Andy's Blog: A Personal Word

April 2009 Archive

April 28, 2009

Apr. 29, 2009

On Sunday, I preached on hospitality as a central theme of the gospel. The chief charge against Jesus was that he was just too hospitable. “He eats with sinners and tax-collectors” was the accusation.  And it was true. He did. In fact, he still does. And we can be glad he does. Every time we gather at the Lord’s Table, he invites and welcomes us.

The word hospitality comes from the word hospital.  During the time when traveling was hard, particularly outside one’s own country, Christians established guest houses beginning in the 5th century.  They were called ‘hospice’ from hospes, Latin for guests. During the middle ages, pilgrims and other travelers found Christian hospices to be the only reputable guests houses. They were often run by religious orders. Over time, they began to specialize in the care of the poor, sick, aged and crippled. From about the 15th century, these hospices began to be taken over by secular interests so that hospitals became restricted to the care of the sick. But originally, it meant a ‘haven for guests.’

In a way, the church is a hospital, a place of healing for all of us, and it is a ‘haven for guests.’ We are not here for ourselves. We are here to be a part of God’s hospitality to the world – to invite, receive and welcome all so they can find that place of healing and hope.

Our vision at Trinity is to be a church with open doors and open hearts – to practice the same radical hospitality that Jesus practiced. This is at the heart of what it means to be the church. This won’t happen unless we are intentional about it.  All of us need to think of ourselves as hosts at Trinity and look for ways and opportunities when we can extend the welcome of Christ.

Wear your names tags, look out for people who may be guests, go out of your way to show them around and make them feel comfortable.

April 7, 2009

Apr. 7, 2009

On December 8, 1875, the German ship, the Deutschland, sank in the North Sea off the English coast. Among the 157 passengers who perished were five Franciscan nuns traveling to the U.S. on a teaching mission. The nuns sacrificed their own lives so that others could be rescued. When the ship sank and the water rose around them, they clasped hands and prayed.

The Christina poet, Gerard Manly Hopkins, was so moved by the story, he wrote a poem about it, The Wreck of the Deutschland. In it is this line:

Let him Easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us,
be a crimson-cresseted east…

Hopkins uses the word easter as a verb. Easter is not simply something we believe in. It is something that we become. It is something that happens to us, in us and through us.

After a Maundy Thursday service, a pastor sat with his young son who was asking what it all meant. The pastor explained that it was to remember the last meal Jesus shared with his disciples. Good Friday was the day Jesus was killed. But Easter was a wonderful day because God raised Jesus from the dead.

Then the boy asked, “Daddy, will Easter ever happen to me?”

Easter is not something we observe, it is meant to be something that happens to us – something we experience. The first Easter account reports an empty tomb, but the empty tomb proved nothing. In fact, one disciple thought that the grave had been robbed. Others fled in terror. Easter really happened when the disciples encountered the risen Christ. It was his impact on the lives of people that was decisive. 

God wants to Easter in us, to transform our fear to courage, and our despair to hope.  He wants to heal our brokenness, forgive our sins, restore us – raise us up to be his people. It’s been a tough year. We approach Easter exactly like those first disciples, with fear, uncertain about the future, our hope shaken. The risen Christ meets us here to be a “dayspring in the dimness of us.”

May Christ Easter in you!

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