The Hospitable Servant: A Woman Named Lydia
Sermon
Deformed, Disfigured, And Despised
First Lesson Sermons For Lent/Easter Cycle C
One of the great problems of our time particularly in some clergy circles is the myopic, antiquated, sexist, provincial, and prejudiced view that some pastors and congregations have regarding women in the church. This problem is particularly acute in regards to female clergy and those strong, anointed, and gifted women of God whom God has appointed and anointed for service and who also pose a threat to the fragile egos of those "true believers" who deem them unfit and unworthy to be true servants of God. We see this ignorance manifested in such foolish statements as, "God did not call women to preach. If the Lord had wanted women to serve in his church he would have called women disciples."
The problem is such vainglorious assertions cannot be corroborated by the biblical record, for it is evident that Jesus, the apostle Paul, and the other apostles and disciples had a reverence and respect for women in general and women of faith in particular. In fact, women were the mainstay of support of Jesus' movement, and there are other references throughout the Bible to women of power and strength whose faithfulness, humility, and tenacity helped to establish and solidify the early and later Christian movements. One such person was a woman called Lydia who was a true servant of God, a hospitable servant who heard the apostle preach at Phillipi in the district of Macedonia and opened her heart to him and his followers.
Lydia was a true hospitable servant of God because she heard the word of God and responded to that word with heart and soul.
Hospitable servants of God not only hear the word and are open to it but they also respond to it positively with mind, body, and soul. So much of our preaching falls on deaf ears. People listen but do not hear. People sit in the pew and go through the motions of church life, but do they really listen and do they really hear the word that issues forth? Does the word fall on rocky, stony ground and/or on fertile soil? This is a paradox of church life. We preach and proclaim, yet too often it falls on ears that are tired of hearing.
Lydia heard the word and the Lord opened her heart so she could respond to the word positively. She listened intently and accordingly responded to the Lord's plea with open arms and a willing heart. There was something in her heart and soul that resonated with the word of God. She was obviously a well-to-do merchant. Dealers in purple cloth made a good living during her time. But she was not so self-sufficient and so well-to-do that she couldn't hear and respond to the message of Paul.
Sometimes we cannot hear because we are well off. Everything is fine. No problems, worries, poverty, or afflictions. Sometimes the less we have been blessed by God the less we rely upon God and the more we are open to the promises of his word. Not Lydia. She was well off but still had a hunger and a thirst for the Good News of Christ. She was already a worshiper of God, but now she would receive a message of spiritual hope and prosperity; a word that would reach into the depths of her very soul and compel her to Christ. She heard the word of God and responded positively to it.
What a joy it is to have people listen and respond positively. They do not sit in the pew with blank and empty faces. They do not sit in the pew with blank minds and blank hearts. Their countenance does not show the scorn and scowl of the disconcerted and discontented. They do not appear to be in the twilight zone, or the never-never land of far away places. They listen intently and they respond with interest to God's word. They do not sit as diners at the table waiting to be served a full course meal of the gospel without gratitude or appreciation. Their faces are not stone, granite, and mortar devoid of life, expression, and emotion. Their hearts are opened. They sit, listen, hear, and come to Christ! What hallelujah joy and thanksgiving this brings! Of all those who truly listen, a radical minority responds positively because their hearts are opened. Lydia listened and responded with heart and soul because she opened her heart to God and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. True servants respond positively to the word of God in their lives.
Lydia was a true hospitable servant because she and her entire household were baptized and believed. A true servant reaches out to those closest to them and brings them to Christ. Not only was she baptized, but her entire household came to Christ. What a wonderful thing it is that the entire family and household can come under the influence and sway of the mighty word of God! What a joy for husbands and wives and children and others to come to Christ! It is a beautiful thing to behold, indeed, when entire families and households can come to Christ and know his joy.
Lydia was undoubtedly a woman of influence. Already a worshiper of God, she wanted more. She was a seeker of truth. Although she was a worshiper of God, she was open to new ideas and new possibilities. She may have felt that the God she served did not provide the answers she so deeply sought. Or being satisfied with her religion, she may have been compelled to Christ by the power of Paul's preaching. Whatever the case, what she experienced was so life-transforming that she became a convert to Christ. So exhilarated was she by the power and presence of the Holy Ghost that she told others in her household and they too came to Christ.
Sometimes the people in our households are the hardest to reach and convert because they see us up close and personal. They know our infirmities, iniquities, and hypocrisies. They see us without our public persona. They know our foibles and failings. Sometimes our example does not convince or compel them to Christ, for if the God we serve cannot change us, how can God change them? That Lydia was able to convince her household to Christ calls attention to the power of her positive example and the respect she had in the eyes of those who knew her and lived with her. Lydia was a true servant because she reached out to those closest to her and brought them to Christ. They were baptized and believed in Jesus. A true servant reaches out to others in the name of Jesus.
