Sermon: Make friends by dishonest wealth (Sept. 21, 2025)

Pentecost 15C
September 21, 2025
Luke 16:1-13

INTRODUCTION

The section of Luke we hear from today and next week are both concerned with our relationship with money or wealth. Amos addresses it, too – the prophet rails against those who can’t wait to get past the sabbath so they can start making money again, and not just making money, but doing so in a way that takes advantage of the poor by messing with the standard currencies. Amos warns us that the Lord will not forget this deceitfulness!

But Luke will give us a different view, in what is probably Jesus’ most challenging parable: the dishonest, or shrewd, manager. In this parable, the manager of a rich man’s property will squander that property, and then try to salvage his reputation by dishonest means… only to then be commended by the rich man! The difference in Amos and Luke is that in one, the poor are taken advantage of, and in the other, they are helped. 

One more comment about our readings, about Timothy. You have probably noticed that we often pray aloud in the prayers of intercession for our president. Though I won’t be preaching on it, the passage we will hear today from Timothy is the reason we do that. I’m happy to talk more about that if you’d like.

Ok, as you listen: both Amos and Luke deal with the messiness of human relationships and emotions, especially in relation to wealth, so as you listen, think about your own relationship with money, and how that affects your relationships with God and with people, those you know and those you don’t know. Let’s listen.

[READ]

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

This week I heard someone say, “God’s word is black and white.” Hm. One need only to read today’s parable to see that the Bible is, at times, far from that clear! Every single commentary I read or listened to this week (and I’m talking maybe 10 different ones) started with something to the tune of, “This parable is hard,” or, “This one has baffled interpreters for centuries,” or even, “Oh no, not this one…” It seems to leave us with more questions than answers. 

But then I listened to a sermon from Pastor Brian McLaren, in which he described some of the cultural and historical context behind this parable, and things became a lot clearer. So journey with me, if you would, back to first century Palestine, which is at this time under Roman occupation. As occupiers, the Romans exploited natural resources as well as the labor of the people. This was primarily done through taxation: they developed a system in which the poor were heavily taxed, and the very wealthy got off without paying much or any tax at all. (Hard to imagine such a system, I know.) 

Here’s how they did it. The Romans and the wealthiest Jews lived in the south, in Judea, near the Capitol, Jerusalem. The small farmers (a.k.a. the poor) lived more in the north, in Galilee, where much of Jesus’ ministry centered. Now, the poor farmers had something the Romans wanted: namely, olive oil and wheat. Seems like a great opportunity for the farmers to make bank, right? But no, instead, the Romans taxed the small farmers more than they could afford to pay. So, then the rich people – even some fellow Jews – would come up north and say, “Hey, we see you’re in a tough spot. How about we will pay your taxes for you, and you give us the deed for your property? Everyone wins! But don’t worry, you can still live on the property and tend to it as tenant farmers. All this for the low, low price of giving us a percentage each year of your wheat and olive oil.” These wheat and oil taxes would then be sold for events serving the Romans, turning a profit, and thereby making the rich guys in the south even richer, and the poor farmers in the north even poorer, and the cycle continued. For this reason, the farmers understandably hated the rich landowners. And so, when it came time to collect the taxes, the landowners wouldn’t want to go collect it themselves and face the anger of the farmers, so they would send a steward or manager to do their dirty work. 

So now we have met the two characters in the parable – the rich southern landowner and the manager. And we understand the background of what their roles were and why. 

Now, hear this story again: a rich, southern landowner owned some farms up north, and had a manager who would collect taxes from the tenant farmers. But it comes to the rich man’s attention that this manager has been squandering “his” property – that is, he is not squeezing the farmers for every penny they have, and not getting as much return as the rich man wants. So the rich landowner decides to fire the manager. “Get the books and give me an account. Why am I not richer than this?” Now remember, the manager doesn’t have much wealth or power here. He’s a middle-class guy who is just trying to get by, caught in the middle between rich and poor. And he’s having a bit of a reckoning as he realizes, “Man, I have aligned myself with the rich all these years and done their bidding, and it turns out I’m expendable to them! He’s throwing me out! What am I going to do now?” 

