People of Welcome
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For July 2, 2023:
People of Welcome
by Elena Delhagen
Matthew 10:40-42
In the gospel text of the lectionary, Jesus teaches us about welcome — what it’s meant to look like and, even more, how it’s rewarded. The whole of scripture is full of exhortations for God’s people to be people of welcome; what does that look like in today’s world?
The Capital Region of New York State recently received buses of immigrants arriving from New York City amidst an influx of asylum-seekers the city says it’s unable to house and care for. When Jesus called his disciples to be a people of welcome, immigrants certainly are the sort of marginalized persons to whom he could be referring.
Interestingly, this text appears in the lectionary during the weekend in which the United States is celebrating Independence Day. Remembering that we are in fact a nation of immigrants, perhaps being people of welcome is exactly the sort of Independence Day message we ought to be proclaiming.
In the Scripture
The gospel reading comes at the end of Matthew 10, which is the second of Jesus’ major teachings after the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7. Chapters 8-9, the ones found in the middle, narrate various events in the ministry of Jesus Christ, such as healing the sick and casting out demons. At the end of chapter 9 is when we read about Jesus looking out at the crowds and having pity on them, for they were “like sheep without a shepherd” (9:36). So, what’s the solution? He sends out his disciples with power and authority to do the same works of the kingdom.
Of course, the disciples are warned that not all will receive them with open arms, and this is where we turn to the discourse about welcome. The entirety of scripture, in both Testaments, details God’s commands to people to be welcoming — of strangers, of foreigners, of the needy, and of each other. It’s important to remember that in the ancient Near East, one’s identity was inextricably linked to his or her larger community. So, when one person or community welcomed an individual with hospitality, they were really welcoming the entire community who sent that person, as well as all that community represented. Welcome broke down any walls or barriers that would normally pit the two communities against each other. Welcome was and is the way of God.
In the News
Since late 2022, states all across the nation have repeatedly welcomed migrants and asylum-seekers, many bussed by Republican governors Greg Abbott (TX) and Ron DeSantis (FL) from their states’ border towns. Major cities, even those run by Democratic mayors, have also bussed immigrants to larger, well-known sanctuary cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago.
This comes amidst record-high numbers of border crossings in 2022 and 2023. Title 42, an immigration policy that’s been around for decades but was largely implemented in the Trump era to restrict border crossings, officially ended in May of 2023. The Biden administration announced it will provide new legal paths to helping people enter the US, yet some, like immigration researcher and consultant Cris Ramón, are concerned the White House does not seem to be taking into consideration that immigration is a “hemispheric challenge.”
In the meantime, smaller cities are being tasked with welcoming bussed migrants, like Albany, New York, and the surrounding Capital Region of New York did in May of 2023. Non-profit organizations, faith communities, and altruistic citizens in these regions have banded together to provide welcome to these new neighbors in the form of housing and resources so they may obtain healthcare, jobs, and more.
In the Sermon
Of special consideration for this week’s sermon is the forthcoming US holiday, Independence Day. Yet we remember that even prior to 1776, immigrants were arriving on the shores of the new world to seek new beginnings. To quote Matthew Soerens, an immigration reformer named a Champion of Change in 2013 by then-President Barack Obama, “The United States of America is, as John F. Kennedy called it, ‘a nation of immigrants.’ Except for those of Native American ancestry, we all can trace our heritage back to somewhere else, whether our ancestors came on the Mayflower or a slave ship, into Ellis Island or Angel Island, into JFK Airport or across the Rio Grande. At its founding, America was, as our first president said, ‘open to receive not only the opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions.’ Though at various moments in our history we have not fully lived up to that standard, it remains core to our national identity.”
As Christians, being a people of welcome ought to be core to our identity, too, for we once were graciously and lovingly welcomed by the Lord our God. Let us consider the words of Jesus to his disciples when he told them that whoever welcomed them welcomed him too. Likewise, when we welcome other image-bearers, it is exactly as if we are welcoming God.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Too Quiet
by Mary Austin
Genesis 22:1-14
The silences in this story are deafening.
Abraham, always so chatty with God, is quiet when God asks him to sacrifice his long-awaited son. And Sarah, who laughs at God and who blisters Hagar with her rage, is also silent, as far as we can tell. Out of sight, does she scream at Abraham? Weep loudly? Or, knowing Sarah, does Abraham sneak off on this journey without telling her?
“After all these things,” the story begins. After God’s promises, after Sarah sacrifices Hagar to her fears about the future, after Hagar and Ishmael almost die, after Isaac is finally born, you would think this family might get a rest. But now God has a test for Abraham.
Scholar Terence Fretheim notes that this command from God parallels Abraham’s original call. “They are similar in vocabulary (“take, go” to a “place that I shall show you”) and in Abraham’s silent response. Both are ventures in faith; Abraham begins and ends his journey by heeding the divine command. The former cuts Abraham off from his past, the latter threatens to cut him off from his future.” He also observes that God and Abraham know each other well by now, and “this text presupposes familiar mutual trust built over considerable experience together. For Abraham, the God who commands has filled his life with promises. He has seen that God has his best interests at heart. He has no reason to mistrust the God from whom this word comes, however harsh it may seem to be.”
The late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks points out that “Throughout Tanach, the gravest sin is child sacrifice. The Torah and the prophets consistently regard it with horror. It is what pagans do.” He adds that the scriptures establish that “all things belong to God, and we must acknowledge this before we make use of anything. That is what a blessing is: acknowledging that all we enjoy is from God…The key narratives of the Torah are there to teach us that God is the ultimate owner of all…We do not own our children. God does. We are merely their guardians on God’s behalf.” For Rabbi Sacks, this is the lesson that Abraham needs to learn — parents are the protectors of their children.
Rabbi Sacks adds, “That is what the angel means when it calls to Abraham, telling him to stop, “You have not withheld from Me your son, your only son.”
Is this story a lesson that Isaac — and all our children — ultimately belong to God?
If so, are we failing the test God poses to Abraham?
In the US, we practice child sacrifice on a widespread basis. Migrant children make popular food products, working in plain sight on production lines that make Cheerios, Fruit Loops, granola bars and other products we enjoy. These children “who have been coming into the United States without their parents in record numbers, are ending up in some of the most punishing jobs in the country, a New York Times investigation found. This shadow work force extends across industries in every state, flouting child labor laws that have been in place for nearly a century. Twelve-year-old roofers in Florida and Tennessee. Underage slaughterhouse workers in Delaware, Mississippi and North Carolina. Children sawing planks of wood on overnight shifts in South Dakota.”
As we’ve noted here before, firearms are now the leading cause of death for children in the US. As a nation, gun rights trump children’s lives.
Political posturing also wins out over children, as we mark the one year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, ending federal protections for reproductive rights. Law professor Naomi Cahn has studied this issue extensively, and she notes that “states taking the strictest stands against abortion tend to have among the worst statistics on child and family well-being in the nation.” Her research shows that “in 2019, Mississippi had the highest rate of unintended pregnancy…By contrast, Vermont had the nation’s lowest rate of unintended pregnancy in 2019, with just 20% of women who recently had a child saying they would have preferred not to get pregnant or wanted to do so at some point in the future…Mississippi also has the highest infant mortality rate in the country. Five of the other nine states with the highest infant mortality also have abortion bans.”
