Welcoming

​Our Gospel reading for this morning is two sentences long. And in those two sentences, the word “welcome” appears six times. Jesus tells us that when we welcome others—apostles, or prophets, or righteous people, or one of the “little ones”—we welcome Christ himself. And, in welcoming Christ, we welcome God. Clearly, welcoming matters!
 
More on welcoming shortly. But I want to begin in an odd place, with the Reality TV program Survivor.
 
Survivor is wildly successful and highly regarded among reality television shows. But I personally have never been much interested in Reality TV. Until recently. Not long ago, our son Nicholas announced that he was applying to become a contestant on Survivor. We assumed he was joking. And it is a longshot. But Nicholas is taking his application seriously.
 
So, the last time Nicholas was home, we watched an episode of Survivor together, my first ever and, as it happened, the final episode of the last season.
 
As you may know, the idea of the show is to put a bunch of people on a remote island for a month, with virtually no supplies. They have to figure out how to meet their needs for food, shelter, and so on. They also have to figure out how to get along with each other because, every day, somebody gets voted off the island. The winner is the last person standing.
 
To my surprise, I found the show quite entertaining. But I also found it a little troubling.
 
Three contestants had, apparently, established a firm alliance at the beginning of the season. All three made it to the very end, along with a few other people. But I was watching the last episode, and only one person could win. The host interviewed all the remaining contestants separately. All three in the alliance worried that the others might betray them. And all three expressed their willingness to betray the other two.  
 
I won’t spoil the end. What struck me was the kind of relationships that were visible on the island. People did become friends. They cooperated and supported each other. But ultimately each contestant was only interested in what the others could do for him or her. Each contestant was perfectly and openly willing to stab everyone else in the back. Indeed, each contestant spent a lot of time deciding exactly when to make their move.
 
Survivor is just a game. But it gives us a picture of human relationships, of human community. And it’s not a pretty picture. On Survivor, people are self-interested. Competitive. Dog eat dog. No enduring commitment, and no real loyalty.
 
I worry that a lot of people view relationships that way. No one would say it so bluntly as the contestants on Survivor. But plenty of people are so focused on their own interests that they show little real concern for the needs of others. You can see that self-interest especially in political campaigns, where candidates try to win people’s votes by promising to give them stuff. Politicians do that because it works. 
 
But Jesus offers us a different view of relationships. Jesus commands us to love our neighbors, to love strangers, to love even our enemies. And Jesus’ command to welcome people, to offer hospitality, is part of that more generous vision.
 
Saturday a week ago, some of us got some practice at welcoming the stranger.
 
We headed to the Berkshires, where we spent the day handing out “trail magic” to hikers on the Appalachian Trail. The big hit was hamburgers, but we also had hot dogs, soda, snacks, water, charging stations for phones, and more.
 
Nearly fifty people came through, which caught us by surprise. The highest number to come through this year on any single day before ours was twelve.
 
Several of our “customers” had hiked all the way from Georgia, and most planned to hike the entire 2200 miles of the Appalachian Trail. A few were just out for a couple of days. We fed everybody.
 
(I should add that I say “we” loosely. At one point, the person in charge of the grill asked me to take over. I responded that my department was chatting, not grilling!)
 
One hiker asked, why were we doing it? Why were we taking time to offer gifts to people without asking anything in return? The organizer responded that we thought there should be a little more kindness in the world.
 
Mostly we didn’t talk about religion. We weren’t there to win converts. But whenever people asked us who we were, we explained that the ministry was organized by a pair of Churches in Sheffield, and that we came from a pair of Episcopal Churches in the Springfield area. 
 
Everyone who came through expressed gratitude for our presence and our generosity. And a few wanted to talk about religion. One woman called herself “Hiker with Bibles” or something like that. She briefly filmed us for her YouTube channel about faith on the Trail. A man told me his father was an Episcopal priest, and we had a long talk about the Episcopal Church and about Christian history. At one point, I warned him that asking me leading questions on those topics was likely to generate long answers. He left soon afterwards!
 
A few people took what we offered, thanked us, and walked on. But most wanted to sit and chat. Part of the appeal was chairs with backs and a tarp keeping the rain off. But part of it was the company. It seemed like a few people would never leave. When we finally left, four people were still there. We just asked them to put away the chairs when they were done.
 
Back when I hiked more than I do now, I was the recipient of trail magic. But this was my first time offering trail magic. And I think I speak for the four of us when I say, it was a really wonderful experience. 
 
We welcomed everyone who came along, with no strings attached. Although we didn’t make a big deal about it, we offered our hospitality in the name of Christ.
 
And we witnessed the real power of simple acts of kindness and hospitality. The hikers came from all over. The age range was under eighteen to in the seventies. After a few minutes, we all moved on, they to their hike and me to my nap. But while we were together, we experienced human connection.
 
What was on display in that field beside the Appalachian Trail was a very different picture of relationships and community than what you see on Survivor. It was people sharing the simple things of life, without trying to manipulate or control each other, without competing in any way. It was just people with other people, supporting each other.
 
That’s what Jesus’ command to welcome people means.
 
And that’s what we are called to do and to be as Church. We are called to welcome everyone who comes through our door, with no questions asked. We are called to treat other people with generosity and love, as the beloved children of God that they are. And, when necessary, we are called to go out and find them where they are, share good news and love, and witness to the possibility of mutually supportive relationships, of a community truly grounded in faith. 
 
I think we do that here at Saint David’s petty well. We welcome others, support each other, practice Christian love even when it doesn’t come naturally.
 
I pray that God will help us to become ever-more welcoming, ever-more generous, ever-more loving, just as Christ commands. And I pray that in Christ’s name. Amen.