Saturday, September 15, 2007

Reach Out and Touch - Sermon by Ruth L. Foss, Sanbornville United Methodist Church, Sanbornville, NH, September 2, 2007

“Reach Out and Touch…”

Scripture: Hebrews 13: 1-8, 15-16

Sermon:

How many of you enjoy having people over just for the sake of having them over... I know I do. I like making a meal or a snack when I’ve invited someone over. I always ask what kinds of food do they like…what they don’t like…what they want to drink and other same types of questions. I want to make sure that they have a good time…feel relaxed…you know…at home. It is one of the biggest joys in life for me.

Sometimes…it’s just for fellowship not a meal (but then again I always ask if they are hungry when they get there). Having 3 small children at home…there are time when I am just dying for adult conversation. I enjoy having people over just to sit around, talk, find out what’s been going on in their lives since the last time we got together or talked. Just the fellowship alone is a great time of fun and laughter.

But there are also times…during our time together…I find out that they may be going through a bad time…a troubled time...in their life. During times like this…I listen and hear their story and ask if there is anything I can do to help. See…I am the type of person that really feels the pain with them…I cry and pray with them. It’s times like these that bring us into a closer relationship with each other…a closer fellowship. We bare each other’s burdens. I am showing hospitality.

The first sign that we are tuning away from Christian faith would likely be a “cooling” of brotherly love. We have a pretense that we do not need our brothers and sisters in Christ is the first step to boast that we do not need Christ. No I don’t know about you but I know that I am nothing without my brothers and sisters in Christ. They lift me up when I am down…they let me know that I am loved, that I am wanted, that I am accepted. They help remind me of the love of Christ.

One of the most urgent forms of this brotherly love was the ancient custom of “hospitality.” It is interesting to see how wide spread and deep are the religious roots of hospitality. In the case of the early Christians, some of the strangers would be itinerant evangelist; some would be refugees driven by persecution from their homes. But…even today…there are many who are fleeing from their homes…their family and friends…from their country…because of their belief in our Risen Lord Jesus Christ. You would think that after so many years…this would be a thing of the past.

What is “hospitality” anyway? How do we show hospitality to others? Well…the dictionary says the “entertainment of a stranger…sojourner…as a guest. It is recognized as a sacred duty throughout the Mediterranean” are the definitions of hospitality. Some synonyms for hospitality are friendliness, neighborliness, socialibility, openness, welcomeness, warmth, kind heartedness, gracious.

In the New Testament…Jesus is described as dependent on hospitality for His daily care and lodging. Matthew 8:20 tells us “and Jesus said to him “foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head.” Jesus relied on people around Him to for a roof over His head and for food to eat. It is also assumed the same was true in the sending forth of the Apostles. In Mark 6…Jesus tells the disciples to take nothing with them but the sandals on their feet and the tunic…only one…on their back. That was it…nothing else. They were told to enter a house and stay there until they left that place. Again they were to rely on others hospitality for their daily needs. Back then…Christians, in their travels, would seek out other Christians, partly for protection, but mainly to share fellowship and worship.

Today’s scripture from Hebrews 13…tells us to “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” in verses 1 and 2. How many of you have helped out a stranger…have held a door for a mom with their hands full with children and packages…have helped make a new person in the neighborhood feel welcome by stopping by to say hi and introduce yourself? Well my friends…you may have entertained angels unawares…just imagine the smile on God’s face because His child was acting out of kindness…out of concern…out of love for someone else.

I know how I feel when one of my daughters does a “random act of kindness.” I am never more proud of them. I think “they are getting it right!” I remember one time when we were at our church and we had a diner before our Committee meetings. My oldest daughter, Erica, finished her dinner and then proceeded to start clearing the tables and taking plates in the kitchen for others who had finished their meals. When I asked her about it…she just said “I just wanted to help.” No one asked her to do this…she just took it upon herself to help with the clean-up…a random act of kindness. Just imagine how God feels when His creation does the same.

Verse 16 of the Hebrews Epistle reading tells us “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” How many of you have shared a meal or have had too much of something and gave the extra to someone who needed it…no strings attached…you just give it “out of the goodness of your heart”? Oh how our Heavenly Father must smile to see His children act in kindness…act in friendliness…being kindhearted to others. I can hear Him now…up in heaven…saying “that’s my kid that did that”!

One of the sacrifices that pleases God is the sacrifice of sharing…the sacrifice of hospitality. It is said that “The man who owns no compassion, who works upon life as a cluster of grapes to be squeezed into his own cup and drained for his own enjoyment, thereby denies his God.” If our faith is to be true…then we are stewards, not owners of the good gifts of God. This is God’s answer to our economic crisis. We are to share our material possessions. We are to be hospitable to those around us in need. If we are to be good stewards…we are to share the blessings that God has given us with people in need.

We are all strangers…sojourners…in a foreign…unfamiliar land. Our home is not of this earth but of heaven. We are all here on a journey…doing our part…fulfilling our purpose…to heed God’s call in our life…to live out the “Great Commission.” It makes the journey that much easier…that much more bearable…knowing that we have brothers and sisters to help us along the way.

To reach out and touch some ones hand…we not only touch their hand…we touch their life…their heart. We can break down barriers…the walls…that have been put there by pain and sorrow…by a fallen world…by despair. By showing hospitality…we can bring people to and understanding that they matter in the world that tells them it doesn’t matter who you are but what you are. WE can reach out in love and let them know that they have eternal worth in our Lord Jesus.

It is said that touch is one of the powerful of our five senses. To me touching doesn’t always have to be a physical one. When you touch someone’s life…you can change that individual in ways that you can never imagine. You can open doors for them that have been locked and closed for years. You can be that one that makes the difference in their lives just by showing hospitality when they most need it. When you touch someone’s heart…you can melt away the ice…soften a hard heart that without that touch…would just shrivel up and die.

I would like to share with you a “random act of kindness” that happened to me. A bit of hospitality that was given to me that I will always remember. The ones that showed me this hospitality are right here within the Sanbornville UMC. When I came here for the first time to meet with your SPRC I was nervous. I didn’t know what to expect. This is my first appointment so I was thinking “would they like me…would they accept me…will they think I am good enough?” When I got here a wonderful thing happen that made me know that this is where God will have me be. I was met with such love and compassion it almost made me cry. I saw hospitality first hand from this church. Not only was the hospitality given to me but also my husband Ray who came with me. My call to Sanbornville was affirmed. We felt “part of the family” right at the onset of our time at Sanbornville. This is what I mean by touching someone’s heart as well as their life. I would like to personally thank you for the warm welcome my family and I have received.

Hospitality…it can be hard to show in a fallen world. But we are told to be in the world but not of the world. We have a choice to make…we can either be like to world and society and keep to our self and not reach out to those around us. We can worry about our self and our own comfort and let others worry about themselves. Or…we can follow the example of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ and reach out to those in need. We can share what we have with those around us. We can follow the example of the One who fed five thousand with two small loaves and five fishes.

AMEN


by Pastor Ruth Foss
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Suncook United Methodist Church
Suncook, NH

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