The All-Encompassing Hospitality of Jesus

At Memorial Presbyterian Church, where my friends Hunter and Amy are pastors, their church has a vision statement that I love: Embodying the all-encompassing hospitality of Jesus Christ. 

I think that’s great. You can just imagine how it would begin to inform everything you do. Every decision would run through that lens. Is this ministry, is this action, is this decision, is this building showing the hospitality of Jesus? Am I?

One of the candidates who our church interviewed for the Associate Pastor position told us about how at a previous church he served, they were trying to build their youth group. And he and the lead pastor every week would get together and pray. They had the same prayer, week after week: “God, please, send us those nobody else wants.” God honored that prayer, and before you know it, their youth program was mushrooming, full of misfits and outcasts. And it was a huge blessing. Many of these kids, they found a safe place. They found a sense of community. And the church grew to love these kids. The congregation suddenly felt more youthful and alive.

I can almost hear Jesus saying: I was a stranger and you welcomed me in.

On a Wednesday night sometime back, one of my elders told me about how her youth pastor, back when she was a teenager, was trying to teach them about the nature of love. And the kids said, Oh, that’s easy. We all love each other. But her pastor said, yes, it is easy to love people who are like you… It is easy to love people who are lovable, but we are called to love those who are not like us too. We, as followers of Jesus, are called to love even the unlovable. 

I wonder what it would look like if we applied that same vision statement to our families or our personal lives. What would it mean for you to care for those who are unlike you, who may not look like you, or who may even vote differently than you? What would it mean for you to love even the unlovable and to embody the all-encompassing hospitality of Jesus?

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, give us eyes to see you in the eyes of others. May we care for them as you care for us. Amen.