Our Host

Scripture Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16  CEB   

1. Living in the Most High’s shelter,
    camping in the Almighty’s shade,

2  I say to the Lord, “You are my refuge, my stronghold!
    You are my God—the one I trust!”

3 God will save you from the hunter’s trap
    and from deadly sickness.

4 God will protect you with his pinions;
    you’ll find refuge under his wings.
    His faithfulness is a protective shield.

5 Don’t be afraid of terrors at night,
    arrows that fly in daylight,

6  or sickness that prowls in the dark,
    destruction that ravages at noontime.

14 God says,“Because you are devoted to me,
    I’ll rescue you.
    I’ll protect you because you know my name.

15 Whenever you cry out to me, I’ll answer.
    I’ll be with you in troubling times.
    I’ll save you and glorify you.

16  I’ll fill you full with old age.
    I’ll show you my salvation.”

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All this month we have been talking about hospitality.  We have talked about who to welcome and how to do that.  About how to serve our guests, and how sometimes we need to let others serve us.  We have even talked quite a bit about how to make our space more hospitable.  But there is one piece of hospitality that we haven’t really talked that much about . . . the host.

In the last 2 weeks I have been in both roles - the host and the person being hosted.  As co-hosts/facilitators for the Clergy Women’s Mini-retreat at Mission Springs, Monica Cross and I provided a program of activities which included time to rest, snacks and drinks, and made lunch arrangements everyone found acceptable. We did our best to make sure all the needs of our guests were considered in advance so we could make the event a blessing for them.   I then spent several days at St Anthony Retreat in Three Rivers on a private retreat.  I felt like an honored and beloved guest the whole time I was there.  When I walked in one staff member called out, “Welcome Home, Maria.”  Another greeted me with a hug.  I was given the most prized room - a corner room with two windows and the best view.  By the next morning all the staff knew my name, and used it when they greeted me.  The chef asked about my meal preferences.  Everyone, including staff, got the same meal, mind you, but he wanted to make sure the meals would include foods I enjoy.  Now, I do understand that the Retreat center is a business and it is in their best interests to treat visitors well, but still - the whole time I was there I felt like someone special.  My hosts understood very well what hospitality means - we even talked about the theological and cultural/historical understandings of hospitality at dinner one night. (This is what happens when you have 2 priests, a minister, and a  nun eating dinner together.)

When you are hosting a big party or an event, a wedding or anniversary party or a 50th class reunion, there are a lot of details to deal with.  If you select a large venue they often have an event planner to work with you to make sure everything is considered and that things go according to plan.  You provide the list of people who are to be invited and then step back to let the event planner do their job.  They will confer with you as needed, but for the most part they simply do what ever needs to be done.  They find a caterer to do the food and table set up and a florist to make the space beautiful.  They make sure each guest receives the gifts and tokens of appreciation the host has provided.  They take care of all the details. Speaking as someone who has been a part of large weddings with and without event planners, I love event planners!  I didn’t even have to worry about lining up the bridesmaids, not to mention the tiny flower girls and ring bearers.  All I had to concern myself with was getting there, and praying the couple would show up.   Naturally, the host is disappointed if some who are invited don’t show up, or if someone rejects the gifts they are offered, but those who do come are welcomed with joy and gladness.

God is our gracious host.   We are the event planners.  We are God’s hands and feet in the world.  We handle the details, making sure the gifts that God offers are  presented in the best, most inviting way to all who might come.  Our very lives are the invitations into God’s loving embrace. We work hard to provide the best of spiritual foods, the warmest of welcomes, and the most authentic worship experience designed, not to entertain, but to encourage people to come closer to God, so that they might know God as we do, and trust God as we do.  

And we do trust God, with all our hearts.  With the psalmist, we “say to the Lord, “You are my refuge, my stronghold!  You are my God—the one I trust!”  We rest in God’s shadow, like baby birds protected under God’s outstretched wings.  We are secure in the knowledge that we are God’s beloved children, that God’s mercy and grace flow out upon us because of God’s steadfast love for us - because Lord knows we don’t deserve it.  God knows we are imperfect, that we will make mistakes, that we won’t always get it right - that we won’t always even obey the Commandments we have been given!  You know, that pesky Love your neighbor thing.   But we serve a God of grace. We know that we are forgiven.  We know that we need not be afraid, for God is with us always, in every situation.

“There is a difference, Desmond Tutu once observed, between a religion of virtue and a religion of grace.    A religion of virtue says, “If you are really good—a true standout—then God will love you.”  A religion of virtue is mostly about our doing. It is about our efforts to get on God’s good side or to demonstrate to others that we are on God’s side. This can lead to a very busy, exhausting, life.

A religion of grace is different. Such a faith says, “You are loved. I have taken your side and will never leave it. Trust this and live boldly.”

(Tony Robinson, Still Speaking Daily Devotional, September 27, 2019)

We know that there are those for whom the practice of Christianity has become a religion of virtue.  Rules abound, on what to do, what words to use, what music to listen to, who to love . . . and who to hate.   Christianity as we practice it is a religion of grace.  We reject only those whom Jesus rejected, and as far as I can tell, he rejected no one.  We honor God by welcoming all persons in this place, just as God has welcomed us.   We may not do that perfectly - we don’t do anything perfectly  - but we do the best we can with what we’ve got, and we seek ways to do more and better - individually and as a congregation.

And God says, “Because you are devoted to me,  I’ll rescue you.
    I’ll protect you because you know my name.

 Whenever you cry out to me, I’ll answer. I’ll be with you in troubling times.
    I’ll save you and glorify you. I’ll show you my salvation.”

As our gracious host, God reaches out to each of us, welcoming us as if there are no other guests, as if we are the most honored guest of all.  Naturally, God is disappointed when some decline the invitation or reject the gifts of love and mercy that God offers.  And yet, God never stops extending the invitation. God never gives up.  And neither do we.  For we are commanded to carry the Good News to every person on the earth, to prepare the world for the greatest event of all - that time when every nation welcomes the peace of Christ, when God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

When we go from this place, let us always remember that we are God’s hands and feet - that we are living invitations into God’s embrace to everyone whom we encounter.  May God pour upon us the power, wisdom, and courage to do as we are commanded to do, so that all peoples will know our loving, forgiving, merciful God - God of grace and glory.