The states with abortion bans correlate with states that are failing to protect children. “Mississippi has the highest rate of child poverty in the country. Six of the other 10 states with the country’s highest child poverty levels also have abortion bans in effect: Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Mississippi also had the highest teen birth rate in the country, and eight of the other nine states with the highest teen birth rates also ban abortions or have a ban blocked. In all 10 states with the lowest teen birth rates, abortion is legal and likely to be protected for the foreseeable future.” Anti-abortion laws are not helping children thrive.
If we are tested in the same way as Abraham was, we are surely failing. If we saw the children in our midst as belonging to God, we would work much harder to ensure their health and safety. In the face of the child sacrifice in our world, our silence is deafening, too.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean Feldmeyer
Human Sacrifice
The story of the binding of Isaac is told in Genesis with all of its complex and subtle psychological nuances left unexplored. One thing that cannot be denied and must be confronted, however, is our own angry indignation at Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his child, even as we offer our own children up to other, lesser gods.
Lives Sacrificed For What?
According to The New York Times reporting on June 22, pieces of the missing Titan vessel were found on the ocean floor, about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic, the Coast Guard said. Ocean Gate Expeditions, the vessel’s operator, said, “Our hearts are with these five souls.”
The US Coast Guard said parts of the Titan submersible found on the ocean floor indicate a “catastrophic implosion” of the vessel.
The five people aboard the submersible that went missing on Sunday were presumed dead on Thursday, after an international search that gripped much of the world found debris from the vessel near the wreckage of the Titanic. A US Coast Guard official said the debris was “consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel.”
Monday morning quarterbacking piled on almost immediately after the announcement with everyone from movie directors to amateur scuba divers weighing in alongside NASA and NOAA scientists. Regardless of where the blame ultimately falls, however, none can but wonder for what these five lives were sacrificed.
* * *
Sacrificed in War
When we dress our children in uniforms, put guns in their hands, and send them off to war, we would do well to ask ourselves, and each other, to what gods they are being sacrificed.
The American Civil War is the conflict with the largest number of American military fatalities in history. In fact, the Civil War's death toll is comparable to all other major wars combined, the deadliest of which were the World Wars, which have a combined death toll of more than 520,000 American fatalities. The ongoing series of conflicts and interventions in the Middle East and North Africa, collectively referred to as the War on Terror in the west, has a combined death toll of more than 7,000 for the US military since 2001.
In terms of the number of deaths per day, the American Civil War is still at the top, with an average of 425 deaths per day, while the World War I and World War II have averages of roughly 100 and 200 fatalities per day, respectively. Technically, the costliest battle in US military history was the Battle of Elsenborn Ridge, which was a part of the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, and saw upward of 5,000 deaths over 10 days. However, the Battle of Gettysburg had more military fatalities of American soldiers, with almost 3,200 Union deaths and over 3,900 Confederate deaths, giving a combined total of more than 7,000. The Battle of Antietam is viewed as the bloodiest day in American military history, with over 3,600 combined fatalities.
* * *
Good for the Elites
Joseph Watts, PhD Candidate in The Evolution of Religion at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, writes in The Conversation that anthropological studies tend to support the Social Control Hypothesis, which suggests that human sacrifice was used by social elites to terrorize underclasses, punish disobedience, and display authority. This, in turn, functioned to build and maintain class systems within societies.
Using what is known about the family tree of Austronesian languages and the data he collected on 93 traditional Austronesian cultures, he and his colleagues were able to reconstruct Austronesian prehistory and test how human sacrifice and social structures co-evolved through time.
Their results showed that human sacrifice tended to come before strict class systems and helped to build them. What’s more, human sacrifice made it difficult for cultures to regain egalitarianism once it was lost.
In Austronesia, the victims of human sacrifice were often of lower status, such as slaves, and the perpetrators were of high status, such as chiefs or priests. There was a great deal of overlap between religious and political systems and in many cases the chiefs and kings themselves were believed to be descended from the gods.
As such, the religious systems favored social elites, and those who offended them had a habit of becoming human sacrifices. Even when a broken taboo strictly required human sacrifice, there was flexibility in the system and punishment was not even-handed.
For example, in Hawaii, a person who broke a major taboo could substitute the life of a slave for their own, providing they could afford a slave. Human sacrifice could have provided a particularly effective means of social control because it provided a supernatural justification for punishment, its graphic and painful nature served as a deterrent to others, and because it demonstrated the ultimate power of elites.
The overlap between religious and secular systems in early human societies meant that religion was vulnerable to being exploited by those in power. The use of human sacrifice as a means of social control provides a grisly illustration of just how far this can go.
* * *
Hospitality
In Matthew 10:40-42 the gospel writer uses the word “welcome” in one form or another seven times in just 3 verses. The pericope ends with the image of one person giving a thirsty person a cup of cold water. So, we would be justified that hospitality is a key component of Matthew’s understanding of the Gospel.
In Greece: Philoxenia
In Greece, foreigners are said to be always welcome and treated as guests of honor. They call it philoxenia, an extreme form of hospitality understood not only as a duty but as an honor and a form of care and respect for the foreign guest.
Giorgos Tsiros at the Greek tourism site, Greece-Is, says philoxenia is much deeper than a warm welcome. He refers to it as “a code of values with deep roots stretching all the way back to antiquity.” It’s driven by a mix of mythology, culture, and religion.
He also explains that the word’s meaning comes from two other Greek words: philótimo and geneodoria.
Philótimo has a deep association with honor. It’s a duty to go above and beyond for another — above professional obligation or personal feeling. It even trumps animosity. Plus, all this is done with nothing expected in return.
Geneodoria in its base meaning means “brave at giving presents.” According to Tsiros, this is demonstrated all throughout present day Greek culture, where it’s commonplace to invite strangers to dinner. Also, picking up the tab is seen as an honor.
In other words, to give — even to a stranger — is an honor, not an imposition. Both concepts make up layers of philoxenia, but there’s even more if you look toward mythology and religion.
* * *
In South Africa: Ubuntu
Nelson Mandela was a staunch supporter of an ancient philosophy and practice known as Ubuntu.
The word “Ubuntu” refers to what we could define as a life philosophy, according to which “I am what I am by virtue of what we all are.” An ideology based on loyalty and mutual relations according to which no human being can exist isolated from others, recognizing the importance of interconnection.
In South Africa, but also in other African states, this philosophy is celebrated with extreme hospitality and manifestations of kindness and compassion, especially toward people of different cultural backgrounds.
* * *
In Japan: Omotenashi
In Japan, guests are considered very important and the tradition of extreme hospitality known as Omotenashi, calls all Japanese people to practice it as dedication to the guest, the desire to entertain him or her with all your heart. It can be experienced almost everywhere, not only when you are welcomed into a house, and it is expressed in various ways, for example, with bows, warm welcomes and various gestures of kindness, especially aimed at foreigners.
* * *
Being A Good Guest
Treating guests well is only half of what hospitality is all about. Real hospitality also includes the responsibilities of the guest to his/her host.
In some Asian countries, for instance, cleaning off your plate may signal to your host that they didn’t give you enough food, and they will feel compelled to refill your bowl until you are apparently satisfied. So be a good guest and leave a little on the plate. On the other hand, in South Africa it is an insult to leave food on your plate.
Religion also plays a large role in Eastern hospitality customs. Many adherents of Islam across the Middle East and other parts of the Asia-Pacific tend not to use utensils, and use only their right hand to eat and drink with, reserving the left hand for personal hygiene. Watch your host to see if this custom is upheld in their household.
