Acts of Grace: Hebrews 13:1-2

Today is the last day in a series of sermons we have been having on hospitality. And the scripture we read, was actually the basis of the entire series. Hebrews 13: 1-2. Two verses, placed near the end of a letter that many believe was actually a sermon.



And there are a lot of different patterns for sermons. There is your “three points and a poem” sermon. There is your “tell them what you are going to say, say it, then tell them what you just said” pattern. And there is your “make one point, and say it over and over and over again in different ways until someone gets it,” pattern. All used by preachers throughout the centuries, and all still used today.



I’m willing to bet many of you have heard one of these sermons somewhere or another, and can probably fit them into a different category.

But usually, no matter the pattern of the sermon, it ends in the same way. That there is some sort of change in behavior or action as a result of studying scripture together in this way. And this sermon in Hebrews is no different. It is basically, what do you want to happen as a result of people hearing this sermon?



And one of those changes is the hope I have as a change in our lives. Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.



My father-in-law wrote his doctoral thesis on hospitality, and it is at the center of most everything their church is about. Welcoming the stranger. He learned it from his father, who upon retirement, began attending Dee’s church. And every Sunday, he would stand in the parking lot and help people into church, particularly older, single women, and those with children. If it was raining, he would bring an umbrella right to the door of the car. If it was cold, he would wear a heavy coat. And Dee commented that more people knew the church by the actions of his father in the parking lot, than by anything else that was going on inside its walls.



When I was at Chamblee First United Methodist, a group of people came to me asking what they could do with the 40 plus acres we sat on inside the perimeter of Atlanta. I asked them if they were willing to welcome the stranger, not for the purpose of them one day becoming members of the church, but just give them a place where they were welcome and comfortable. They said they were, and we built a nine hole disc golf course. The result of which had people walking on our property all day every day, and a couple who first came to the church to play disc golf, I eventually officiated their wedding, and they just had their first child, who they named Jordan. I get choked up just thinking about how such a small act of hospitality brought them into our lives.



And there are thousands of examples I can give you of showing hospitality. But my hope is, that we, as a church will begin to take an introspective look at our hospitality practices, and see where we can do better. Because we never know when we might be having angels to our Vacation Bible School, our Christmas program, or eating hot dogs at the Coggins’ farm.

And I hope it is a practice you will consider in all aspects of your life, not just when you come to church.



Because I believe God has shown us the ultimate hospitality, and that hospitality is at the core of who God is. Today is Trinity Sunday, the one Sunday of the year where we talk about this foundationally important doctrine, but it is so confusing that preachers tend to just acknowledge it and move on.



But I think the Trinity shows us hospitality. Because the trinity, while difficult for us to imagine as we are constricted by special limitations, in essence is about community. God the Father, serving as and alongside God the Son, who serves as and alongside God the Holy Spirit.



The three interacting together, none more important than the other, but serving with each other, welcoming everyone in to be a part of the beloved community.



The trinity is a foundation from which we can build our lives. A foundation that takes community seriously, takes family seriously, and can inspire the fact that the greatest joy and achievement we can ever achieve has nothing to do with money, or reputation…but with being with one another.

I know this church hears this calling upon our lives. I know it does. But I also know that we need to step further out of our comfort zones to welcome the stranger.



Imagine you are at the grocery store, and you are checking out. The people who are scanning and bagging your groceries are people too. Doing their jobs, but what would happen if you welcomed them into your life. Got to know their name. Do you know what would happen to their day if the next time you walked in, you remembered their name? That is an act of grace, freely given, just as God gives grace to us.



Or as the youth are on their mission trip this week. You will be welcomed to the campground by Randy Strickland and all of the wonderful volunteers who work with GAP, but what if when you went to someone’s house to do some work, you learned their story? You let their lives influence your own.

This week at annual conference, we had elections for delegates to general and jurisdictional conference. And some people I was excited to see elected, and some people I wasn’t. That just an honest feeling I had as I seek to be the best Christian I can be in the United Methodist Church connection.



And there was a good bit of negativity coming from some people. Saying that our United Methodist Church is in decline and we need to do something to stop the bleeding. To stem the tide of this trend.



But Bishop Alfred Norris preached at the ordination service that changed all of that for me. The first words out of his mouth for his sermon were, I declare a moratorium on negativity. Our church is bursting out all over, and we need to be there to help it burst to its fullest potential. And as I read report after report, I know it to be true. Good work is being done. And one of the keys to help the church burst forward as much as it can is to be hospitable and welcoming to the stranger. Welcoming them into our lives. All of those who no matter who they are, or where they are on life’s journey, to welcome them, and share with them the good news of Jesus Christ.



It could be the repairman coming to your house. It could be a neighbor with which you haven’t connected in a while. It could be a child who is so busy that you have to squeeze time into see them, but go drive them to the softball practice. Go sit at their baseball games and meet the other parents.



And I know you are busy. You want to get the groceries, pick up the kids, and go home to start dinner. But are we really too busy to do what God has called us to do? Are we too busy to welcome the stranger….which means we are too busy to entertain the very angels themselves.



There is always room for one more at God’s table. There is always room for one more in God’s life. And there is always room for one more on God’s pew. You were that one more at some point in your life, won’t you help someone else be one more, too?



It is the difference between getting through the day so you can mark through the to-do list so you can get back into the bed again…and welcoming the day, with all of the possibilities it brings.



And one of those possibilities is to welcome the stranger, and entertain angels.

It may call you to talk to someone who is different, looks different, maybe smells different, maybe has different priorities…but angels don’t always look like us. They come in all shapes and sizes, and are all loved by God.



Welcome the stranger, show hospitality. It can mean the whole world.



I have a friend, who when he was in middle school went to church to help deliver meals to people in the community. Kind of a meals on wheels thing. He traveled with an adult, and took meals to all of the different houses. When he got back to the church, another one of the adults came up to him, and shared this story. He went to a house, and dropped off some meals, and a young girl answered the door. About the same age as my friend. And as they were talking and learning more about one another, it turns out that this child was in my friends same class at school! And so they asked her if she knew him, and her eyes lit up. She said, I love him. He is so nice to me, no matter what. And when this adult was back at the church relating this story to my friend, he couldn’t remember the girl’s name, and my friend to this day has no idea who that girl was.



But hearing that a stranger, who needed love, received it from him just for showing hospitality to all, completely changed his life. He never found out who that girl was, but he figures it was an angel.



We all can experience the love of God this way, and I hope we all do.