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Come, And Be Well!

Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, who abides in which of us. Amen

If something is repeated it must be important. In our Gospel text this morning, the word “welcome” appears six times. In just three verses, Jesus says the word “welcome” six times. If something is repeated, it must be important.

What a simple word “welcome” is. We use it all the time, don’t we? Many of us have doormats by our front doors that say, “Welcome” in big bold letters. When you walk into a Wal-Mart store, most of the time there is someone standing there saying, “Welcome to Wal-Mart.” Last Sunday, Jill and I went to watch the Royals baseball game out at Kauffman stadium and as we walked through the turn styles, a person on the other side said, “Welcome to the K.” In fact, I heard that same phrase, “Welcome to the K!” about five times before we actually got to our seat from the various attendants and ushers we walked by. “Welcome,” we use this word all the time. But, what does it really mean, and when we say welcome, do we really mean what it means?

In the Greek, the word we translate as “welcome” here is “dechomai,” and literally it means, “to take with the hand, to take hold of, to embrace, to make one's own, not to reject, to endure with another.” I wonder, when I say, “welcome to my home,” do I really mean that I am ready to take you with my hand and embrace you as you are? Am I really meaning that in my home, I will endure with you whatever it is that you need? Maybe, this common word of “welcome” that we throw around so freely is not really what we mean to say.

The English word “welcome” is really a compound word. The two words that we have put together are the words “well,” w-e-l-l, and “come.” The word “come” literally means to be received, while here, the word “well” which has many meanings, uses the meaning of “to be free from ailment, or to be healthy.” Literally, when we “welcome” someone, we are saying to them, come and be well here. When I say, “Welcome to my home,” what I am literally saying is that in my home, I receive you as you are and I desire you be well. You don’t need to be different here

When we say we want to be a “welcoming congregation” we are not saying we want people to come to be members, so we can grow. We are not saying we want you to come here so you can give money and help us meet our budget. No, if we mean what we say, then what we really mean when we say we want to be a “welcoming community” is that we want to be a place where all can come and be well. When we say we want to be a welcoming community, what we are really saying is that we want to be a place that takes those who come here by the hand and walk with them and free them from whatever ails them. A place of welcome is a place that puts aside its own prejudices, it is a place that puts aside its own needs and wants and it is a place that receives those in need, the stranger, the oppressed, those who are suffering and says to them, we will embrace you as you are and we will not reject you, we will endure with you. Is that what we mean when we say, we want to be a congregation that welcomes all people?

You know, this past Monday, our VBS program began, but we still needed a few volunteer leaders. Now the program didn’t start until the evening, and early in the day, John Holt got a call from one of the high school youth who is a member at one of the other KCLYC congregations asking if she could be a volunteer leader for VBS. This girl’s name is Katiana. Now, I have known Katiana since the day her parents brought her here from Haiti, after they traveled there to adopt her. Katiana, is a young African American woman, who often times has not been welcomed, who has always been the minority is this community, but who has also always been part of faith community that has said to her, not just with words but with actions, here you may come and be well. When John told me she had called just to volunteer here and that Lorel had set her up to be one of our leaders, my heart was warmed. I pray Katiana felt truly welcomed here this week.

But to be honest, to be a truly welcoming community or individual, takes practice. While we use this word casually, making one welcome is not as simple as offering a word, though it often starts there. The art of making one welcome is rooted in the ancient practices of hospitality. Preparing to welcome someone takes thought, intention, and discipline. To truly practice good hospitality, the masters of this art seem to always be ready with the right accompaniments: an appropriate beverage, food, a comfortable chair, and maybe even a few thoughtful and respectful questions to help the newcomer feel well. It takes intentionality and the willingness to let go of one’s own needs and desires.

Such hospitality has always been a part of the Christian faith tradition. For Christians, and Jews alike, we are called to welcome the stranger and that call is anchored in the Torah that is the first five books of the bible. For the Hebrews, to be truly welcoming was part of one’s faithfulness to God and it was how one’s faithfulness was shared and recognized and that practice went well into the time of Jesus. Literally in ancient times, when a traveler came to town, they waited by the well, and it was incumbent upon the townspeople to house and feed the visitor for the night.

In our ancient roots we see that being welcoming does not mean standing inside our doors and waiting for the stranger to come to us, no, to be truly welcoming, we must leave the safety of our building and go find those wells where those strangers are waiting to be welcomed. Where are those wells? They could be out on the streets. They could be in certain communities where those who are there have been labeled as different such as gay, lesbian, or transgender, poor, or addict live. Some of those wells where people are waiting might be in the house next where there lives a woman who is suffering from abuse, but cannot bear to tell the world, or where your neighbor really feels no one cares about his troubles, his needs, and his burdens. Being welcoming means paying attention to the other and inviting them into our community and really meaning, here, you may come and be well.

Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me…and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple — truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward” (10:40-42).” Jesus invites us to be welcoming even to the “little ones,” or in the Greek, the “mikros,” that is those who are vulnerable. We are invited this day to leave this place, find those wells where the vulnerable await and be willing to open our doors and our hearts to them. Jesus calls us to be a place where they may come and be well.

Sisters and brothers, as we seek to truly become a welcoming community, we are not just talking about opening our doors to the LGBT community, we are talking about be a true refuge to those who are vulnerable in this world and being a place where all might be well. We are talking about being a place where we will take the hand of the stranger and walk with them as we seek justice with and for them. Whatever we do for the “mikros” we do for Jesus.

So, are you ready? Are you truly ready to say, welcome, come and be well in this place? “Welcome,” it has been repeated again and again. It must be important. Amen.

Tags: Sermons