Guidelines for Guests & Hosts
by Jim Westmoreland
The last three states that made up the mainland 48 states were Oklahoma in 1907, and New Mexico and Arizona in 1912. They came in as the era of the Wild West was ending. Owensboro Wagons, Conestoga Wagons and Stagecoaches were all part of the transportation in those days.
John Claypool once told a story about stagecoaches that illustrates how much human nature remains the same, regardless of all of the changes that we have made. Though the main means of commercial transportation stagecoaches were relatively small. At most, they carried six passengers. Even with only six passengers, there were still classes that were recognized. You could buy a ticket for first, second or third class. The distinction, however, did not have to do with the size of the seat, where it was located or the kind of food that was served, but rather, what was expected of the ticket holder in case the stagecoach got into trouble, like a deep bog of mud or an incline too steep to be able to negotiate.
The first class ticket, which, of course, was the most expensive,
entitled the ticket owner to remain in the stagecoach no matter
what conditions might be faced. When you got the most
expensive ticket, this meant that you were exempt from having
to put forth any kind of effort. A second-class ticket meant that,
if difficulty arose, you had to get out and walk alongside the
stagecoach until the difficulty could be resolved. The cheapest
ticket, the third-class one, called on the holder to take
responsibility for the difficulty. This meant they not only had to
get out of the coach when there was a problem, but they also had
to, alongside the driver, get down in the mud and do whatever
had to be done so that the vehicle could either get through the
mud or get up the hill. They were required to give what we
would call "sweat equity" as part of being a third-class holder of
a ticket. Needless to say, this was the least prestigious of all the
categories.
Even today, we sometimes get caught up in maintaining or staking out “our place.” This is what Jesus was addressing in his first parable in today’s reading, our human nature to equate the category of first class with privilege and being exempt from having to do the most menial kinds of work. Jesus’ hierarchy of values are radically different from ours. When he came to live upon the earth, he gave a very different interpretation to this metaphor of first class. In the most literal sense, he turned the value system of the world upside down and dared to say that in God's eyes the really first-class reality was not the privilege of having everything done for you, but rather lay in a willingness to do the opposite and assume the role of a servant. He calls us to be willing to deal with the difficulty and to be more concerned to solve a problem than to simply be waited on by others. “Don’t worry about the places of honor . . . For whoever exalts themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” That is Jesus’ pointed guideline about how to be a guest.
Next, Jesus gives us as individuals and us as a church some guidelines for being a host. Jesus said, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
You have to remember, these were not just social but moral
categories in those days. In those days they thought if you were
poor, crippled, lame, or blind, it was because God didn't like
you. Besides, as in our day, the whole point of giving parties
was to improve your social standing, to demonstrate your social
status, to move to the head of the line. Whether as a guest or as
a host people were concerned about being seated with the right people or with inviting the
right people. So Jesus was turning
their world upside down, and ours too, with this notion that you
should intentionally invite the lowest of the low rather than the
highest of the high to your parties. It was counter-cultural. It
was revolutionary. And, it still is.
To reach out to those who can give us nothing in return goes against our natural tendencies. If we could add 20 more people to our church between now and the first of the year and you could write a description of who you wanted, what would you put on it? How would you describe them? Are there any of us that would put the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind on our list of people to go and invite to come to our church? If we are willing to do good deeds for others, but do not invite them to come and be a part of us, we communicate a kind of paternalism, an arm’s-length safety zone, a barrier-building stiffness that says the opposite of our “Welcome Signs."
Who is it that God wants us to reach out to and invite and bring with us become a part of the Body of Christ at our church? We fall into a self-serving, self-preserving, institutional mentality when we think about getting people who can give us what we need. Instead of us being God's channels to show his love and life-changing power to others, we can easily see ourselves as the "needy" and only look for what we can get out of others. We need to be sold out for service, ministry and involvement, and we’ll be a place for others to join that kind of involvement.
God does expect us all to use our talents and abilities and share our financial resources to help to do his work, whether we are "old" members or whether we are among the "newer" members. The way a church finds its real life and power in Christ is the same way that we as individual followers of Jesus do. Jesus said that whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it, that "all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."
Jesus’ guidelines for us as hosts can help us because Some of the people that we overlook are the people we need. They may not have much money, position or power, but they can teach us, and they can share their souls with us, and we will be changed because of it. Over 100 years ago a crying little girl stood near a small church from which she had been turned away because it was "too crowded."
"I can't go to Sunday School," she sobbed to the pastor as he walked by.
Seeing her shabby, unkempt appearance, the pastor guessed the reason and, taking her by the hand, took her inside and found a place for her in the Sunday school class. The child was so happy that they found room for her, and she went to bed that night thinking of the children who have no place to worship Jesus.
Some two years later, this child lay dead in one of the poor tenement buildings. Her parents called for the kindhearted pastor who had befriended their daughter to handle the final arrangements.
As her poor little body was being moved, a worn and crumpled red purse was found which seemed to have been rummaged from some trash dump.
Inside was found 57 cents and a note, scribbled in childish handwriting, which read: "This is to help build the little church bigger so more children can go to Sunday School."
For two years she had saved for this offering of love.
When the pastor tearfully read that note, he knew instantly what he would do. Carrying this note and the cracked, red pocketbook to the pulpit, he told the story of her unselfish love and devotion.
He challenged his church leaders to get busy and raise enough money for the larger building.
But the story does not end there...
A newspaper learned of the story and published it. It was read by a wealthy realtor who offered them a parcel of land worth many thousands. When told that the church could not pay so much, he offered to sell it to the little church for 57 cents.
Church members made large donations. Checks came from far and wide. Within five years the little girl's gift had increased to $250,000, which was a huge sum around the year, 1900. Her unselfish love had paid large dividends!
When you are in the city of Philadelphia, look up Temple Baptist Church, with a seating capacity of 3,300. And be sure to visit Temple University, where thousands of students are educated. Have a look, too, at the Good Samaritan Hospital and at a Sunday School building which houses hundreds of beautiful children, built so that no child in the area will ever need to be left outside during Sunday school time.
In one of the rooms of this building may be seen the picture of the sweet face of the little girl whose 57 cents, so sacrificially saved, made such remarkable history. Alongside of it is a portrait of her kind pastor, Dr. Russel H. Conwell, author of the book, "Acres of Diamonds".
Some of the people that we overlook are the people we need.
Who are we inviting to the banquet, to our church? Who are we supposed to invite to become a part of our lives? The poor, the lame, the blind, the crippled? Anyone who is struggling? A single parent? Young adults who see the church as old and irrelevant? The bored, the self-seekers and the pleasure-seekers who are growing older and never have any time for God? Whoever the overlooked and disenfranchised may be, God calls us to look and see and care enough to reach out to them to make them welcome.
And, whenever we get satisfied with who we are, or worried about what we are not, Jesus’ guidelines for guests and hosts reminds us not to focus on elevating ourselves, not to focus on survival and self-perpetuation, but to focus on service and inviting and welcoming others. Amen
Century Christian Church, September 2, 2007 - Sermon by Jim Westmoreland
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