Tipping is considered impolite in most of Japan, South Korea, and China. In South Africa, tipping customs are comparable to the USA.
In many Latin American countries, custom holds that by directly handing over the salt cellar to someone else, instead placing it on the table close to the person for them to pick it up, you’ll be the cause of bad luck and might greatly upset the person. Also, you should never make a toast with water, which is akin to wishing someone bad luck or even death on them.
Eastern European customs are also frequently based around drinking habits. In Georgia, for example, wine is not to be sipped. Rather, it is consumed only as a toast at the end of the meal when it is downed in one go — fortunately it is usually only a small glass.
Guests in Russia are typically welcomed with a shot of vodka. But, be warned. There is also the prevalent drinking game called “Man Down,” where people drink vodka until only one remains standing, and to refuse to participate can be seen as a huge insult to the host.
So, if you want to be a good guest, make sure you do your homework before you go.
* * *
Church Hospitality — It Starts on the Internet
John Greco, writing for Tithe.ly, offers that, since most people look up a church on the internet before they pay a visit, we should use these practices to make the church look attractive and hospitable on the internet even before a guest walks through the door.
Make sure your church’s website is updated, clean, and easy to navigate.
Make sure your church’s street address is prominent and easy to find so visitors can enter it into their GPS.
Include several recent sermon videos to give visitors a preview of what they can expect.
Have a page specifically for newcomers, answering frequent questions about parking, dress, children’s ministry, and other things they might want to know about.
Incorporate a contact form or include an email address — one that’s monitored! — so that any unanswered questions can be asked.
Allow visitors to check in online ahead of time. They may not feel like total strangers if they’re expected.
* * * * * *
From team member Chris Keating:
Genesis 22:1-14
Take Your Son
The late Lord Rabbi of England, Jonathan Sacks, offered an intriguing interpretation of the story of the binding of Isaac. Sacks acknowledges the traditional interpretations suggest that it is a story of God’s testing of Abraham, but suggests that the story primarily serves as a polemic against child sacrifice. “To understand the Binding of Isaac we have to realise that much of the Torah, Genesis in particular, is a polemic against worldviews the Torah considers pagan, inhuman and wrong,” Sacks wrote. If so, then there are many ways this gruesome story still speaks to our tendencies of sacrificing, or at least deeply traumatizing children.
For example, we know that firearm injuries have now surpassed motor vehicle injuries as the leading cause of death to children. New research adds an additional wrinkle to this difficult statistic. University of Missouri Medical School researchers analyzed data from children presented to St. Louis Children’s Hospital with gunshot wounds from 2014-2017. They found that 72 percent of the children were shot while outdoors by an unknown assailant whose motives were unknown at least 93 percent of the time. “This research shows that in most cases children who are shot may not have been the intended target and that the victim and shooter are unknown to each other,” noted lead researcher Mary Bernardin, MD.
* * *
Matthew 10:40-42
Radical Hospitality
In honor of last week’s World Refugee Day (June 20), the United Nations’ Refugee agency asked the mayors of four US cities to reflect on the ways their cities have welcomed refugees, and the impacts that hospitality. Mayor Bruce Harrell of Seattle noted that a day does not go by where he has not seen the positive impact refugees have made in Seattle. Harrell noted:
We welcome immigrants and refugees from other countries because they make us better. They bring knowledge, work ethic, culture, food, and excitement. They make us better, and they bring out the best in us. Cities have a role to sort of set the rhythm, the culture, and the policies using federal investments or state investments in a localized manner to make sure they become welcoming.
Phoenix, AZ, mayor Kate Gallego said that several key Phoenix landmarks have been designed to be a former refugee. “Refugees have literally changed the skyline of the city of Phoenix,” she said.
In an article posted on Time’s website last week, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Accenture CEO Julie Sweet call the global movement of more than 110 million refugees one of the “defining challenges of our time.” They note that the passion of Americans and several policy initiatives have made significant impacts in the country’s response to this global crisis.
Pichai and Sweet pointed to the enthusiastic efforts being made to welcome refugees, while also calling on Americans to keep up the effort. Welcome.US offers practical ways for individuals and groups to extend hospitality to refugees. It is a national initiative designed to build bridges between communities and refugees, offering support, inspiration, and assistance in helping refugees thrive. Welcome.US is making it easier and safer for Americans of all walks of life to participate in welcoming
* * *
Matthew 10:40-42
Welcoming All of God’s Children
Congregations are clamoring for the presence and participation of children — or at least some children. Studies show that children with autism or autism spectrum disorders are twice as likely to not attend worship or religious activities as neurotypical children. Clemson University sociologist Andrew Whitehead notes that “in many ways, this population is unseen because they never show up, or when they do, they have a negative experience and never return.”
Church researchers note that like many other signs of church culture, the signs of unwelcome are often subtle. One mother who stopped attending church reflected that “there was a group of women that would stare… I didn’t see anybody who even looks friendly at church…if you are in church and your kid makes noise, the first three rows in front of you turn and look.”
Whitehead notes some of the barriers to inclusion include: architectural, liturgical (are rituals adjusted to meet individual needs?), communication (including adjustments to sounds, lights, and visuals for persons with special needs), programmatic responses, and lingering beliefs, attitudes, and prejudice toward disabled people.
* * * * * *
From team member Quantisha Mason-Doll:
Matthew 10:40-42
Welcome Home
It was a rainy Korean January in 2013 and I was a nervous twenty-three-year-old who missed home deeply. A young adult from youth group invited me to spend Seollal (Korean New Year) with her and her family. As stated, I was nervous given Seollal is the most important traditional holiday; a time for family visits, performing ancestral rites, and rituals of filial piety. Foreign customs in a foreign land where I am the foreigner. Suffice to say I feared ruining this holy time and I missed my own family. The day comes and the whole bus ride I practiced my Korean so I would not make a mistake introducing myself to the patriarch. By the time I make it to my friend’s house and work up the courage to knock on the door I have worked myself up into a frenzy. The weight of my foreignness threatened to pull me into full on despair. My friend’s father opens the door and I quickly bow to hide my tears and run through my well-practiced introduction. I was greeted with silence. I risked looking up and was greeted with the warmest smile and a simple welcome home. Later that week when he was asked why there was a foreigner in his home during Seollal he simply replied: “Oh, Tisha? She is my daughter who has finally come home.” Radical welcome in the name of our Lord and Savior looks like welcoming the foreigner into your home and when challenged you look them in the eyes and claim the stranger as you kin.
* * *
Romans 6:12-23
Sweet Joy
To no longer be a slave to sin is nothing but sweet joy. Okay, we have been set free, now what do we? It is a lot to live up to. Eternal life is a massive gift so what is the catch? No one can argue with the fact that sin is not always a tangible thing that can be avoided. We can’t live in fear. The liberation that comes with the gift of eternal life comes with no strings attached, yet, of course, it is hard to believe. Humanity is broken. We hate, we fear, and we seek only for ourselves, yet God’s gift is still on offer. We all try to do good but in trying to do good we might hang in too tight. We all need to root for each other to survive. Seek sweet joy.
