If I was in Sunday School today and we were following the normal lectionary readings as we are, I would be telling the children this story: about a man called Cuthbert who was a monk a member of a religious community who spent a great deal of his time in prayer with God.
History says for a while he in lived in Yorkshire where he was given the job of looking after guests who came to the monastery who came asking for food or help. Early one December morning Cuthbert went into the guesthouse and there was a young man sitting waiting for him. The man looked as if he had been on a long journey and was needing food and shelter. The poor man looked absolutely frozen, Cuthbert removed the mans ragged footwear and began to rub his feet to bring some warmth back into them. Cuthbert then persuaded the young man to wait for the bread to be cooked that day so that he could have some, the young man agreed and waited by the fireside to get warm whilst Cuthbert went to morning prayers.
When he returned he saw the young man and said that the bread would be ready now so he went to fetch a nice warm loaf. Cuthbert was only a short while but when he returned the man had gone. Cuthbert hurried to the front door – but there were no footprints to be seen in the snow, he looked around the other side of the building but found only his own tracks. Cuthbert came back to the guesthouse and there was this beautiful smell, he looked around and saw three lovely pure white loaves on the table!
Was this a gift from the young man? Cuthbert had been ready to feed the young man but ended with a gift himself, then he remembered a verse from scripture in the book of Hebrews ‘do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it’ .
Cuthbert would always remember the visit of this young man and how he suddenly disappeared and he would always tell people that an angel had visited him. This illustrates the hospitality – the second part of our reading, whilst these comments refer to the first few verses explaining humility.
I read recently a letter in the agony column of a newspaper recently – where the parents of a bridegroom went to the reception rooms in advance of the wedding to ensure that all was well – on checking the names on each table at the reception to their horror they found that they had not been placed on the top table with the other members of the bride and grooms family – when immediately after the wedding ceremony they brought this to the attention of the their son and his bride – the bride immediately responded that it was an error and that it should be changed – which probably would have been the correct action – but the parents were so upset that they refused to have it changed and remained at the other table. Subsequently since the marriage it has caused a rift and now all concerned do not know how to resolve it!
The story is told of the famous boxer Mohammed Ali who was flying one time to an appointment.The aircraft ran into severe turbulence and was soon shaken violently. The passengers were instructed to fasten their seatbelts immediately, everyone complied except Ali. When the stewardess approached and questioned him and asked him to fasten his seat belt, he replied ‘Superman don’t need no seatbelt’ she took one look at him and retorted ‘superman don’t need no airplane either’.
Martin Luther King said ‘ God created the world out of nothing, and as long as we are nothing he can make something out of us’.
Another quote ‘ the person who looks up to God rarely looks down on people’.
If we are truly humble it means compairing ourselves to Christ which shows us how limited we are and how much we need his guidance.
Humility and hospitality are both trademarks of our faith.
So from what can we learn here at the St Chads about the meaning of hospitality when perhaps you yourselves could be teaching others on the subject.
I am pretty confident that most people here would offer the need of food and comfort to any distressed person who may appear on their doorstep, although we are now surrounded by different cultures, dynamics and certainly a different enviroment which could prevent us from opening our homes so easily to others as our bible reading suggests and maybe there is not that degree of poverty now or is there? I would suggest that we need now to widen our horizon and so encompass that wider vision of hospitality that the Jesus is teaching us- to broaden our perspective of the needy.
This hospitality can begin at home by doing just as the reading suggests if we know of others less fortunate than ourselves that would benefit from a good meal – its easy we can offer that meal- but that hospitality can manifest itself in other directions – perhaps there are some within our community that need the hospitality of sharing good working practices or parental skills!
There are many families that have not had the same loving home background that we have enjoyed and certainly in todays culture and society unless we as a christian family unit can share that love and concern they are not going to receive it and so benefit from its reward.
(It is fantastic that some of you with your varying skills of trade and pleasure are sharing this with our young people when we have our Messy Church) watch this space.
This need however is on the doorstep of the Church today and we as the family within that Church need instruction on how best we can best administer the love and concern that Christ has for every individual. I am not using rhetoric language but as Christ’s family we need teaching and instruction how we can show this hospitality to those families in need, its not a question of being pious and saying this is how it ought to be done but sharing and being alongside those who need care and atttention, that this may be the best approach of discipline or best method of cleaning because it has worked for me. Its not the only way – but it can help you – is that not what the ‘big society ‘ is all about; how we can best help each other because if it is not, then the language of the present politicians is all rhetoric and they are just playing to the audience.
We as the Church need now to ask for this mantle so that it can be in the centre of our society feeling and understanding the needs of each person so that we show in a positive light the love of God not via preaching but through compassionate use of our working and domestic skills. We do not want generations that propagate themselves with the same old problems that begin with the lack of motivation and foresight – that manifests itself through dole queues, anger and poverty – we need to aim together for a fairer and equal society for each and everyone of us but the Church needs to have that power and authority that Jesus talks about. If only we could all work and share together, how happy are those who sit down at the feast in the Kingdom of God.
So through the hospitality of the gospel and all that it represents and that does not mean that the Church is to be used and abused, but it needs to be strong in defining its principles in a world that so lacks moral and spiritual guidance. Charity begins at home – and thats every brother, sister, mother, father, son and daughter across our world that needs our love and help – whether it be the hospitality of food or love and giving, whatever -forget not our Malawi orphans! as they are our family they need our hospitality of sharing and giving ,they have lost that grandparent who can spoil them, who can give them that pocket money when parents are not looking – they have even lost their parents! How Cuthbert would be please to hear that our fund raising had resulted in some of the orphans going on to further education ie senior school.
We have heard recently of the floods in Pakistan – is it not terrific and does it not elevate our aspirations and hopes when you hear how much funds have been raised by the peoples and nations of the world; £30 million alone from the public in the UK. It only makes you think there is enough cash out there to solve the world poverty problem and make things the way God wants them. It is the willpower to treat this symptom that is missing!
Nick Fawcett writes: Bring your laughter and bring your tears
Bring your joy and bring your sorrow
Bring your hopes and your fears
Bring today and bring tomorrow
Bring your weakness and health
Bring your best and your worst
Bring your loved ones and bring yourself
Bring your gladness and your cares, bring your faith and your doubts
Bring your prayers bring what life is all about’.
He talks about bringing all this to the communion table, but when we can bring all this together each and everyone of us then we shall all know How great is our God and how great is our hospitality to be able to share together and bring our hearts together.
If we as Christ’s disciples can show the hospitality of the gospel to those around us who do not know how to appreciate Gods love then perhaps they will want to have a share in his kingdom; how great our hospitality of the gospel needs to be, remember that’s where our heart is in the richness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There will come a time when we shall have a reflection like that of Cuthbert and what would we be telling others?
That it was a visit from an angel or God answering our prayers.
Amen.
Brian (lay reader)