So this “dishonest” manager decides it is time to switch sides, to align himself instead with the poor. He makes friends with the poor (a phrase in Greek that indicates putting himself on the same level) by cutting their taxes. He still gets some return that he can pass back to his boss, but he is also giving a break to the poor – which, as we can see in Amos this morning and in other Old Testament texts, caring for the poor was kind of a central tenet of Jewish faith. So he’s being dishonest in regard to the Roman expectation of him, but he’s aligned himself with God’s expectation. It’s a bit of civil disobedience, in order to realign the economic system.

Make more sense? Here’s what we need to see here: the so-called “dishonest manager” is not evil and terrible. Rather, he has seen through the injustice of the economic system, and he makes the decision to work for the poor, not the rich. The dishonest manager – but let’s call him now “shrewd” or clever, as some other translations do – the shrewd manager is using what power he has, small though it may be, to bring justice to the poor, to overturn this unjust system, to care for the needy and give people (or let them keep) what is due to them. Sure, it may benefit him by making him some friends, but he is also losing and risking a lot by his actions. Sure, it is dishonest by Roman law. But it is just by God’s law. He has put God’s law and relationships with God’s people above money and his personal security.

With this in mind, Jesus’ next words make more sense. “Make friends for yourself by means of dishonest wealth” – that is, prioritize a commitment to right and just relationship with God’s people over money, even if it means you have to break a civil law to do it. Money, Jesus is saying, isn’t the ultimate measure of all things. Use that money instead in service of relationship with God and neighbor. Because “you cannot serve both God and wealth.”

Boy, those are tough words. I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to say them if Jesus hadn’t said them first. I’m barely brave enough to believe them. “You cannot have two masters – God and money. You will either hate one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other.” And isn’t that true. Just the suggestion that I, too, might at times put a value on money over God makes me want to resist, which shows just how deeply the lure money has its hooks in me. That’s not to say that money is bad – please hear me on this. We all need it; it’s what allows us to survive in this world, and to help others in need. But if we aren’t careful, we can slip quickly into believing the false promises of wealth, and let it make us value things that are not God more than we value God and God’s vision for the world. We become devoted to one, and not the other. 

I described the economic system of first century Israel under Roman occupation. The kingdom of God also has an economic system. It requires us to let go of the system that says, “Let the rich do what they want, and let the crumbs from the table trickle down to the poor.” That is the way of the world – it was in the first century, and it still is today. God’s kingdom economics say instead to put God at the top, not the wealthy. To the rich, you are expendable, like the manager was to the rich landowner. The poor are certainly expendable. But you are not expendable to God. God loves you, exactly who and how you are. You matter to God. And not only that. When you love God above all things, everything else gets reoriented. We will see everyone and everything in a new values system. With God on top, you aren’t the only one who matters. Everyone matters; no one is expendable. We are a community together, each with our own unique and invaluable gifts to offer the world. And that is how God wants it. That is how we live out the greatest commandment: to love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength and your neighbor as yourself. That is the picture of God’s economy that this difficult parable paints.

And honestly, knowing the meaning of this parable does not make it any easier. The message remains difficult, but when we can live into it, it is also liberating. The love of money is a never-ending treadmill in which we never have enough to make us feel fulfilled and valuable. But that is not so in God’s economy. When we can orient our world view to putting God, and not wealth, at the top, we free ourselves from that treadmill, and find ourselves instead living in a world governed by love, by justice, and by God’s immense grace and compassion.

Let us pray… God of love and justice, it is so easy for us to turn to money and wealth as the thing that will save us. Turn us instead toward you, that we would put you at the top, so that we would see all of creation as valued and beloved. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Note: this sermon draws heavily from Brian McLaren’s sermon on this text at the 2019 Festival of Homiletics. 