Lydia was a true hospitable servant of the Lord because she invited the messengers of God into her home. She not only accepted Christ, was baptized and believed, but also she invited the servants of God into her home.
Lydia was not content just to hear the message and go home. She invited the workers of God into her home and showed them hospitality. It is not enough to hear the word of God, and to be baptized and believe. The question is: Do we invite Christ into our homes and our hearts? Do we treat the servants of God with respect by extending hospitality to them?
Today we hear the message. We have been baptized and believe, but do we invite the servants of God into our hearts and our homes? Do we have an open door policy for Christ? Do we invite Christ and the Holy Spirit into our homes? Do we show hospitality to Christ and his servants?
One man complained after joining a well-known mega-church in Atlanta, Georgia. He was from New Jersey and had no relatives or friends in Atlanta. Believing that he could find friendship in a church, he joined, but later he was dismayed because no one ever invited him to their home. No one ever welcomed him or made him feel a sense of belonging in that church or the city. He later left the city, discouraged because there was no hospitality among the believers of that church.
It is not enough to be baptized and believe, we must show concern and hospitality for those in the body of Christ as well as those not in it. Paul and his friends were overjoyed at the invitation to come into the home of Lydia. She cared enough about them that she wanted them to experience the comforts of home after being on the road so long. They were probably tired, weary, and needed rest. She invited them home because she wanted to serve those who served God's people.
There are too many spiritual nomads, aimless wanderers; too many of the spiritually homeless who have no moorings, no resting places, no home away from home, no place where they can find rest and hospitality. The church should be the hospitality center of the community, nation, and world. It should extend a hand of welcome to the servants of God and show them hospitality wherever they are. Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz said, "There's no place like home." I say, "There's no place like a home away from home."
True servants of Christ extend hospitality. As long as there are churches and believers in the world there should never be spiritual homelessness. The truth is, there should never be any kind of homelessness if the church is truly a hospitality center for the community and world.
Lydia was a true servant of God because she opened her heart and responded to Christ. She reached out to her family and brought them to Christ and extended hospitality to Christ and his followers.
What we need in the world today are true servants who love the Lord and love God's people. Servants who will show joy and compassion. Servants who will help those in need and will respond with heart and soul to the Good News of Christ. It is not enough to keep the message to ourselves. It is not enough to confess and profess Christ. The true servant shares his or her faith with others and extends a grace and peace that opens the door that will invite all those who are seeking Christ into a place of comfort and rest. Lydia is a shining example of true servanthood. After opening her heart to Christ she did not hesitate to open the door of her home to those who needed comfort. True servants love God and love the people who do God's work. True servants have hospitality in their hearts. True servants believe that there are no strangers in God's world, for the road to the church should never be long. True servants open themselves to God's blessings and anointing and invite others into the Body of Christ!
The problem is such vainglorious assertions cannot be corroborated by the biblical record, for it is evident that Jesus, the apostle Paul, and the other apostles and disciples had a reverence and respect for women in general and women of faith in particular. In fact, women were the mainstay of support of Jesus' movement, and there are other references throughout the Bible to women of power and strength whose faithfulness, humility, and tenacity helped to establish and solidify the early and later Christian movements. One such person was a woman called Lydia who was a true servant of God, a hospitable servant who heard the apostle preach at Phillipi in the district of Macedonia and opened her heart to him and his followers.
Lydia was a true hospitable servant of God because she heard the word of God and responded to that word with heart and soul.
Hospitable servants of God not only hear the word and are open to it but they also respond to it positively with mind, body, and soul. So much of our preaching falls on deaf ears. People listen but do not hear. People sit in the pew and go through the motions of church life, but do they really listen and do they really hear the word that issues forth? Does the word fall on rocky, stony ground and/or on fertile soil? This is a paradox of church life. We preach and proclaim, yet too often it falls on ears that are tired of hearing.
Lydia heard the word and the Lord opened her heart so she could respond to the word positively. She listened intently and accordingly responded to the Lord's plea with open arms and a willing heart. There was something in her heart and soul that resonated with the word of God. She was obviously a well-to-do merchant. Dealers in purple cloth made a good living during her time. But she was not so self-sufficient and so well-to-do that she couldn't hear and respond to the message of Paul.
Sometimes we cannot hear because we are well off. Everything is fine. No problems, worries, poverty, or afflictions. Sometimes the less we have been blessed by God the less we rely upon God and the more we are open to the promises of his word. Not Lydia. She was well off but still had a hunger and a thirst for the Good News of Christ. She was already a worshiper of God, but now she would receive a message of spiritual hope and prosperity; a word that would reach into the depths of her very soul and compel her to Christ. She heard the word of God and responded positively to it.