* * * * * *
From team member Katy Stenta:
Genesis 22:1-14
Love Not Sacrifice
There are many theories about why Abraham takes Isaac: He was old, the test was that he did not understand that this God did not require sacrifice, Abraham was the victim of abuse so this command made sense to him. Whatever the reason, this is the last time God is noted to talk to Abraham in the Bible. I think of how many times we think God is calling us to work and sacrifice, and we are mistaken. I think of Shiny Happy People and how terrible that call was, and how the women were sacrificed, almost slaughtered, for God, with no pay or recognition, to no avail. I think of how many pastor’s salaries are cut in favor of keeping the church building open, because the literal altar of the building structure is deemed more important than the work of the people. I think of all of the times we call on individuals to sacrifice themselves: Their time, their energy, or their identity for the church, when here is the example where God provides and says the hand of sacrifice, and calls for love instead.
* * *
Matthew 10:40-42
My child Westley went through a phase where he thought every single cup on the planet belonged to him! He has autism and is sensory seeking. When he was in preschool he loved nothing more than to explore your drink — be it soda, water, coffee or juice, Westley was ready to partake of your unknown hospitality. He would gulp it enthusiastically and exclaim “MMMM” afterward. There was no faster way to win my child’s love than to offer him a sip of whatever you were drinking. This hospitality went far to delight his senses, and to show the love of Christ.
* * *
Jeremiah 28:5-9
Can we Believe in Peace?
What kind of prophet is able to warn about peace? After so many years of being war-torn, are we able to even recognize the signs of peace when they are on their way? Have we been at war for so long that we do not know what peace is to look like? Do we need big warning signs? Warning: peace is coming. Be on the look-out. Peace will catch you unawares. You will not know how to process or handle it. It reminds me of when you are so busy, you forget how to rest, play or have free time. You have trouble processing it — a very American problem. I bet peace is the same way. The world has never been at peace, I bet we would have trouble processing it. WARNING, Peace, it will be hard to recognize, be on the lookout for when it arrives.
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship
One: How long, O God? Will we be forgotten forever?
All: How long must we have sorrow in our hearts?
One: Though our foes rejoice because we are shaken,
All: Yet we will trust in your steadfast love.
One: Our hearts shall rejoice in your salvation.
All: We will sing to God who has dealt bountifully with us.
OR
One: Let us sing of the steadfast love of our God.
All: Forever shall we proclaim God’s faithfulness.
One: Your faithfulness, O God, is as firm as the heavens.
All: Your covenant you have made with us.
One: Happy are those who walk in the light of God’s countenance.
All: They shall exult in God’s name all day long.
OR
One: Come let us praise the God who welcomes us home.
All: We enter into worship of our faithful God.
One: The God who has been with us since creation is here.
All: We bring our praise and offer ourselves to God.
One: God who welcomes us welcomes all.
All: With God we welcome all to join us in God’s realm.
Hymns and Songs
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
UMH: 140
GTG: 39
AAHH: 158
NNBH: 45
NCH: 423
CH: 86
ELW: 733
W&P: 72
AMEC: 84
Renew: 249
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
UMH: 133
GTG: 837
AAHH: 371
NNBH: 262
NCH: 471
CH: 560
ELW: 774
W&P: 496
AMEC: 525
All My Hope Is Firmly Grounded
UMH: 132
H82: 665
NCH: 408
CH: 88
ELW: 757
O Jesus, I Have Promised
UMH: 396
H82: 655
PH: 388/389
GTG: 724/725
NCH: 493
CH: 612
LBW: 503
ELW: 810
W&P: 458
AMEC: 280
Take My Life, and Let It Be
UMH: 399
H82: 707
PH: 391
GTG: 697
NNBH: 213
NCH: 448
CH: 609
LBW: 406
ELW: 583/685
W&P: 466
AMEC: 292
Renew: 150
This Is My Song
UMH: 437
GTG: 340
NCH: 591
CH: 722
ELW: 887
STLT 159
In Christ There Is No East or West
UMH: 548
H82: 529
PH: 439/440
GTG: 317/318
AAHH: 398/399
NNBH: 299
NCH: 394/395
CH: 687
LBW: 259
ELW: 650
W&P: 600/603
AMEC: 557
Where Charity and Love Prevail
UMH: 549
H82: 581
GTG: 316
NCH: 396
LBW: 126
ELW: 359
Help Us Accept Each Other
UMH: 560
PH: 358
GTG: 754
NCH: 388
CH: 487
W&P: 596
AMEC: 558
Let Us Break Bread Together on Our Knees
UMH: 618
H82: 325
PH: 513
GTG: 525
AAHH: 686
NNBH: 358
NCH: 330
CH: 425
LBW: 212
ELW: 471
W&P: 699
AMEC: 530
STLT 406
CCB: 46
Behold, What Manner of Love
CCB: 44
Fill My Cup, Lord
CCB: 47
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who is ever faithful to your creation:
Grant us the grace to be faithful to you and to one another
as we open our hearts to all your children;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God of faithfulness. Help us to be faithful to you and to one another. Open our hearts to all your children that we might truly reflect your love. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially failure to be faithful and hospitable servants of the Christ.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have failed to be your faithful people. We have failed you and we have failed one another. We have not reflected your welcoming love and grace. Forgive us and renew your Spirit within us that we might live into your image. Amen.
One: God is faithful and gracious. Receive God’s welcome into the arms of grace and share God’s love with all.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory to you, O God. We worship and adore you. You are the one who welcomes your children into your gracious presence.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have failed to be your faithful people. We have failed you and we have failed one another. We have not reflected your welcoming love and grace. Forgive us and renew your Spirit within us that we might live into your image.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you have been faithful to us and to your creation. You have filled all you made with your Spirit. Your presence is with us always. You have blessed us with prophets and psalmists who have given us your guidance. You have sent your Word to us in the coming of the Christ. We thank you for your faithfulness.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children in their need. We pray for those who have found life to be less than faithful. We pray for those who feel let down by life, by society, by friends, or by family. We pray for those whose bodies are not supporting their desire for life.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
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CHILDREN'S SERMON
Little Ones
by Tom Willadsen
Matthew 10:40-42
After the little ones gather up front, ask them:
What do you think of when you hear “little ones?”
In the Bible reading today, Jesus referred to “little ones,” who do you think he was talking about?
Was he talking about young people like you?
Maybe he was talking about short people?
Jesus said just giving a cup of water to a little one is a very, very good thing.
If Jesus meant little ones are children, at what age do you stop being a little one? Is it when you start middle school? When you’re too old to come forward for children’s time? When you can make your own breakfast? When you can be left home without an adult?
Maybe Jesus meant “little ones” literally, in terms of size. Do you stop being a little one when you’re five feet tall? When you stop growing? What if you don’t grow very tall? My grandmother never reached five feet tall, would she be one of Jesus’ little ones her whole life?
Look at all the people who are at church today. Really, look around at them. And all of you who are out there, look around.
Do you know that everyone you look at, everyone you have ever seen in your whole life is precious to God?
Sometimes when we’re at church we call people “children of God.” Have you ever stopped to think about that? We are ALL children of God! Even the oldest person here, maybe your grandmother or great-grandfather, the oldest person you know, is a child of God, just like you are.
Compared to God, we’re all little babies. Every one of us is a little one. And Jesus says being kind to a little one is a very, very good thing. So, think about that: Any time you do something kind to another person, no matter how big or old, you’re doing what Jesus wants you to do! We’re all little ones and Jesus loved and cares for all of us!
Will you pray with me?
Thank you, Jesus, for caring for me, and for everyone. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, July 2, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2023 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
- People of Welcome by Elena Delhagen based on Matthew 10:40-42.
- Second Thoughts: Too Quiet by Mary Austin based on Genesis 22:1-14.
