In our Gospel reading for the 5th Sunday after Pentecost, Jesus is talking with the disciples about being people of extravagant welcome.
Showing hospitality and extending welcome to others is part of our Christian calling.
In fact, in a recent poll about church membership, people asked the top reasons why they decided to join a church.
And the results showed that it wasn’t because of the pastor’s sermons or the quality of the music. Those things were important. But, the number one reason most people gave was because they felt welcome.
At my previous church in Michigan, there was a sign out front which read: “All are welcome. No exceptions.”
And, I know that may sound obvious for a church to say. I mean, it would be like a grocery store having a sign out front which reads “Shoppers Welcome” or a Nursery School with sign outside reading “Children Welcome Here.”
Churches by their very definition are places of welcome, so why would we need a sign saying, “All are welcome”?
Well, sadly, as we know, Christian churches in America during our lifetimes haven’t always been places where “all are welcome.”
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, for example, famously said that “10 o’clock on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America.”
Sure, a lot of churches now say, “All are welcome,” but in many cases, it’s false advertising.
In many churches, all are welcome to sit in the pews on Sunday but not all are welcome to fully participate in the life and ministry of the church.
Some are excluded from leadership positions because of their gender. Some are excluded from being married in the church because of their orientation. Some are denied communion because they’re divorced.
I’ve shared with some of you before how my aunt (my mother’s sister) was such a devout Catholic that she not only went to church on Sunday, she went to church every day of the week.
But when she got divorced, she was no longer allowed to receive communion.
I remember as a boy growing up in the church, our whole family would go up to receive communion together on Sunday morning, but we’d have to step over my aunt, who was left sitting behind in the pews.
Even as a young boy, I knew that that was cruel and that that was wrong.
My friends, when churches say, “All are welcome,” but then deny certain people from communion or marriage or ordination, what they’re really saying is, “You’re welcome to sit here, but you’re not fully welcome to participate in life and ministry of this church, because there’s a part of you that we consider unworthy.”
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus boldly declares that “all are worthy.” That we are called to love, not judgement.
In the time and place where Jesus lived, people were put in categories: those who were considered ‘clean’ and those who were considered ‘unclean.’ Those were considered ‘chosen’ and those who were considered ‘unchosen.’ Those who were considered ‘worthy’ and those who were considered ‘unworthy.’
Jesus got in trouble because he associated the ‘unclean’ and ‘unworthy.’
Jesus got in trouble was trying dismantle those laws and those systems which kept people categorized and separated.
The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth (which Jesus was trying to build) was more like a Kin-dom…a world where everyone viewed one another as ‘kin.’
Jesus wanted us to recognize the Oneness in each other.
In fact, in John 17:21, as Jesus is praying to God right before his crucifixion, he expresses his wish for all of us. He prays: “That they may all be One.”
One body. One family.
In the Bible (in Galatians 3:28), we hear: “In Christ’s family, there is no longer Jew and Gentile; male and female; slave and free, for we are all one.”
Now, we are getting ready this week to celebrate our country’s 250th birthday, and most of you know the motto that’s written in Latin is on nation’s currency. It reads: “E Pluribus Unum,” which means “Out of many, One.”
And, most of you know the words that are written on the Statue of Liberty, the symbol of welcome. It says: “Bring me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me.”
That’s the extravagant welcome we are to extend to others, both as Americans and as Christians.
And, Jesus gives us a beautiful example in today’s gospel about offering “a cup of cold water” as a symbol of our extravagant welcome.
It reminds me of when I’m watching a 5K race, and I see people along the sidelines offering cups of cold water to the weary runners.
It doesn’t matter what race, religion, or gender the runner is. It’s all about offering care, extending welcome, and recognizing oneness and one human family.
Did you know that the word “water” is mentioned more than 700 times in the Bible? That’s more than the words “faith” and “prayer” are mentioned.
Water in necessary for life.
To extend a “cup of cold water” to someone is to give them life.
To provide a smile to someone having a bad day.
To write a card to someone who hasn’t feeling well.
To give a helping hand to someone in need.
It’s easy for us to do that for people we care about, but Jesus is asking the disciples to give cups of cold water to strangers, to foreigners, to those who look and speak and pray differently than we do.
In Luke’s gospel, chapter 6, Jesus says, “If you do good to those you love, what credit is that? Even sinners do the same. Instead, love your enemies, do good and lend a hand to them without expecting anything in return.”
That, my friends, is what it truly means to extend “extravagant welcome” to one another.
And, so, may you find time this week to offer a cup of cold water to someone, perhaps even someone you find challenging.
For as Jesus said: “All are worthy” and “All are One.”
May it be so. Amen.
Here are three follow-up questions for reflection and/or journal writing:
- Who in your life—or in our community—might be waiting for a “cup of cold water” from you this week, and what simple act of kindness or welcome could you offer them?
- Have you ever experienced a time when you felt only partially welcomed or fully embraced? How does that experience shape the way you choose to welcome others today?
- What barriers, assumptions, or fears might keep you from extending Christ’s extravagant welcome to someone who is different from you, and how might God be inviting you to overcome them?