Sermon: The God who seeks the lost (Sept. 14, 2025)

Pentecost 14C
September 14, 2025
Luke 15:1-10

INTRODUCTION:

Today we hear some texts about what it is like to be lost, and to be found once again. The first story we will hear is a part of the story you may know as “the golden calf.” Here’s the set-up: Moses, having already delivered the 10 Commandments, has been back up on Mount Sinai, talking to God. In the absence of their leader, the Israelites are starting to feel a bit lost, shall we say, and so they melt together all of their metal and create a golden calf, which, when Moses returns from the mountain, he finds them worshipping. In this idol, they find something to bring them together, to focus their efforts. But, it’s a big no-no, as they should know, since the 10 Commandments say very clearly: you shall have no idols, and worship nothing besides the one true God. Well, God is pretty miffed by this, and, well, I’ll let you listen to hear what happens next. 

The Psalm is a cry of lament and repentance, the song of someone who knows he has wandered away from God and toward evil. It’s what David writes after he commits adultery with Bathsheba and then has her husband murdered. He begs God to find him and accept him once again into God’s mercy.

Then in the Gospel we will hear two beloved parables: the lost sheep and the lost coin, in which the subjects (a shepherd in the first and a woman in the second) search tirelessly for something that is lost, and then throw a celebration party when it is found. These are told in the context of the Pharisees grumbling that Jesus spends his time with notorious sinners – those who are lost, you might say – and the stories indicate that no one is lost beyond God’s care.

As you listen, think about a time when you have felt lost, physically, emotionally, or spiritually – perhaps following a job loss, or a death, or a move. If that time resulted in feeling found, how did that feel, and what was your response? Let’s listen.

[READ]

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Whenever these parables about things lost and found come up, I find myself grappling with the questions: what is it to be lost? And what is it to be found?

I mean, I know what those things mean when we’re talking about literal coins and sheep. But more metaphorically – who is lost? What causes someone to be lost? And what then changes that status from lost to found? What does it take to be found? Are these categories clear cut (“I once was lost, but now am found,” as a beloved hymn says)? Or are they more fluid, even to the point that one could be simultaneously lost and found? (If you’re wondering, by the way – yes, I have lost sleep this week thinking about all this!)

These questions came into sharp focus for me this week after learning on Wednesday of yet another awful act of violence against a political activist, followed immediately by yet another school shooting, the 100th one this year. The act of political violence especially has blown up the news and social media as everyone, right, left and in between, has tried to make sense of what happened and why and who and how we should respond. I want to say that, no matter who he was or what he believed, political violence is un-democratic and un-Christian. No child of God, who is made in God’s image, “deserves” to die a violent death, full stop. I’m grateful that I have seen many statements from people across the political spectrum condemn the violence. But, unfortunately I have also seen the same vitriol that has become all too normal in our country as of late. 

So yes, this all brought the questions of lostness and found-ness into sharp focus for me this week. Who, in this case is lost? The shooter, who would think it fine to take another human being’s life? The one who was shot – who, yes, was beloved by many, but whose rhetoric also did real world harm to many children of God, especially minorities? Are his followers lost (especially now, as they grieve), or are the people who were harmed by his words and rhetoric lost? Is it our country as a whole that is lost? Can Americans agree that we have lost our way as a country, that we are not living as the best version of ourselves right now? Even if we disagree on what the right way is, do we agree that this is not it? And finally, in what ways are we ourselves lost – in the midst of yet another shooting, yet another act of political violence and the vitriol that follows, yet another terrifying day in the news – and all this the week we remembered 9/11? 

The truth is, that the answer to all of those questions about who is lost is: yes. Yes, all of those people and groups are lost, to different places and for different reasons. And so are we. We are lost – lost in grief, in pain, in despair. Lost in rage. Lost in sinfulness, in which our hearts may recognize an evil when we see it, but our minds try to convince us that this evil is fine, just as long as it aligns with my viewpoint. As St. Paul says, we know the right thing to do, but still we do the very thing we hate. We are lost.

So, I suppose my real question here is: Where is God in this?

Here is where these simple stories, about a shepherd and a woman seeking things they have loved and lost, offer us some good news, some pure grace. Where is God? God is the one seeking the lost. God is the one climbing over ledges and crossing ditches, in rain or shine, trying to find his lost sheep. God is the one searching through the night, lighting a lamp and sweeping every corner of the house, trying to find her one missing coin – so small, yet so precious to her. God is always, always the one who is seeking the lost. Seeking you. Seeking me. Seeking us, until we are found.