- Sermon illustrations by Dean Feldmeyer, Chris Keating, Quantisha Mason-Doll, Katy Stenta.
- Worship resources by George Reed.
- Children's sermon: Little Ones by Tom Willadsen based on Matthew 10:40-42.
People of Welcome
by Elena Delhagen
Matthew 10:40-42
In the gospel text of the lectionary, Jesus teaches us about welcome — what it’s meant to look like and, even more, how it’s rewarded. The whole of scripture is full of exhortations for God’s people to be people of welcome; what does that look like in today’s world?
The Capital Region of New York State recently received buses of immigrants arriving from New York City amidst an influx of asylum-seekers the city says it’s unable to house and care for. When Jesus called his disciples to be a people of welcome, immigrants certainly are the sort of marginalized persons to whom he could be referring.
Interestingly, this text appears in the lectionary during the weekend in which the United States is celebrating Independence Day. Remembering that we are in fact a nation of immigrants, perhaps being people of welcome is exactly the sort of Independence Day message we ought to be proclaiming.
In the Scripture
The gospel reading comes at the end of Matthew 10, which is the second of Jesus’ major teachings after the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7. Chapters 8-9, the ones found in the middle, narrate various events in the ministry of Jesus Christ, such as healing the sick and casting out demons. At the end of chapter 9 is when we read about Jesus looking out at the crowds and having pity on them, for they were “like sheep without a shepherd” (9:36). So, what’s the solution? He sends out his disciples with power and authority to do the same works of the kingdom.
Of course, the disciples are warned that not all will receive them with open arms, and this is where we turn to the discourse about welcome. The entirety of scripture, in both Testaments, details God’s commands to people to be welcoming — of strangers, of foreigners, of the needy, and of each other. It’s important to remember that in the ancient Near East, one’s identity was inextricably linked to his or her larger community. So, when one person or community welcomed an individual with hospitality, they were really welcoming the entire community who sent that person, as well as all that community represented. Welcome broke down any walls or barriers that would normally pit the two communities against each other. Welcome was and is the way of God.
In the News
Since late 2022, states all across the nation have repeatedly welcomed migrants and asylum-seekers, many bussed by Republican governors Greg Abbott (TX) and Ron DeSantis (FL) from their states’ border towns. Major cities, even those run by Democratic mayors, have also bussed immigrants to larger, well-known sanctuary cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago.
This comes amidst record-high numbers of border crossings in 2022 and 2023. Title 42, an immigration policy that’s been around for decades but was largely implemented in the Trump era to restrict border crossings, officially ended in May of 2023. The Biden administration announced it will provide new legal paths to helping people enter the US, yet some, like immigration researcher and consultant Cris Ramón, are concerned the White House does not seem to be taking into consideration that immigration is a “hemispheric challenge.”
In the meantime, smaller cities are being tasked with welcoming bussed migrants, like Albany, New York, and the surrounding Capital Region of New York did in May of 2023. Non-profit organizations, faith communities, and altruistic citizens in these regions have banded together to provide welcome to these new neighbors in the form of housing and resources so they may obtain healthcare, jobs, and more.
In the Sermon
Of special consideration for this week’s sermon is the forthcoming US holiday, Independence Day. Yet we remember that even prior to 1776, immigrants were arriving on the shores of the new world to seek new beginnings. To quote Matthew Soerens, an immigration reformer named a Champion of Change in 2013 by then-President Barack Obama, “The United States of America is, as John F. Kennedy called it, ‘a nation of immigrants.’ Except for those of Native American ancestry, we all can trace our heritage back to somewhere else, whether our ancestors came on the Mayflower or a slave ship, into Ellis Island or Angel Island, into JFK Airport or across the Rio Grande. At its founding, America was, as our first president said, ‘open to receive not only the opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions.’ Though at various moments in our history we have not fully lived up to that standard, it remains core to our national identity.”
As Christians, being a people of welcome ought to be core to our identity, too, for we once were graciously and lovingly welcomed by the Lord our God. Let us consider the words of Jesus to his disciples when he told them that whoever welcomed them welcomed him too. Likewise, when we welcome other image-bearers, it is exactly as if we are welcoming God.
SECOND THOUGHTSToo Quiet
by Mary Austin
Genesis 22:1-14
The silences in this story are deafening.
Abraham, always so chatty with God, is quiet when God asks him to sacrifice his long-awaited son. And Sarah, who laughs at God and who blisters Hagar with her rage, is also silent, as far as we can tell. Out of sight, does she scream at Abraham? Weep loudly? Or, knowing Sarah, does Abraham sneak off on this journey without telling her?
“After all these things,” the story begins. After God’s promises, after Sarah sacrifices Hagar to her fears about the future, after Hagar and Ishmael almost die, after Isaac is finally born, you would think this family might get a rest. But now God has a test for Abraham.
Scholar Terence Fretheim notes that this command from God parallels Abraham’s original call. “They are similar in vocabulary (“take, go” to a “place that I shall show you”) and in Abraham’s silent response. Both are ventures in faith; Abraham begins and ends his journey by heeding the divine command. The former cuts Abraham off from his past, the latter threatens to cut him off from his future.” He also observes that God and Abraham know each other well by now, and “this text presupposes familiar mutual trust built over considerable experience together. For Abraham, the God who commands has filled his life with promises. He has seen that God has his best interests at heart. He has no reason to mistrust the God from whom this word comes, however harsh it may seem to be.”
The late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks points out that “Throughout Tanach, the gravest sin is child sacrifice. The Torah and the prophets consistently regard it with horror. It is what pagans do.” He adds that the scriptures establish that “all things belong to God, and we must acknowledge this before we make use of anything. That is what a blessing is: acknowledging that all we enjoy is from God…The key narratives of the Torah are there to teach us that God is the ultimate owner of all…We do not own our children. God does. We are merely their guardians on God’s behalf.” For Rabbi Sacks, this is the lesson that Abraham needs to learn — parents are the protectors of their children.
Rabbi Sacks adds, “That is what the angel means when it calls to Abraham, telling him to stop, “You have not withheld from Me your son, your only son.”
Is this story a lesson that Isaac — and all our children — ultimately belong to God?
If so, are we failing the test God poses to Abraham?
In the US, we practice child sacrifice on a widespread basis. Migrant children make popular food products, working in plain sight on production lines that make Cheerios, Fruit Loops, granola bars and other products we enjoy. These children “who have been coming into the United States without their parents in record numbers, are ending up in some of the most punishing jobs in the country, a New York Times investigation found. This shadow work force extends across industries in every state, flouting child labor laws that have been in place for nearly a century. Twelve-year-old roofers in Florida and Tennessee. Underage slaughterhouse workers in Delaware, Mississippi and North Carolina. Children sawing planks of wood on overnight shifts in South Dakota.”
As we’ve noted here before, firearms are now the leading cause of death for children in the US. As a nation, gun rights trump children’s lives.
Political posturing also wins out over children, as we mark the one year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, ending federal protections for reproductive rights. Law professor Naomi Cahn has studied this issue extensively, and she notes that “states taking the strictest stands against abortion tend to have among the worst statistics on child and family well-being in the nation.” Her research shows that “in 2019, Mississippi had the highest rate of unintended pregnancy…By contrast, Vermont had the nation’s lowest rate of unintended pregnancy in 2019, with just 20% of women who recently had a child saying they would have preferred not to get pregnant or wanted to do so at some point in the future…Mississippi also has the highest infant mortality rate in the country. Five of the other nine states with the highest infant mortality also have abortion bans.”
