Strangers and Hospitality
Here in Crockett we recognize the need for hospitality. People in the country seem to be more hospitable by nature. There could be several reasons. One is that we just don’t see as many people. In big cities there are people all around but here a new person is novel. So we are more interested in a new person. I think a second reason is that we seem to know our need for one another better than people in the city do. We understand the value of a friend. Third is that we just may be curious. We may also just have more time. More time for each other as apposed to being rushed as city folk are. For what ever the reason we seem to be willing to be more hospitable. That is a good thing.
In the gospel it talks about offering a glass of cool water. In the biblical times that is a saying. It is a saying not just about water, but about offering hospitality. To offer someone a cool cup of water is to offer them hospitality. More than just water is being offered, your friendship is being offered. You were offering the person shelter and protection. You were offering them love. It makes since when you think about it. In a desert land water was life itself.
That is what one of the church’s jobs is; to offer a cup of cool water. We are to offer hospitality. What is funny about offering a cup of cool water is that today in Crockett is would that be understood as an offer of hospitality? I think not. It would just be a cup of water. The challenge is to understand the needs people have. The challenge is to speak their need language.
I know that our congregation is a people that believe in hospitality. We believe in welcoming strangers, and inviting them into our company. So how do we do just that thing? We need to look at our church as though we are the stranger. That is a hard thing to do, but often a valuable thing to do. I invite you to look at our campus and see what it says to a stranger. What does it say to a stranger who is not like me? What does it say if you are in a wheelchair? What does it say if you use a walker? What does it say if you have children? What does it say if…..? Well you get the idea. I invite you to think about what says to you “you are welcome to be here, and we want you here.”