So what, then, does it mean to be “found”? 

Well, when we are looking for a lost item, for those of us who rely on our sense of sight, we know that item is found when we finally see it again. And so, could the path to found-ness be empathy – being seen by another? When our pain truly matters to someone else... doesn't that feel like being found? When someone sees us, pain and all, without our masks on? 

I have been playing this week with this idea that empathy is what leads to being found – not only when someone has empathy for us, but when we do the work to have empathy for another. And it is work - empathy requires us to find a similar feeling in our own experience, and relate it to the one in pain. That can be hard! That's how empathy is different from sympathy. Sympathy is, “Oh, I feel so bad for you,” but keeps the one in pain at a distance. As researcher and storyteller Brene Brown describes, sympathy is looking down at someone who’s in a dark hole, who is saying, “I’m stuck! It’s dark! I’m overwhelmed!” and responding, “Ooo, that’s rough.” Empathy, on the other hand, is climbing down into the hole with the person, and saying, “I know what it’s like down here, and you’re not alone.” Empathy doesn’t try to fix anything, but simply communicates that their pain matters, and even that you are willing to feel some of that pain with them. “Empathy fuels connection,” Brown says. “Sympathy drives disconnection.” 

And connection – that is the way to being found. Through empathy we find one another’s humanity, we find each other’s child-of-God-ness, and our own. To be clear, having empathy does not mean we have to like that person, nor agree with them. It does not give people a pass for bad behavior, or hurtful rhetoric. Empathy can and should exist alongside accountability and justice. And, especially when you are the one who has been hurt by another, you do not have to rush to empathize with the one who causes you harm. We can trust that God’s grace is big enough for them, even if our own hearts are not, or aren’t yet. 

Still, empathy is worth the effort. God has promised to seek out the lost (those in particular need), and so when we connect our hearts to theirs through empathy, that is when and where we will find God. We find God with the poor, the sick, the abused, the oppressed. We find God with starving children in Gaza, and with bullied kids in America. We find God with immigrants living in fear of arrest or deportation, and with people who are homeless, and with people fear losing their healthcare. We find God with those who grieve. And when we find God, we discover that God also finds us. We are found. And for God, that is cause for celebration!

I don’t know the solution to whatever it is that has caused so much physical and verbal violence to dominate our news and discourse. Surely it is multi-faceted, and no one person or party or group’s fault. But I’m pretty sure striving for this empathy is a step along the path from being lost to being found. It requires us to acknowledge our own pain, and allows us to see one another in our lostness, to be in the dark hole together. And there, in that shared space, we find God – the God who is abundantly loving, patiently and stubbornly gracious, and committed to finding us wherever we are, to bring us from that dark place, into new life. 

Let us pray… Persistent God, you care about each of your children, and would do anything to find us when we are lost. Thank you. Keep our eyes open to watch for you among the lost, so that we, too, could be found. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Sermon: You're a Christian - so what? (Sept. 7, 2025)

Pentecost 13C
September 7, 2025 – Rally Day
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Luke 14:25-33

INTRODUCTION

A bit of context for our first reading today from Deuteronomy: As you may also recall, the Israelites, after Moses led them out of slavery in Egypt, spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness in search of the Promised Land. Today’s reading is at the end of that period, as they are about to enter Canaan. Moses knows he is about to die, and is giving them some last instructions and words of wisdom before entering this land, which is already occupied, by people who do not worship the God of Israel. This is the climax of Moses’ big speech, and, contextual as it is, his words are still so valuable for us today! “Choose life!” he says. I heard one commentator say this week, “If there is one verse on which to hang your entire theology, this is it!” I quite agree – in all your decisions as a person of faith, “choose life,” choose the thing that will bring the greatest and richest life to those most in need of life.

For the Philemon text, I encourage you to read the little contextual blurb in the bulletin, which will make this short letter (we’ll hear almost the whole thing!) more meaningful.

And then the Gospel… oof. It’s a doozie. Keep in mind, that this is still the part of Jesus’ life where he is traveling to Jerusalem to what he knows will be his death. Many are following him, and he will lay out for them what it means to be a disciple. Warning: it isn’t easy! So, here we go – let’s listen!

