15 Who may stay in God’s temple or live on the holy mountain of the Lord?
2 Only those who obey God and do as they should. They speak the truth 3 and don’t spread gossip; they treat others fairly and don’t say cruel things.
4 They hate worthless people, but show respect for all who worship the Lord. And they keep their promises, no matter what the cost. 5 They lend their money without charging interest, and they don’t take bribes to hurt the innocent.
Those who do these things will always stand firm.
Worshipping God and doing justice are intrinsically bound together. To worship God is to search and work for justice.
This Psalm asks some tough questions of those of us who would claim to worship God…
18 One hot summer afternoon Abraham was sitting by the entrance to his tent near the sacred trees of Mamre, when the Lord appeared to him. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. He quickly ran to meet them, bowed with his face to the ground, 3 and said, “Please come to my home where I can serve you. 4 I’ll have some water brought, so you can wash your feet, then you can rest under the tree. 5 Let me get you some food to give you strength before you leave. I would be honored to serve you.”
“Thank you very much,” they answered. “We accept your offer.”
6 Abraham quickly went to his tent and said to Sarah, “Hurry! Get a large sack of flour and make some bread.” 7 After saying this, he rushed off to his herd of cattle and picked out one of the best calves, which his servant quickly prepared. 8 He then served his guests some yogurt and milk together with the meat.
While they were eating, he stood near them under the trees, 9 and they asked, “Where is your wife Sarah?”
“She is right there in the tent,” Abraham answered.
10 One of the guests was the Lord, and he said, “I’ll come back about this time next year, and when I do, Sarah will already have a son.”
Well we’ve all experienced a few hot afternoons recently!
On this one, God appeared to Abraham. He came as three men. Ordinary looking men. No wings, no halos, nothing to suggest that they might be God. No reason to treat them as anyone special.
So we can only assume that this is how Abraham responded to everyone who came by his house. Common manners. Water to cool and cleanse their feet, and food and nourishment for the journey. And Abraham went way beyond just a quick snack. He serves one of his best calves. And all without knowing who it was he was serving. He doesn’t serve the best because he knows he is serving God. He serves the best thinking he is serving some ordinary people. People like you and I. People like the people of our town and community who pass by.
Radical hospitality is a bit of a buzz phrase at the moment. To welcome and nourish the stranger. Whoever they are. I don’t suppose Abraham was sat around that afternoon just waiting for visitors to pass by, it may even have been inconvenient. But welcome and feed them he did.
In our church, we collect breakfast items for breakfast for the homeless in our town. Other churches operate food banks. This is all part of radical hospitality. All part of welcoming and feeding the stranger.
But radical hospitality is not just about giving food or money – sometimes that can be easy… It’s about welcoming people – all kinds of people – whoever knocks on our door. However much they challenge us, however they make us feel uncomfortable, whether they fit our norms or not. Welcoming people who may not be welcome elsewhere, welcoming the people of our community – because someone first welcomed us.
And who knows – we may well be entertaining angels.
Thank you Lord
that you always welcome me
wherever I have been,
whatever I have done.
I pray
that I may welcome others
all who need refreshment,
that they may be nourished
and fed
With open arms and dancing feet you greet
those with no voice,
those who can’t walk,
those whose thoughts fall apart.
By your side there is a place for those
lost in the shadows of decency.
Help me, welcoming God,
to greet the ignored and unwanted.
Help me see
in those who live swathed in the shadows,
images of you.
Help me be a dancing partner for those you have called friend
and welcomed to the wedding feast. Amen.
Malcolm Peacock, former Isle of Man District Chair
25 An expert in the Law of Moses stood up and asked Jesus a question to see what he would say. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to have eternal life?”
26 Jesus answered, “What is written in the Scriptures? How do you understand them?”
27 The man replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.’ They also say, ‘Love your neighbors as much as you love yourself.’”
28 Jesus said, “You have given the right answer. If you do this, you will have eternal life.”
29 But the man wanted to show that he knew what he was talking about. So he asked Jesus, “Who are my neighbors?”
30 Jesus replied:
As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, robbers attacked him and grabbed everything he had. They beat him up and ran off, leaving him half dead.
31 A priest happened to be going down the same road. But when he saw the man, he walked by on the other side. 32 Later a temple helper came to the same place. But when he saw the man who had been beaten up, he also went by on the other side.
33 A man from Samaria then came traveling along that road. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him 34 and went over to him. He treated his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next morning he gave the innkeeper two silver coins and said, “Please take care of the man. If you spend more than this on him, I will pay you when I return.”
36 Then Jesus asked, “Which one of these three people was a real neighbor to the man who was beaten up by robbers?”
37 The teacher answered, “The one who showed pity.”
Jesus said, “Go and do the same!”
What a challenge! Are we as generous as we believe we are? Do our worries and hurries sometimes take over?
And a wider question for each of us: Who is my neighbour? Who is the person I could pass by on the other side of the road?
The challenge is clear. To be God’s people is not to rush off to our Very Important church meetings; it is not to avoid getting our hands dirty for they do holy work; it is stopping to help – possibly at personal cost.
What will that look like today in my life?
Lord,
there is so much need,
yet I am so busy
doing Important Things
– many of them for you…
Yet you call me to see
and respond,
to love
and offer hope,
to give,
to rescue,
to take care.
Lord,
may I see my neighbour
and respond to their need
Pam's Perambulation 