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Sermon July 2, 2023
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, MSW
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen’s
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A, Track 1, Proper 8
https://lectionarypage.net/YearA_RCL/Pentecost/Aprop8_RCL.html
Audio: /documents/Eucharist__July_2__2023
Video: https://youtu.be/Nkv-0geVv0s
Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Matthew 10:40
When I was in seminary, some friends and I made a video for one of our classes. Right now I cannot remember what the assignment was, but I know we chose that passage from Matthew about judgment day:
‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Matthew 25:31-36
Remember how the ones on Jesus’ right – the sheep – question Jesus. When did we see you hungry or thirsty or as a stranger or naked or sick or in prison? Jesus tells them, whenever you did this for anyone, you did it for me. We pray a prayer with similar words each Sunday.
That’s the passage we chose. For our project, we interviewed various classmates about the work they were doing. Greg gave me an easy-to-remember line about being a Christian. I can’t even remember what his ministry was, but it was extensive. When I probed him about why he did what he did, he said, “I don’t want to be a goat.” Now I know that this word goat has taken on a new meaning – greatest of all time—but in the passage in Matthew, you definitely do not want to be a goat.
Remember how the passage from Matthew ends
Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’ Matthew 25:45
We definitely do not want to be a goat.
In today’s reading, Jesus also reinforces that whenever we welcome someone, we are welcoming him and God who sent him. I often hear that our parish is welcoming. We take to heart our baptismal promise to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?” (pg. 293, Book of Common Prayer.)
This past week, I read an article in a New York Times newsletter from Jessica Grose titled, “What Churches Offer that ‘Nones’ Still Long For.” (June 28, 2023). You know the n-o-n-e, nones. Those who claim no religion. She says if there were 5 of them in a room, according to Pastor and political scientist and author Ryan Burge, 1 would be atheist, 1 would be agnostic and the other 3 would be “nothing in particulars.” They are not aligned with any specific religion or faith.
She says what, especially the “nothing in particulars” are missing and what many young people want, which is supportive community…diverse supportive community.
Often these are “people with no religion in particular are those without high school diplomas, who are single, who don’t have children and who earn less than $50,000 a year.” She goes on to say that many organized religions and denominations are not structured to connect to this group.
She quotes from the book “The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back?” who say:
“Modern American churches are financially incentivized to target the wealthy and create a space where those on track feel comfortable. Biblical hospitality, though, is so much more than just throwing money at a problem, and the net result is that the average American church is not truly hospitable to the less fortunate, making them feel like outsiders in our midst.”
Oh my, we surely have a challenge in seeing Christ in every person.
I’ve started reading a book that I’d heard about years ago, but that someone recently leant to me. The title is See No Stranger: A memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love by Valerie Kaur. Ms. Kaur is Sikh. We often see people who are Sikh and confuse them with Muslims. People who are Sikh wear turbans. Ms. Kaur explains that the distinctive clothing is so that anyone in trouble can find them. You see, the foundation of their understanding is that they are to help others and to fight for justice.
She speaks about how there are no strangers. Our task is to wonder about people, and understand that we are all connected. She says of someone she has just met, “You are a part of me I do not yet know.”
Someone asked me one day why we put coloring sheets in the bulletin each week. My hope was to add some more thought to the scripture for the day. And today, I think our little insert asks some good questions of us as we ponder welcoming others and seeing no stranger:
1. How can you practice welcome toward those who come in Christ’s name?
2. How is your community of faith doing with its welcome? What is getting in the way of a more effective and open spirit of welcome in your community?
3. What can you do this week that is comparable to giving a cup of cold water to someone else?
We certainly do not want to be with the goats on judgment day.
Amen
What Churches Offer that Nones Still Long For: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/28/opinion/religion-affiliation-community.html