The states with abortion bans correlate with states that are failing to protect children. “Mississippi has the highest rate of child poverty in the country. Six of the other 10 states with the country’s highest child poverty levels also have abortion bans in effect: Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Mississippi also had the highest teen birth rate in the country, and eight of the other nine states with the highest teen birth rates also ban abortions or have a ban blocked. In all 10 states with the lowest teen birth rates, abortion is legal and likely to be protected for the foreseeable future.” Anti-abortion laws are not helping children thrive.
If we are tested in the same way as Abraham was, we are surely failing. If we saw the children in our midst as belonging to God, we would work much harder to ensure their health and safety. In the face of the child sacrifice in our world, our silence is deafening, too.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Dean FeldmeyerHuman Sacrifice
The story of the binding of Isaac is told in Genesis with all of its complex and subtle psychological nuances left unexplored. One thing that cannot be denied and must be confronted, however, is our own angry indignation at Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his child, even as we offer our own children up to other, lesser gods.
Lives Sacrificed For What?
According to The New York Times reporting on June 22, pieces of the missing Titan vessel were found on the ocean floor, about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic, the Coast Guard said. Ocean Gate Expeditions, the vessel’s operator, said, “Our hearts are with these five souls.”
The US Coast Guard said parts of the Titan submersible found on the ocean floor indicate a “catastrophic implosion” of the vessel.
The five people aboard the submersible that went missing on Sunday were presumed dead on Thursday, after an international search that gripped much of the world found debris from the vessel near the wreckage of the Titanic. A US Coast Guard official said the debris was “consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel.”
Monday morning quarterbacking piled on almost immediately after the announcement with everyone from movie directors to amateur scuba divers weighing in alongside NASA and NOAA scientists. Regardless of where the blame ultimately falls, however, none can but wonder for what these five lives were sacrificed.
* * *
Sacrificed in War
When we dress our children in uniforms, put guns in their hands, and send them off to war, we would do well to ask ourselves, and each other, to what gods they are being sacrificed.
The American Civil War is the conflict with the largest number of American military fatalities in history. In fact, the Civil War's death toll is comparable to all other major wars combined, the deadliest of which were the World Wars, which have a combined death toll of more than 520,000 American fatalities. The ongoing series of conflicts and interventions in the Middle East and North Africa, collectively referred to as the War on Terror in the west, has a combined death toll of more than 7,000 for the US military since 2001.
In terms of the number of deaths per day, the American Civil War is still at the top, with an average of 425 deaths per day, while the World War I and World War II have averages of roughly 100 and 200 fatalities per day, respectively. Technically, the costliest battle in US military history was the Battle of Elsenborn Ridge, which was a part of the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, and saw upward of 5,000 deaths over 10 days. However, the Battle of Gettysburg had more military fatalities of American soldiers, with almost 3,200 Union deaths and over 3,900 Confederate deaths, giving a combined total of more than 7,000. The Battle of Antietam is viewed as the bloodiest day in American military history, with over 3,600 combined fatalities.
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Good for the Elites
Joseph Watts, PhD Candidate in The Evolution of Religion at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, writes in The Conversation that anthropological studies tend to support the Social Control Hypothesis, which suggests that human sacrifice was used by social elites to terrorize underclasses, punish disobedience, and display authority. This, in turn, functioned to build and maintain class systems within societies.
Using what is known about the family tree of Austronesian languages and the data he collected on 93 traditional Austronesian cultures, he and his colleagues were able to reconstruct Austronesian prehistory and test how human sacrifice and social structures co-evolved through time.
Their results showed that human sacrifice tended to come before strict class systems and helped to build them. What’s more, human sacrifice made it difficult for cultures to regain egalitarianism once it was lost.
In Austronesia, the victims of human sacrifice were often of lower status, such as slaves, and the perpetrators were of high status, such as chiefs or priests. There was a great deal of overlap between religious and political systems and in many cases the chiefs and kings themselves were believed to be descended from the gods.
As such, the religious systems favored social elites, and those who offended them had a habit of becoming human sacrifices. Even when a broken taboo strictly required human sacrifice, there was flexibility in the system and punishment was not even-handed.
For example, in Hawaii, a person who broke a major taboo could substitute the life of a slave for their own, providing they could afford a slave. Human sacrifice could have provided a particularly effective means of social control because it provided a supernatural justification for punishment, its graphic and painful nature served as a deterrent to others, and because it demonstrated the ultimate power of elites.
The overlap between religious and secular systems in early human societies meant that religion was vulnerable to being exploited by those in power. The use of human sacrifice as a means of social control provides a grisly illustration of just how far this can go.
* * *
Hospitality
In Matthew 10:40-42 the gospel writer uses the word “welcome” in one form or another seven times in just 3 verses. The pericope ends with the image of one person giving a thirsty person a cup of cold water. So, we would be justified that hospitality is a key component of Matthew’s understanding of the Gospel.
In Greece: Philoxenia
In Greece, foreigners are said to be always welcome and treated as guests of honor. They call it philoxenia, an extreme form of hospitality understood not only as a duty but as an honor and a form of care and respect for the foreign guest.
Giorgos Tsiros at the Greek tourism site, Greece-Is, says philoxenia is much deeper than a warm welcome. He refers to it as “a code of values with deep roots stretching all the way back to antiquity.” It’s driven by a mix of mythology, culture, and religion.
He also explains that the word’s meaning comes from two other Greek words: philótimo and geneodoria.
Philótimo has a deep association with honor. It’s a duty to go above and beyond for another — above professional obligation or personal feeling. It even trumps animosity. Plus, all this is done with nothing expected in return.
Geneodoria in its base meaning means “brave at giving presents.” According to Tsiros, this is demonstrated all throughout present day Greek culture, where it’s commonplace to invite strangers to dinner. Also, picking up the tab is seen as an honor.
In other words, to give — even to a stranger — is an honor, not an imposition. Both concepts make up layers of philoxenia, but there’s even more if you look toward mythology and religion.
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In South Africa: Ubuntu
Nelson Mandela was a staunch supporter of an ancient philosophy and practice known as Ubuntu.
The word “Ubuntu” refers to what we could define as a life philosophy, according to which “I am what I am by virtue of what we all are.” An ideology based on loyalty and mutual relations according to which no human being can exist isolated from others, recognizing the importance of interconnection.
In South Africa, but also in other African states, this philosophy is celebrated with extreme hospitality and manifestations of kindness and compassion, especially toward people of different cultural backgrounds.
* * *
In Japan: Omotenashi
In Japan, guests are considered very important and the tradition of extreme hospitality known as Omotenashi, calls all Japanese people to practice it as dedication to the guest, the desire to entertain him or her with all your heart. It can be experienced almost everywhere, not only when you are welcomed into a house, and it is expressed in various ways, for example, with bows, warm welcomes and various gestures of kindness, especially aimed at foreigners.
* * *
Being A Good Guest
Treating guests well is only half of what hospitality is all about. Real hospitality also includes the responsibilities of the guest to his/her host.
In some Asian countries, for instance, cleaning off your plate may signal to your host that they didn’t give you enough food, and they will feel compelled to refill your bowl until you are apparently satisfied. So be a good guest and leave a little on the plate. On the other hand, in South Africa it is an insult to leave food on your plate.
