Jesus as Guest and Host

by Pastor Kathy Barlow-Westmoreland

This week's focus scripture is Luke 10:38-42.

Over the next few weeks, I am going to be stepping back a bit from the lectionary (although not this morning) to take time to share with you all some of my reflections from last summer’s sabbatical. Some may be saying, “well, it’s about time we heard what the heck you were doing for three months!” And while I could give a travel commentary about Ireland and Italy at any time, it has taken a bit longer for me to reflect on those experiences and my journaling through them, to integrate the reading I did once I returned home, as well as the bible study I have done, and to ponder what all this means for us here at the Union Church. Part of the purpose of my sabbatical was to learn what it was like to enter into a foreign culture, where one does not know the language, to the practices or the stories of the people. How would they make me welcome? What did hospitality look like for them? The reason I even pursued this is that no longer do the folks who come through our doors necessarily have a background in Reformed or Protestant Churches, or even a church at all. They may not know the funny words we use like doxology, offertory, communion, baptism. They may not know when to stand or sit or why we stand and why we sit. And yet, they come through our doors. How do we make them feel at home, without tearing away at the fabric of who we are? I grew up in the church…this is a native language, the culture is second nature to me. I needed to be somewhere that would give me a sense of being a stranger in a strange land, if I were going to help us offer the kind of hospitality that is needed. So, I hope you will join me in this journey and that these sermons will be a starting place for more conversations about how we can not just open our doors, but our life together to others.

This morning we begin with the quintessential story of hospitality. Martha and Mary. Sisters, but very different in their approach to Jesus. Often people pit Martha against Mary with Mary and her desire to sit at the feet of Jesus winning since, she chose “the good portion”. Yet, we cannot just yank this episode from the life of Jesus out of Luke and only consider it- the story before it- the parable of the Good Samaritan, certainly was about serving others, going the extra mile as a way of showing our love for God. If you think Jesus is an either or kind of guy here, well think again. He is definitely a “both and” when it comes to listening to the Word, and service to the World.

One of the first things we need to remember is the purpose of hospitality. This is something Martha was struggling with here. The purpose for hospitality as an extension of the life of faith is to create a welcoming space where people can make a connection with God and with God’s Word. Martha was so worried about getting dinner on the table (which needs to happen by the way), that she forgot the purpose for the visit- to spend time with Jesus, to listen to him. Often in the church, our purpose for hospitality is to “get more members” , to get more folks to sign on the dotted line, so that we have more volunteers, more giving units (yes I said it), more young people, more families, more whatever…to keep the demographics balanced, to keep the organization running. But what if, what if we were to think about our hospitality being about making sure that whoever came through our doors not only got a warm welcome from us, but also a meaningful connection with the God we have come to know and love? You see, gospel hospitality will not allow people to starve physically (I think we have that one down since I do believe one of our religious symbols is the casserole dish) or emotionally…but also not spiritually. And that can be more difficult- we cannot easily address a spiritual hunger with a cup of coffee or a bowl of soup or a fellowship group. There is more there that needs to be considered.

I want to introduce you to one of the friends we made in Italy. This is Luciano, the patriarch of the family whose ancestral farm we stayed at for a week. Luciano, while he still works parts of this farm, lives with his wife and son, daughter in law and grandchildren on a farm a few miles away. The farm where we stayed was entirely for guests. Though we did get a tour of his home farm. In fact, those are his fields behind us in this picture. He knew very little English and we certainly had very little Italian, so neither of us spoke the same language. Yet he welcomed us warmly. He worked to accommodate our language/cultural ignorance. We had hardly gotten our suitcases into our apartment but Luciano was at our door.

He motioned to the kids to come with him. He led them down to the garden, a garden he planted and tended, a garden not meant for himself, but for his guests. He gave them a tour, showing Sam what was there, what was ready to pick. They came back with arms full of onions, zucchini, squash, eggplant. He pointed out the basil growing at the bottom of our stairs. One evening he arrived at our door with a huge tub of his ricotta cheese and we got a bowl so he could scoop a healthy portion for us. While we at this point knew little of his culture or language, he could share with us from his own hands and labor.

He opened his home to us, shared his family’s passions for pecorino cheese, olive oil, cured meats, wine, and even shared eggs and pesto from his wife’s recipe. This was the Martha in him, providing for us, working to make sure we had the full understanding of life for the people in his valley. It made me wonder, do our efforts at being Martha, providing for others also work to build understanding about why we do what we do. I must admit it made me think of the luncheons we provide after funerals, where families, many of whom do not understand the language and customs of the church, understand that we care for them, we want them comforted in soul and in body.

Not only, though, did Luciano rush about providing for us. He also took time to sit at table with us. As did his wife Liliana. With the help of his daughter in law, Isabella, we sought common ground. He listened to our stories and we certainly listened to his. His purpose? Well, yes, to make a living of sorts from having us there, but not at the expense of his life and culture. Their family had made the decision not to put in a pool, which many other farms around them had. It would have made them “more marketable” for those seeking a Tuscan resort more than a Tuscan life experience, particularly in the hot summer months. They also decided against the spa/sauna/hot tub route for the same reason. It was not part of the farm life of the Val D’Orcia, it would detract from the authentic encounter they wanted us to have. They would not water down their “gospel” simply to make it more palatable for the masses. They truly believed their story was worth hearing even when uncomfortable or difficult, and were willing to sacrifice more guests for their integrity. A lesson I noted in my journal.

To that end, each evening, about bed time, Luciano would knock on our doors and say, “Grappa?” Now, grappa is a strong alcoholic drink, but he also offered his wine or dessert wine- always in moderation, always just a bit – a taste if you will. The real treat of this time was when we would pull out the Italian/English dictionary and truly try to understand one another. We would ask questions and he would attempt to answer, passing the dictionary among us. It was, for us, a sitting at the feet of Jesus moment, as Luciano sought to help us to understand his life and the life of the people in that valley. There were a number of holy ground moments there, when we were listening to each other, seeking understand and make ourselves understood. In those moment, Luciano was not only host, he was guest as well, learning from us as we learned from him.

And in our gospel lesson, this is important for us to hear as well. It is not just about what we do or what we say, but how do we listen? Yes, our life together is to extend a welcome and create a way for others to experience the God we have come to know and love and trust, but is also for us to be guests of Jesus, to be fed by him, nourished at his table.

While Luciano gave us so much, he was also nourished by each guest. As it should be. If we only feed others, soon we will burn out, we will become discouraged, worried about what difference we are making, distracted from our primary purpose, we may become angry because we aren’t getting the results we think we should, we will exhaust ourselves. But if while we are serving we are also taking time to sit at the feet of Jesus, to listen to what God is saying to us, we will not lose our focus or purpose, we also will be fed- it is much like on an airplane where they want you to put on your oxygen mask before helping someone else- if you can’t breathe, how can you help someone else? That is Jesus’ message to Martha- if you do not take time to learn from me as a disciple, what will nourish your servant heart? How can you welcome others if you have not experienced my welcome. I am not only your guest, whom you will serve, but I am also your host, who will serve you from my teachings and my love.

Next Sunday, guests will come through our doors. How will we receive them? As potential members or as people who need to experience the love and grace of our God? Next Sunday, we will come through those doors- are we ready to sit at the feet of Jesus, to listen and to learn, to be nourished so that we can indeed be strong enough to be Martha in the world?

The better portion. The whole portion. Let us take it all in, knowing we need both in order to be strong and faithful followers of Jesus. Amen.

St. John's Westminster Union Church
1085 Neeb Rd. Cincinnati, Ohio 45233
(513) 347-4613