[READ]

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

After reading this week’s assigned lectionary readings, the question that has been nagging at me all week is: What difference does it make in your life that you are a Christian? Or asked another way, how do you live your life differently than you would if you were not a Christian?

The Gospel reading is the one that especially brings this up for me. These are pretty steep demands from Jesus for being a disciple. Give up all your possessions, carry your cross, hate your closest family members. This is not a successful formula for church growth! Now to be fair, the way we read this in English in 21st century America lands differently than it would in 1st century Palestine. For example, the word translated as “hate” likely means something more like, “place at a lower priority,” as in, “if it’s between your spouse and Jesus, choose Jesus.” It’s slightly better, but still a big ask. No doubt about it – Jesus is outlining some severe demands for discipleship.

And so, I ask again: even if you have prioritized your family over Jesus (say, going to your kid’s tournament instead of worship, or staying home instead of feeding the hungry), even if you have kept most of you possessions and keep acquiring more, even if you have no intention of taking up a cross of any kind – do you still find that your commitment to Jesus, to being a follower of Christ, affects the way you live your day to day life? And if so, how? 

I’ll be honest, especially in light of texts like this, I often feel like a not-good-enough Christian. Even though I have devoted my life to serving Christ’s Church in his name, I think fairly often that I could or should be doing more to live out my faith. I think I should be giving away more money. I should spend more hours volunteering to help the sorts of people Jesus prioritized (generally, the most vulnerable). I should buy less, own less, and pray more. I should forgive more easily, and be less judgmental. I should work harder for justice, and be more willing to put myself on the line to do so. But then I think, “Well, my kids need me, or my spouse, or my aging parents…” Oops, there I go again, prioritizing my family over Jesus! 

Now, I know, it isn’t so clear cut as this. Caring for my family sometimes is a part of the way I live out the gospel and follow Jesus. It’s not black and white, and I think in this case Jesus is talking more about if your family members are at odds with your will to live out the gospel, then choose the Jesus route. But the point here is: Jesus’ demands here are difficult. He makes it very clear that the cost of discipleship is high. The payoff is fantastic, but we don’t always experience that payoff right away, so we are more inclined toward the things that pay off right now. 

Today is Rally Day, a day when we try to draw people back into the life of the Church and start up some programs that took a summer hiatus. It is also God’s Work, Our Hands Day, a day when we intentionally look outward toward some ways that we can lean into a more active faith, by serving our community. You can do that today by donating food or money to Loop Ministries, or by signing a letter that urges legislators to support programs that address food insecurity. This is all good stuff! But I urge you also to think today about this question I’ve been posing: how does your commitment to Jesus affect how you live your life? And then perhaps take it a step further: if you are like me, and often think of ways your life could better reflect Christ’s hope for us, could better live into his demands for a life of discipleship… then what is one way that could happen? 

Could you not only donate to Loop today, but also find ways to volunteer, either there or at another food pantry, especially as we focus this year on addressing food insecurity? 

Could you join a Bible Huddle, and let a more intentional approach to God’s Word guide you in your daily decisions?

If you are someone who comes to worship and then slips out quickly, could you make a habit of staying for coffee hour and talking to new people, so you develop more and deeper relationships with other people of faith, so you can support each other in this effort? 

If you can’t give away all your possessions, could you at least increase your giving to support our ministry here, or your donations to other organizations who are aligned with our mission?

What else could you do to follow Jesus more closely, to let your identity as a Christian play a larger role in the way you live your life?

What Jesus describes here for the life of a disciple is pretty radical, and a lot to take in all at once. But as I often tell my kids when it is time to clean a messy room: don’t look at the whole room at once. Focus on one thing (like, cleaning up the trash, or putting clothes in the laundry), and do that. “Chunking it,” it’s called. Make the chunk smaller until it feels manageable. 

We can do this in faith, too. Focus on one area where you could be living more fully into a life of discipleship – “hating” things that keep you from following Jesus and prioritizing things that do; giving up possessions (whether they are things, money, or even mindsets) that hinder rather than help your faith; or taking up your cross and being willing to step out courageously on behalf of people in need, even if it puts you out of your comfort zone. Focus on one area, and make a goal to do it, to accept that cost of discipleship, to strive to let the fact that you are a Christian, a follower of Jesus, affect your life and the way you live a little more than it does already.

