So, 

The topic today is hospitality.

Where do you remember receiving the most amazing welcome?

Being welcomed anywhere you go is huge. It makes the difference between you staying and participating, and you looking around and then moving on.

Businesses know that!

The ones that really care about creating and serving customers make sure that, to the best of their ability, hospitality and welcoming is at the top of their agenda and that they are at the top of their game!

Greeting you warming and graciously as you walk in the door, as they answer the phone, even as they answer your email is everything. And the best of businesses, do it almost seamlessly.

Families do too! 

You know the difference when you walk into a house that is excited you are there. We’ve all had the experience where when we visit everyone gets up to greet you, has a smile on their face, and gives you a warm hug.

I remember one year we went back to Western New York for Christmas! Everyone was excited to see us!
And as Sue and I and the kids went in the door, some of the family even greeted up by shooting us with nerf guns, before they handed us our own so we could shoot back and join in the fun!

And you know it is going to be a great Thanksgiving or Christmas feast  when the table is large, it is full of food, and everyone is finding more chairs to make sure everyone can sit at the table.

It turns out that is also true of churches. You know if you are being welcomed by the reception you get at the door, during the services and even when you get ready to leave. 

If leaving is easy, then maybe the church needs to work a good bit more on their hospitality ministry. In fact, it’s an area of church life we could always grow here, and add new leaders, ideas, and just add more smiles!

On the other hand, some churches are terrible at hospitality!

One family told of visiting a church where when they entered with their four kids the greeter at the door smiled the biggest smile in the world and walked right past them to greet a person she knew.

So, a bit flummoxed, they sat themselves in a pew and watched to see what would happen. And get this, no one during the whole service made eye contact or welcomed them! What were they thinking? 

For that family, it was their first and last visit to that church. Every church knows better! But not every church does better. Being welcoming and hospitable should be part of our DNA.

Why? 

Because our God is a welcoming God! 

We know that very well from the stories of Jesus who greeted all kinds of folks from Pharisees and Sadducees, to Samaritans and tax collectors, women, fishermen, children, and sinners of all kinds.

And we know it from this initial story of the Old Testament. Right at the very beginning, God set out hospitality and welcome as the standards of His created kingdom!

In Genesis, God welcomes creation! God welcomes the animals and the humans. God welcomes the man Adam and then welcomes the highlight of God’s creative powers a perfect match for Adam, a woman, Eve.

God even teaches Adam how to be a welcoming human made in the image of God! He teaches Adam to call each of the animals by name and his perfect partner as well, because names are important.

There is nothing more welcoming then having someone know your name, because when you hear it, you know you are with family. 

Strangers don’t know your name, but friends and family do, which is why we teach children to be suspicious when someone calls them by their name, and they don’t know the person.

Because we know our family and friends, and…

We know their names too. And we welcome them and greet them as an act of love! It is the way we show we care, recognizing a positive relationship between us and folks who may be new to us. 

It why as church folks we need to do what we can to make every experience for the folks who come to join us here on Sunday and during the week an experience of welcoming.

In this context we are all hosts. 

As children of the Most-High God, siblings to Jesus Christ his son, and folks filled with the Holy Spirit, we are to serve everyone we meet as King’s kids, serving as God’s greeting committee!

One of the things I try and do as a pastor and as a follower of Jesus is to learn everyone’s names. Sometimes I do a wonderful job, sometimes I fail spectacularly. 

And I do that not only with adults, but also with kids. One of the reasons is it gives me permission to say, “How are you, Madison?” or “so what happened with your son’s surgery, Carol?” And find out what I need to be praying about.

It also gives me the ability to say, “Hey Thomas, could you not run between the legs of the little old ladies in the Fellowship Hall? I don’t want one to fall on you and squish you!”

Greeting and welcoming others allows us to express our relationship with others and our delight at being part of their family and acknowledging that they are part of ours as the family of God.

One of the great treats for Sue and I being part of this church has been our children growing up thinking of so many people in this sanctuary as aunts and uncles. 

Even folks who have moved or just moved on to another fellowship are remembered by them as close relatives, many they wouldn’t hesitate to call in a crisis knowing they would get a warm reception and whatever help the person could offer.

Our God is a welcoming God, not one who is to be feared, but rather one who is to be loved and enjoyed as the maker and sustainer of the family.

So, what is it that you and I could do to make this particular corner of the Kingdom of God be as welcoming as that Garden was to all of creation as it was in the Genesis story?

Because that is our calling: to go and invite others to follow Jesus, together. Amen.