Religion also plays a large role in Eastern hospitality customs. Many adherents of Islam across the Middle East and other parts of the Asia-Pacific tend not to use utensils, and use only their right hand to eat and drink with, reserving the left hand for personal hygiene. Watch your host to see if this custom is upheld in their household.
Tipping is considered impolite in most of Japan, South Korea, and China. In South Africa, tipping customs are comparable to the USA.
In many Latin American countries, custom holds that by directly handing over the salt cellar to someone else, instead placing it on the table close to the person for them to pick it up, you’ll be the cause of bad luck and might greatly upset the person. Also, you should never make a toast with water, which is akin to wishing someone bad luck or even death on them.
Eastern European customs are also frequently based around drinking habits. In Georgia, for example, wine is not to be sipped. Rather, it is consumed only as a toast at the end of the meal when it is downed in one go — fortunately it is usually only a small glass.
Guests in Russia are typically welcomed with a shot of vodka. But, be warned. There is also the prevalent drinking game called “Man Down,” where people drink vodka until only one remains standing, and to refuse to participate can be seen as a huge insult to the host.
So, if you want to be a good guest, make sure you do your homework before you go.
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Church Hospitality — It Starts on the Internet
John Greco, writing for Tithe.ly, offers that, since most people look up a church on the internet before they pay a visit, we should use these practices to make the church look attractive and hospitable on the internet even before a guest walks through the door.
Make sure your church’s website is updated, clean, and easy to navigate.
Make sure your church’s street address is prominent and easy to find so visitors can enter it into their GPS.
Include several recent sermon videos to give visitors a preview of what they can expect.
Have a page specifically for newcomers, answering frequent questions about parking, dress, children’s ministry, and other things they might want to know about.
Incorporate a contact form or include an email address — one that’s monitored! — so that any unanswered questions can be asked.
Allow visitors to check in online ahead of time. They may not feel like total strangers if they’re expected.
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From team member Chris Keating:Genesis 22:1-14
Take Your Son
The late Lord Rabbi of England, Jonathan Sacks, offered an intriguing interpretation of the story of the binding of Isaac. Sacks acknowledges the traditional interpretations suggest that it is a story of God’s testing of Abraham, but suggests that the story primarily serves as a polemic against child sacrifice. “To understand the Binding of Isaac we have to realise that much of the Torah, Genesis in particular, is a polemic against worldviews the Torah considers pagan, inhuman and wrong,” Sacks wrote. If so, then there are many ways this gruesome story still speaks to our tendencies of sacrificing, or at least deeply traumatizing children.
For example, we know that firearm injuries have now surpassed motor vehicle injuries as the leading cause of death to children. New research adds an additional wrinkle to this difficult statistic. University of Missouri Medical School researchers analyzed data from children presented to St. Louis Children’s Hospital with gunshot wounds from 2014-2017. They found that 72 percent of the children were shot while outdoors by an unknown assailant whose motives were unknown at least 93 percent of the time. “This research shows that in most cases children who are shot may not have been the intended target and that the victim and shooter are unknown to each other,” noted lead researcher Mary Bernardin, MD.
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Matthew 10:40-42
Radical Hospitality
In honor of last week’s World Refugee Day (June 20), the United Nations’ Refugee agency asked the mayors of four US cities to reflect on the ways their cities have welcomed refugees, and the impacts that hospitality. Mayor Bruce Harrell of Seattle noted that a day does not go by where he has not seen the positive impact refugees have made in Seattle. Harrell noted:
We welcome immigrants and refugees from other countries because they make us better. They bring knowledge, work ethic, culture, food, and excitement. They make us better, and they bring out the best in us. Cities have a role to sort of set the rhythm, the culture, and the policies using federal investments or state investments in a localized manner to make sure they become welcoming.
Phoenix, AZ, mayor Kate Gallego said that several key Phoenix landmarks have been designed to be a former refugee. “Refugees have literally changed the skyline of the city of Phoenix,” she said.
In an article posted on Time’s website last week, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Accenture CEO Julie Sweet call the global movement of more than 110 million refugees one of the “defining challenges of our time.” They note that the passion of Americans and several policy initiatives have made significant impacts in the country’s response to this global crisis.
Pichai and Sweet pointed to the enthusiastic efforts being made to welcome refugees, while also calling on Americans to keep up the effort. Welcome.US offers practical ways for individuals and groups to extend hospitality to refugees. It is a national initiative designed to build bridges between communities and refugees, offering support, inspiration, and assistance in helping refugees thrive. Welcome.US is making it easier and safer for Americans of all walks of life to participate in welcoming
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Matthew 10:40-42
Welcoming All of God’s Children
Congregations are clamoring for the presence and participation of children — or at least some children. Studies show that children with autism or autism spectrum disorders are twice as likely to not attend worship or religious activities as neurotypical children. Clemson University sociologist Andrew Whitehead notes that “in many ways, this population is unseen because they never show up, or when they do, they have a negative experience and never return.”
Church researchers note that like many other signs of church culture, the signs of unwelcome are often subtle. One mother who stopped attending church reflected that “there was a group of women that would stare… I didn’t see anybody who even looks friendly at church…if you are in church and your kid makes noise, the first three rows in front of you turn and look.”
Whitehead notes some of the barriers to inclusion include: architectural, liturgical (are rituals adjusted to meet individual needs?), communication (including adjustments to sounds, lights, and visuals for persons with special needs), programmatic responses, and lingering beliefs, attitudes, and prejudice toward disabled people.
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From team member Quantisha Mason-Doll:Matthew 10:40-42
Welcome Home
It was a rainy Korean January in 2013 and I was a nervous twenty-three-year-old who missed home deeply. A young adult from youth group invited me to spend Seollal (Korean New Year) with her and her family. As stated, I was nervous given Seollal is the most important traditional holiday; a time for family visits, performing ancestral rites, and rituals of filial piety. Foreign customs in a foreign land where I am the foreigner. Suffice to say I feared ruining this holy time and I missed my own family. The day comes and the whole bus ride I practiced my Korean so I would not make a mistake introducing myself to the patriarch. By the time I make it to my friend’s house and work up the courage to knock on the door I have worked myself up into a frenzy. The weight of my foreignness threatened to pull me into full on despair. My friend’s father opens the door and I quickly bow to hide my tears and run through my well-practiced introduction. I was greeted with silence. I risked looking up and was greeted with the warmest smile and a simple welcome home. Later that week when he was asked why there was a foreigner in his home during Seollal he simply replied: “Oh, Tisha? She is my daughter who has finally come home.” Radical welcome in the name of our Lord and Savior looks like welcoming the foreigner into your home and when challenged you look them in the eyes and claim the stranger as you kin.
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Romans 6:12-23
Sweet Joy
To no longer be a slave to sin is nothing but sweet joy. Okay, we have been set free, now what do we? It is a lot to live up to. Eternal life is a massive gift so what is the catch? No one can argue with the fact that sin is not always a tangible thing that can be avoided. We can’t live in fear. The liberation that comes with the gift of eternal life comes with no strings attached, yet, of course, it is hard to believe. Humanity is broken. We hate, we fear, and we seek only for ourselves, yet God’s gift is still on offer. We all try to do good but in trying to do good we might hang in too tight. We all need to root for each other to survive. Seek sweet joy.