Friends, this effort may not go smoothly. Change is hard, and we all fall short of being the people and the Christians we want to be. So know also this: that God’s grace for you, and God’s love for you are not contingent on any of this. Though we may see ourselves as not-enough, God always sees us as enough. God’s salvation for us was promised to us in our baptism, and it stands, even if you do prioritize your kids, or your spouse, or your other family members, even if you don’t take up a cross. But it is also precisely because of this immense grace, this unearned gift of salvation, that we are compelled to be the best, most faithful version of ourselves. And so may God be with us as we try, and fail, and try again, trusting always that Christ is there with us all along the way.

Let us pray… Gracious God, you have given us everything, though we do not deserve it. Strengthen and encourage us to see you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, day by day. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Sermon: On welcoming strangers (Aug. 31, 2025)

Pentecost 12C (Proper 14)

September 1, 2019

Luke 14:1, 7-14; Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

 

INTRODUCTION

Today is one of those times when all four of the readings really complement each other, lifting up very similar themes. Their combined purpose could be summarized by the first line from our reading from Hebrews: “Let mutual love continue.” All four readings will describe some of the specific ways we can live in mutual love as Christians: for example, by practicing humility, selflessness, concern for the other even over yourself, generosity, and hospitality toward strangers –especially, Jesus will tell us, toward strangers and those without means who have nothing concrete to offer you in return. 

They all seem like nice enough things, and some even joyful… but not a-one of them is easy! And so as you listen, watch for some of those ideals of Christian love, and consider what they each look like, practically or metaphorically, in your life – your personal life, your church life, your life as a citizen. Think about how some of these ideals enacted or embodied as a community, a nation, and as a global neighbor. My sermon will be focus on hospitality and welcome, so think especially about that ideal. Okay, let’s listen.

[READ]

St. Paul's received a replica of this sculpture after giving a financial gift to
Rochester Refugee Resettlement Services.
It lives in our Grand Foyer as a reminder to welcome.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

My grandparents lived in Germany for several years after World War II. They were sent there by the national Lutheran church as a part of what became Lutheran World Relief. They helped rebuild the Church there after the war, and reunite families who had been separated. During their time in Germany, and throughout their 60+ years of marriage, they kept a guest book – or rather, several books. Every guest they had at their home – whether a German dignitary or a refugee child – every guest was asked to sign their book, and perhaps leave a note about their time there. What resulted was volumes and volumes of records of strangers and friends to whom they had shown hospitality over the course of their lives. Really, those guest books are a record of one of the many ways my grandparents very actively lived out their faith, and the books’ very existence cemented hospitality as one of our deeply rooted family values.

When my brother and I each got married, my parents gave us each a guestbook, too, and inscribed in the front is this verse we heard from Hebrews: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for in doing so some have entertained angels without knowing it.” It’s a lovely verse, isn’t it? I look to my grandparents as models of faith, and want so dearly to follow in their footsteps in the way they welcomed so many strangers into their lives and their home, and in doing so showed them the love of Christ. This is, in fact, one of my favorite verses for this very reason, that it makes me feel connected to my grandparents.

At this point in Michael’s and my life, most of the visitors we have in our home are under the age of 10. Our home has become something of a hub for our kids’ friends, who are always popping in for a snack or a drink or a game of hide and seek, and often end up inviting themselves over for dinner (which we generally don’t mind!). It’s kind of fun, though it has been admittedly hard on our furniture! But none of these kids are strangers. They are our neighbors, our kids’ classmates. And all of the people who have signed our beautiful guest book are friends and family. It turns out that showing hospitality to actual strangers can be… well, risky, scary, vulnerable. Because you just don’t know what you’re getting, with a stranger. Yes, they may turn out to be angels, but… what if they don’t? 

