanted to share with me. It would have been her dinner, but she wanted me to have it instead, because I was out there in the war, and she worried.”
Hospitality is about preparation and about welcome. It comes from abundance and from scarcity. It is for the friend and for the stranger. Here at St. Mary’s we are slowly bringing back in-person Coffee Hour after some of our Sunday services. While visitors are invited and warmly welcomed to join us, the Coffee Hour is hospitality by and for our parish family, a chance to reconnect and be with friends. Thanks to Louise of our office staff, volunteers are placed together on teams to share in this parish tradition of hospitality. Consider staying a little longer on Sunday morning, as host or as guest. As you can see in today’s bulletin announcements, Louise would love to hear from you.
On Saturday mornings sandwiches and other food items are made for the hungry in our community. At this time, we cannot welcome our guests to Berktold Hall as we once did, but hospitality is shown through this preparation and delivery of sandwiches. Consider being a part of this parish outreach of hospitality. As you can see from today’s bulletin announcements, Dick and Holly would love to hear from you.
Another opportunity for hospitality is the receptions which follow funerals and memorial services. I lead this endeavor and I’m always looking for others to help with preparation and with hosting. Part of the preparation that brings me satisfaction is meeting with a family member and going over the details for the reception. At the end of our talk, I am able to say: “And now you can let go of the preparations. We will provide a welcoming place, for you to gather with family and friends and share in conversation and remembrances.” Consider being on the receptions team. I would love to hear from you.
There are many other opportunities to share in the hospitality of welcome and kindness at St. Mary’s. Watch for and respond to the ones that call to you.
I have spoken today of hospitality to family, to friends, to visitors, and to strangers. We are called as Christians to include kindness in our hospitality. And as Christians we welcome Jesus as our host and as our guest. We are invited to hear God’s Word and to join in conversation about the teachings of Jesus. We are invited to come to the Lord’s Table and be Christ’s guests: “Take, eat. This is my body which is given for you.” We also welcome Jesus to eat with us. There is a sweet, little grace that is said before many meals: “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let this food for us be blest.”
In our Episcopal Church liturgical calendar, July 29th is set aside for the Feast Day of Mary and Martha of Bethany. I close with the Collect for this day. Listen, and find your place at the table, as host, as guest, as friend of Jesus in the family of God. Let us pray.
O God, heavenly Father, your Son Jesus Christ enjoyed rest and refreshment in the home of Mary and Martha of Bethany: Give us the will to love you, open our hearts to hear you, and strengthen our hands to serve you in others, for his sake; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
