"The Welcome Table" Acts 2:42-47 John 10:1-10
We opened worship this morning with questions from Belonging to God: A First Catechism. It was approved by the General Assembly in 1998. The first Q&A in that catechism was: "Who Are you?" I am a child of God. It got a fair amount of criticism because some Presbyterians thought it began with the wrong affirmation and even that it suggested something that no child could claim: to have God as divine parent, without first having repented and believed. But in fact, we all belong to the one family of God. That's where the Lord's Prayer begins: OUR FATHER… And the beautiful thing about the prayer attributed to Jesus is that it can be prayed by all God's children. Not just Christians, but Jews, Muslims, Zoroastrians, Hindus, Buddhists, all God's children!
The world wants to divide people. Although Paul preached in Acts (17:26) that we are ALL God's children, some people prefer to follow John's Gospel in separating the world into children of God and children of the Devil.
Isaiah and Jesus both issued Open Invitations of welcome to all God's Children. Free Food for all. Free wine and milk for all. God's love for all.
Isaiah (55) cries out to a people in exile, who are losing hope :
Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
and you that have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live.
Jesus makes a very similar-sounding Open Invitation (Matthew 11):
‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, & I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’
It sounds too good to be true, like the e-mails I regularly find in my spam folder. We want to put limits on the Open Invitation, but God refuses to be limited. That's my sermon today. The welcome table is open to all!
Finally, the Presbyterian Church is living into its calling with the passage of Amendment 10-A. We are becoming the denomination I aspired to when I was ordained! The Confession of 1967 had called to me, and I answered. (Now, I acknowledge that my love for Janice, who was a Presbyterian, might have had something to do with it as well.) This is the church of which I said, I will be Presbyterian as long as they'll let me. I was proud to lead a church that, just like PCMK, a decade ago issued a statement of non-compliance with G-6.0106(b).
At PCFL we said some things that we believed, which are now becoming the policy of our denomination: "The church we love has been an inclusive, open and accepting denomination, with room for a great diversity of belief and opinion, grounded in a common loyalty to Jesus…. The Constitution guarantees to individual Presbyterian congregations the right to decide whom its leaders shall be… We believe that the love of Jesus Christ includes all people regardless of race, sex, age, marital condition, national origin, economic class, or sexual orientation. …Our calling as ordained leaders in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is to lead this congregation in becoming even more inclusive, not less. "
One of the things that attracted me to PCMK is the declaration of open welcome. In our Vision Statement we affirm: "We believe in the dignity and divine worth of every human being…
Our vision of God’s community is one of diversity, redemption, and grace…" Each week we print that small but important testimony in our bulletin: "We are a More Light Church and Covenant Network Presbyterian Church, welcoming people of all sexual orientations."
Of course, it's not enough to say it. We must live it! For the church to be the beloved community of Jesus, we need to find ways to embody and manifest the inclusive welcome that he extended, welcoming all people without distinction.
When I was interviewed for the Interim Pastor position, I asked the committee if the church had any flaming gay members, or at least an openly homosexual couple. Answer: "No."
I have to say it today. Just about every church sees itself as welcoming. But it's the guest, not the host, who says whether or not a church is welcoming. In the end, it's the diversity of the guests around the table that proves the welcome. When a church lives out the radical, inclusive, non-judgmental embrace of Jesus, it must begin to look like the ragtag, incongruous group that met with him to eat, and so offended the good religious people. Tax collectors, sinners, prostitutes, alcoholics, rich and poor together, preachers and laity, men and women, children and aged, clear-eyed and squinty, acute of hearing and "what's-that-you-say?"
Gradually, this will include having our worshiping congregation come to reflect the marvelous diversity of the followers of Jesus. In this we will reflect the image of Rev. 7:9 "a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages."
We say the line from the 23rd psalm but we paint strange images in our head: "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies." Most interpretations of this line picture the people of God sitting down to eat while our enemies look in the window from the outside. Is it possible that the welcome table includes former enemies? All of us eat together!
Christ's table is a "welcome table." Jesus goes out of his way to sit down at table with everyone! Can we do less? We are "called to be light to the whole human race." Thanks be to God for the new light shining in this place and this denomination! Now is God present, and now is the day. Let us practice extending our hospitality so that we may create the Welcome Table of Christ.
[My sermon found its completion in the sharing from Karen Kavey during the Minute for Mission. Her message evoked tears, admiration, and a standing ovation from the congregation.]
--Jack Lohr, Interim Pastor
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