This is not just a concern for us on a personal level. Whether or not to welcome strangers is a pretty huge national issue right now as well (as it has been for years). There is so much fear stirred up around strangers, foreigners, especially those who speak with an accent or have darker skin. They are assumed to be gang members. They are called a drain on society. They are called, not “humans,” but “illegals,” as if their legal status usurps their status as human beings and fellow children of God. And they are being rounded up by the thousands and detained or sent away – some for violent crimes, which is appropriate, but only 10% of those detained have been convicted of violent crimes, and some 70% have no criminal conviction at all. Some are even citizens, or legal residents, or are in the process of becoming so. And as far as welcoming any new “strangers,” there is currently an indefinite refugee ban with few exceptions. Those who are admitted must demonstrate that they have or will contribute something useful to America, and exhibit “strong moral character.” This is how this country currently shows hospitality to strangers.

What a contrast this is to Jesus’ parable: “Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind,” he says. “And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you.” It’s tricky, right? Because of course we don’t want to let criminals into our country, and having systems in place to prevent that is important. Of course we want to be good stewards of our resources so that we can adequately care for those already here. But how do we balance those concerns with what Jesus says explicitly: that it is precisely those who have lots of need but nothing to offer who we should be inviting, first of all? It would be easier if Jesus had said, “Welcome those who have lots to offer in return, and extend hospitality to your friends and people who appear safe.” But he didn’t. 

No, as usual, Jesus’ teachings are so counter to how society works! Ours is a society in which, rather than letting mutual love continue, we let mutual backscratching continue. We seek to make connections, to swap favors, to help each other out mostly or especially when we know it will ultimately be to our advantage. What am I going to get out of this? Thinking again on a national scale, it has been expressly stated that we’re happy to let strangers, immigrants, in, if they can contribute something valuable to our country. Merit-based immigration, it’s called. But here Jesus tells us, “No, don’t reach out to your rich friends or your family. Don’t do things because you know they will come back to benefit you. Serve others just for the sake of serving others, for the sake of letting mutual love continue (as the author of Hebrews would say). Serve those who really need it – the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind. Call in all the neediest strangers, and love them, feed them, and serve them.”

This is the call Jesus issues, and boy, is it difficult! If we’re honest, it may not be sound federal policy! It may put us at risk, whether as individuals or as a country! We may be blessed in the long run, “at the resurrection of the righteous,” as Jesus says, but what about now? Don’t we want to do things to benefit ourselves now, today? Why would Jesus ask of us something so difficult, even impractical? 

But here’s the thing: we shouldn’t do this – invite and welcome strangers with no promise of immediate return – we shouldn’t do this because Jesus told us to do it. We extend hospitality to strangers and welcome them because God already did it and does it for us. Yes, it is true – God welcomes us as strangers, even potentially dangerous ones, welcomes us to his bountiful banquet, not because we can do anything to pay God back, but simply because God dearly loves us. When we are the poor in spirit, poor in faith and trust, poor in riches, God welcomes us. When we are crippled by pain, by doubt, by fear, God welcomes us. When we are lame in our walk of faith, turning our faces away from the pain and brokenness of the world, negligent in tending to our relationship with God, God welcomes us. When we are blind to our own sinful ways, God still welcomes us to the feast of love that God prepares for us.

We certainly don’t deserve, nor do we do anything to earn this gift. Yet still, God invites and welcomes us each to this table, and gives us love, grace, belonging, and salvation. God provides us all that we need, and even when we greedily take it with hardly a thank you, even when we imagine only that we are entitled to these things and overlook the gracious gift that they are, even when we totally squander that gift… God still gives us more the next day. God gives and gives though we could never repay that gift. 

So let us go now to the banquet, brothers and sisters. God invited us, after all, and welcomes us with open arms. And then, nourished by this feast of love, let us go out to proclaim Christ’s Gospel of radical welcome of the stranger, in word and deed, trusting that God’s promises to us are true, and that we will indeed be blessed, perhaps by the angels we encounter, and most certainly in the resurrection of the righteous. 

Let us pray… Welcoming God, our instinct with strangers is often mistrust and fear. Make us bold to extend hospitality to strangers, trusting that in doing so, we might just find ourselves entertaining angels. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

(Side note: I also played oboe in this service! You can hear it starting in the 51st minute. Please excuse the fact that one of my keys was sticking, ugh.)