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From team member Katy Stenta:Genesis 22:1-14
Love Not Sacrifice
There are many theories about why Abraham takes Isaac: He was old, the test was that he did not understand that this God did not require sacrifice, Abraham was the victim of abuse so this command made sense to him. Whatever the reason, this is the last time God is noted to talk to Abraham in the Bible. I think of how many times we think God is calling us to work and sacrifice, and we are mistaken. I think of Shiny Happy People and how terrible that call was, and how the women were sacrificed, almost slaughtered, for God, with no pay or recognition, to no avail. I think of how many pastor’s salaries are cut in favor of keeping the church building open, because the literal altar of the building structure is deemed more important than the work of the people. I think of all of the times we call on individuals to sacrifice themselves: Their time, their energy, or their identity for the church, when here is the example where God provides and says the hand of sacrifice, and calls for love instead.
* * *
Matthew 10:40-42
My child Westley went through a phase where he thought every single cup on the planet belonged to him! He has autism and is sensory seeking. When he was in preschool he loved nothing more than to explore your drink — be it soda, water, coffee or juice, Westley was ready to partake of your unknown hospitality. He would gulp it enthusiastically and exclaim “MMMM” afterward. There was no faster way to win my child’s love than to offer him a sip of whatever you were drinking. This hospitality went far to delight his senses, and to show the love of Christ.
* * *
Jeremiah 28:5-9
Can we Believe in Peace?
What kind of prophet is able to warn about peace? After so many years of being war-torn, are we able to even recognize the signs of peace when they are on their way? Have we been at war for so long that we do not know what peace is to look like? Do we need big warning signs? Warning: peace is coming. Be on the look-out. Peace will catch you unawares. You will not know how to process or handle it. It reminds me of when you are so busy, you forget how to rest, play or have free time. You have trouble processing it — a very American problem. I bet peace is the same way. The world has never been at peace, I bet we would have trouble processing it. WARNING, Peace, it will be hard to recognize, be on the lookout for when it arrives.
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WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship
One: How long, O God? Will we be forgotten forever?
All: How long must we have sorrow in our hearts?
One: Though our foes rejoice because we are shaken,
All: Yet we will trust in your steadfast love.
One: Our hearts shall rejoice in your salvation.
All: We will sing to God who has dealt bountifully with us.
OR
One: Let us sing of the steadfast love of our God.
All: Forever shall we proclaim God’s faithfulness.
One: Your faithfulness, O God, is as firm as the heavens.
All: Your covenant you have made with us.
One: Happy are those who walk in the light of God’s countenance.
All: They shall exult in God’s name all day long.
OR
One: Come let us praise the God who welcomes us home.
All: We enter into worship of our faithful God.
One: The God who has been with us since creation is here.
All: We bring our praise and offer ourselves to God.
One: God who welcomes us welcomes all.
All: With God we welcome all to join us in God’s realm.
Hymns and Songs
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
UMH: 140
GTG: 39
AAHH: 158
NNBH: 45
NCH: 423
CH: 86
ELW: 733
W&P: 72
AMEC: 84
Renew: 249
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
UMH: 133
GTG: 837
AAHH: 371
NNBH: 262
NCH: 471
CH: 560
ELW: 774
W&P: 496
AMEC: 525
All My Hope Is Firmly Grounded
UMH: 132
H82: 665
NCH: 408
CH: 88
ELW: 757
O Jesus, I Have Promised
UMH: 396
H82: 655
PH: 388/389
GTG: 724/725
NCH: 493
CH: 612
LBW: 503
ELW: 810
W&P: 458
AMEC: 280
Take My Life, and Let It Be
UMH: 399
H82: 707
PH: 391
GTG: 697
NNBH: 213
NCH: 448
CH: 609
LBW: 406
ELW: 583/685
W&P: 466
AMEC: 292
Renew: 150
This Is My Song
UMH: 437
GTG: 340
NCH: 591
CH: 722
ELW: 887
STLT 159
In Christ There Is No East or West
UMH: 548
H82: 529
PH: 439/440
GTG: 317/318
AAHH: 398/399
NNBH: 299
NCH: 394/395
CH: 687
LBW: 259
ELW: 650
W&P: 600/603
AMEC: 557
Where Charity and Love Prevail
UMH: 549
H82: 581
GTG: 316
NCH: 396
LBW: 126
ELW: 359
Help Us Accept Each Other
UMH: 560
PH: 358
GTG: 754
NCH: 388
CH: 487
W&P: 596
AMEC: 558
Let Us Break Bread Together on Our Knees
UMH: 618
H82: 325
PH: 513
GTG: 525
AAHH: 686
NNBH: 358
NCH: 330
CH: 425
LBW: 212
ELW: 471
W&P: 699
AMEC: 530
STLT 406
CCB: 46
Behold, What Manner of Love
CCB: 44
Fill My Cup, Lord
CCB: 47
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day/Collect
O God who is ever faithful to your creation:
Grant us the grace to be faithful to you and to one another
as we open our hearts to all your children;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God of faithfulness. Help us to be faithful to you and to one another. Open our hearts to all your children that we might truly reflect your love. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially failure to be faithful and hospitable servants of the Christ.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have failed to be your faithful people. We have failed you and we have failed one another. We have not reflected your welcoming love and grace. Forgive us and renew your Spirit within us that we might live into your image. Amen.
One: God is faithful and gracious. Receive God’s welcome into the arms of grace and share God’s love with all.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory to you, O God. We worship and adore you. You are the one who welcomes your children into your gracious presence.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We have failed to be your faithful people. We have failed you and we have failed one another. We have not reflected your welcoming love and grace. Forgive us and renew your Spirit within us that we might live into your image.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you have been faithful to us and to your creation. You have filled all you made with your Spirit. Your presence is with us always. You have blessed us with prophets and psalmists who have given us your guidance. You have sent your Word to us in the coming of the Christ. We thank you for your faithfulness.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your children in their need. We pray for those who have found life to be less than faithful. We pray for those who feel let down by life, by society, by friends, or by family. We pray for those whose bodies are not supporting their desire for life.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN'S SERMONLittle Ones
by Tom Willadsen
Matthew 10:40-42
After the little ones gather up front, ask them:
What do you think of when you hear “little ones?”
In the Bible reading today, Jesus referred to “little ones,” who do you think he was talking about?
Was he talking about young people like you?
Maybe he was talking about short people?
Jesus said just giving a cup of water to a little one is a very, very good thing.
If Jesus meant little ones are children, at what age do you stop being a little one? Is it when you start middle school? When you’re too old to come forward for children’s time? When you can make your own breakfast? When you can be left home without an adult?
Maybe Jesus meant “little ones” literally, in terms of size. Do you stop being a little one when you’re five feet tall? When you stop growing? What if you don’t grow very tall? My grandmother never reached five feet tall, would she be one of Jesus’ little ones her whole life?
Look at all the people who are at church today. Really, look around at them. And all of you who are out there, look around.
Do you know that everyone you look at, everyone you have ever seen in your whole life is precious to God?
Sometimes when we’re at church we call people “children of God.” Have you ever stopped to think about that? We are ALL children of God! Even the oldest person here, maybe your grandmother or great-grandfather, the oldest person you know, is a child of God, just like you are.
Compared to God, we’re all little babies. Every one of us is a little one. And Jesus says being kind to a little one is a very, very good thing. So, think about that: Any time you do something kind to another person, no matter how big or old, you’re doing what Jesus wants you to do! We’re all little ones and Jesus loved and cares for all of us!
Will you pray with me?
Thank you, Jesus, for caring for me, and for everyone. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, July 2, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2023 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