What a joy it is to have people listen and respond positively. They do not sit in the pew with blank and empty faces. They do not sit in the pew with blank minds and blank hearts. Their countenance does not show the scorn and scowl of the disconcerted and discontented. They do not appear to be in the twilight zone, or the never-never land of far away places. They listen intently and they respond with interest to God's word. They do not sit as diners at the table waiting to be served a full course meal of the gospel without gratitude or appreciation. Their faces are not stone, granite, and mortar devoid of life, expression, and emotion. Their hearts are opened. They sit, listen, hear, and come to Christ! What hallelujah joy and thanksgiving this brings! Of all those who truly listen, a radical minority responds positively because their hearts are opened. Lydia listened and responded with heart and soul because she opened her heart to God and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. True servants respond positively to the word of God in their lives.
Lydia was a true hospitable servant because she and her entire household were baptized and believed. A true servant reaches out to those closest to them and brings them to Christ. Not only was she baptized, but her entire household came to Christ. What a wonderful thing it is that the entire family and household can come under the influence and sway of the mighty word of God! What a joy for husbands and wives and children and others to come to Christ! It is a beautiful thing to behold, indeed, when entire families and households can come to Christ and know his joy.
Lydia was undoubtedly a woman of influence. Already a worshiper of God, she wanted more. She was a seeker of truth. Although she was a worshiper of God, she was open to new ideas and new possibilities. She may have felt that the God she served did not provide the answers she so deeply sought. Or being satisfied with her religion, she may have been compelled to Christ by the power of Paul's preaching. Whatever the case, what she experienced was so life-transforming that she became a convert to Christ. So exhilarated was she by the power and presence of the Holy Ghost that she told others in her household and they too came to Christ.
Sometimes the people in our households are the hardest to reach and convert because they see us up close and personal. They know our infirmities, iniquities, and hypocrisies. They see us without our public persona. They know our foibles and failings. Sometimes our example does not convince or compel them to Christ, for if the God we serve cannot change us, how can God change them? That Lydia was able to convince her household to Christ calls attention to the power of her positive example and the respect she had in the eyes of those who knew her and lived with her. Lydia was a true servant because she reached out to those closest to her and brought them to Christ. They were baptized and believed in Jesus. A true servant reaches out to others in the name of Jesus.
Lydia was a true hospitable servant of the Lord because she invited the messengers of God into her home. She not only accepted Christ, was baptized and believed, but also she invited the servants of God into her home.
Lydia was not content just to hear the message and go home. She invited the workers of God into her home and showed them hospitality. It is not enough to hear the word of God, and to be baptized and believe. The question is: Do we invite Christ into our homes and our hearts? Do we treat the servants of God with respect by extending hospitality to them?
Today we hear the message. We have been baptized and believe, but do we invite the servants of God into our hearts and our homes? Do we have an open door policy for Christ? Do we invite Christ and the Holy Spirit into our homes? Do we show hospitality to Christ and his servants?
One man complained after joining a well-known mega-church in Atlanta, Georgia. He was from New Jersey and had no relatives or friends in Atlanta. Believing that he could find friendship in a church, he joined, but later he was dismayed because no one ever invited him to their home. No one ever welcomed him or made him feel a sense of belonging in that church or the city. He later left the city, discouraged because there was no hospitality among the believers of that church.
It is not enough to be baptized and believe, we must show concern and hospitality for those in the body of Christ as well as those not in it. Paul and his friends were overjoyed at the invitation to come into the home of Lydia. She cared enough about them that she wanted them to experience the comforts of home after being on the road so long. They were probably tired, weary, and needed rest. She invited them home because she wanted to serve those who served God's people.
There are too many spiritual nomads, aimless wanderers; too many of the spiritually homeless who have no moorings, no resting places, no home away from home, no place where they can find rest and hospitality. The church should be the hospitality center of the community, nation, and world. It should extend a hand of welcome to the servants of God and show them hospitality wherever they are. Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz said, "There's no place like home." I say, "There's no place like a home away from home."
True servants of Christ extend hospitality. As long as there are churches and believers in the world there should never be spiritual homelessness. The truth is, there should never be any kind of homelessness if the church is truly a hospitality center for the community and world.
Lydia was a true servant of God because she opened her heart and responded to Christ. She reached out to her family and brought them to Christ and extended hospitality to Christ and his followers.
What we need in the world today are true servants who love the Lord and love God's people. Servants who will show joy and compassion. Servants who will help those in need and will respond with heart and soul to the Good News of Christ. It is not enough to keep the message to ourselves. It is not enough to confess and profess Christ. The true servant shares his or her faith with others and extends a grace and peace that opens the door that will invite all those who are seeking Christ into a place of comfort and rest. Lydia is a shining example of true servanthood. After opening her heart to Christ she did not hesitate to open the door of her home to those who needed comfort. True servants love God and love the people who do God's work. True servants have hospitality in their hearts. True servants believe that there are no strangers in God's world, for the road to the church should never be long. True servants open themselves to God's blessings and anointing and invite others into the Body of Christ!
