Radical Hospitality

Sunday January 29, 2023

Rev. Rhonda Blevins, pastor

Matthew 5:1-12 

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he began to speak and taught them, saying:

 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

I was staying in a hotel not too long ago. I was in a hurry, so check-in was a bit of a blur. I dropped my stuff off in the room and left in a dash. I had a key card, but it didn’t indicate what my room number was. So when I got back to the hotel later that night, I went up to the front desk and said, “Sorry, I forgot what room I’m in, can you help me out?” The receptionist replied, “No problem, ma’am. This is the lobby.”

Hospitality at its finest right there.

Last week I introduced four ministries of the church and suggested that if we do these four things well, our church will thrive well into the future despite what the trends say about church decline in America. I suggested that people will only participate in activities that are either fun or meaningful or both. No longer will people spend their time and energy doing what they’ve always done. They’re getting off the hamster wheel. They’re investing themselves in what matters. And if church isn’t fun or meaningful or both, they’ll find some other way to spend their Sunday mornings.

The four ministries of the church, I believe, that if we do them well, will ensure a strong Chapel in the years, even decades to come, are the following (let’s read them together from the front of your bulletin):

(D.I.R.T. Not the best acronym, I realize.)

Now, we’re not tackling these in order. Today we’re going to begin with the third ministry on the list which I call “Radical Hospitality.”

Why start with radical hospitality? Because it’s how Jesus started his ministry. And if it’s good enough for Jesus . . .

Let me explain what I mean by saying that Jesus began his ministry with radical hospitality, but let me offer some context first.

Here’s the cliff’s notes version of the first five chapters—the opening pages of the Gospel of Matthew

·         There’s a genealogy

·         There’s the birth narrative

·         The visit from the Magi

·         The escape to Egypt

·         We meet John the Baptist

·         We read about Jesus’ baptism

·         His 40 days in the desert

·         He calls his first disciples (we talked about this last week)

Do you remember the one line Jesus kept saying before he called his first disciples from last week’s message?

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  —Matthew 4:17

The word “repent,” if you remember, would have landed differently on 1st Century ears than it does today. Our 21st Century American ears might recoil at the word. But the word literally means, “change the way you think.” In light of that, Jesus was proclaiming, “Change the way you think! The kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Then he calls his first disciples.

Then the narrative in Matthew goes straight into the “sermon on the mount” which begins with what we now call the “beatitudes,” the passage we read together earlier.

Let me pause right here.

The very first public words out of Jesus’ mouth as he launches his public ministry were, “Change the way you think! The kingdom of heaven has come near.”

The sermon on the mount is his very first public communique. Let me be super clear where I’m going with this: Jesus’ thesis statement was, “Change the way you think! The kingdom of heaven has come near.” The sermon on the mount, then, is the supporting details, beginning with the beatitudes. The sermon on the mount describes what this “kingdom of heaven” looks like, and it’s radically different than Caesar’s kingdom—the Roman Empire—that they found themselves in.

Why am I going to such great lengths to make sure you’re with me? Because these introductory words—this is what mattered most to Jesus as he launched his ministry. And if this is what mattered to Jesus, it should matter to us, his followers. The words we’re about to unpack together, this is the crux of Jesus’ teaching. And folks, I’ve got to tell you, it’s radical. Oh, we’ve anesthetized it over the course of centuries. “Oh isn’t that sweet—‘blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’” When we do that, we miss the radical nature of what’s happening in these verses.

But we’re not going to miss it!

Think about the first hearers of the sermon on the mount. These were impoverished Jews. The majority faced daily food insecurity. And here’s a fact we rarely consider: these Jewish hearers were subjects of the Roman Empire, but without Roman citizenship. The doors to rights and privileges of Roman citizens were closed to them.

Then here comes Jesus.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The subtext is: “You may not have citizenship in the kingdom of Rome, but you absolutely have citizenship in God’s kingdom.” Another way to phrase this: “Rome’s doors are closed to you, but heaven’s gate is wide open!”

The beatitudes are more than sweet platitudes. They’re revolutionary. They grant status to those who have none. The original hearers knew they were on the “outside” of Rome, but Jesus invites them into a kingdom far greater than Rome could ever hope to be.

This, my friends, is “Radical Hospitality.

“Radical Hospitality” is flinging doors open wide, especially for those who have encountered doors slammed shut, perhaps their whole lives through.

Why is this radical? Because it requires us to “change the way we think.” (And who wants to do that?)

Hospitality is more than smiling and being friendly and offering delicious Florida orange juice after the worship service. Hospitality is opening access, granting status, offering a “backstage pass” to all who would seek it.

It’s hard. We don’t like to share our backstage passes. We like our private access, our members only jackets (are those still a thing?).

Jesus names several groups of people on the outside:

·         The poor in spirit

·         Those who mourn

·         The meek

·         The seekers of righteousness

·         The merciful

·         The pure in heart

·         The peacemakers

·         The persecuted

Jesus never said, “And that’s it—those are the only people who are blessed.” So I wonder, who might we put on our list of those on the outside? Those for whom doors are slammed shut? Those who live with rejection and hatred and persecution? Can you think of groups of people whom the world hates?

Those are the people. Those are the people for whom we, here at Chapel by the Sea, must fling open the doors of hospitality. That’s what makes it “radical.” It’s not adding champagne to the orange juice (though we like to do that from time to time!). It’s “radical hospitality” when the doors are truly open to all.

Chapel, we’re on our way. Nearly six years ago, when I sat down with a pastor search team in a conference room just a few feet from here, we were doing “the dance.” You know, the interview dance. They wanted to know if they could “live with” me. I wanted to know if I could “live with” . . . well . . . you. So I asked about your missions and outreach. The team lit up and told me about all manner of missions and outreach efforts, including the Beachwalk that we’re having this Saturday. Then I asked about inclusion, particularly related to LGBTQ inclusion. I was “falling in love” with Chapel by the Sea, but I wasn’t willing to serve in a church that didn’t share my high value of inclusion. You see, in my ministry journey, I faced a good many closed doors as a woman called to ministry. It made my heart tender for others who face closed doors. It’s kind of a passion of mine. So I asked the committee about LBGTQ inclusion. And to my great delight, I was assured that the Chapel is an inclusive community of faith!

“Where do I sign?” I asked. “Not so fast,” I was told. (They needed to dance a little longer before saying “I do.”)

That was almost six years ago. And now that I know the Chapel better, I can offer my keen analysis: Chapel by the Sea is a church that strives toward “Radical Hospitality” in all we do. This I know to be true. But we’re not there quite yet. We still have work to do. I believe we can still grow in the way of Jesus, opening doors for whom the world has closed them.

And, if we do that work. If we find ways to fling the doors of “Radical Hospitality” even wider, I wholeheartedly believe we will find that Chapel by the Sea will thrive in the years, even decades to come.

Jesus said, “Change the way you think.” Then he blessed those the world hates.

Will we follow suit?