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Dear Covenant Family,
This past Sunday we had so much to celebrate! We blessed backpacks for those beginning a new school year. We blessed hymnals newly purchased and dedicated and now in our pews. We blessed food brought to share at our potluck after church.
There is something about sharing food and song that brings people together and makes friends out of strangers. At our best, church is a place where we welcome individuals into Christian community. That’s why hospitality is so very important, always looking out for someone who is new, or seems a little out of place, going out of your way to make them feel at home.
In the Old Testament book of Genesis (chapter 18), Abraham looks up from his tent to see three strangers standing before him. Immediately he offers water and rest to the travelers, and then asks Sarah to make bread. He doesn’t know they are angels sent with a life-changing message; he is simply abiding by the rules of hospitality in the ancient near east.
The Genesis story is in the background of the New Testament instruction to “Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. (Hebrews 13:1-2) In the context of the early church, this probably referred to Christian brothers and sisters from other places who were unknown to the local faith community. Providing hospitality allowed space for conversation and mutual encouragement in a hostile environment.
Today we still entertain angels unaware when we provide hospitality. On Sunday morning, one member helped a visitor find the correct hymnal. Another sat down to listen to a disabled veteran. Deacons brought cups of cold water and lemonade to those sitting at table. College students found community in choir and in the pews. A new family from the Congo experienced their first church supper with us.
On Wednesday, two strangers joined us for midday prayer after hearing the bells and stayed around to talk. Another man wandered in to pray and shared his journey of faith, illness, and recovery. All three were Christians from other places who found an open sanctuary at Covenant. How is God calling us as a church to minister to neighbors and strangers, thereby entertaining angels unaware?
A Celtic Rune of Hospitality
We saw a stranger yesterday.
We put food in the eating place,
Drink in the drinking place,
Music in the listening place.
And with the sacred name of the triune God
He blessed us and our house,
Our cattle and our dear ones.
As the lark says in her song:
Often, often, often, goes the Christ
In the stranger’s guise.
Peace,
Pastor Jessie
jmacmillan@covenantweb.org
P.S. This Sunday we have a seminar at 11:30 on the new hymnal, including a hymn sing!
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