Scriptures: Matthew 10:40-42 and Psalm 89:1-4,15-18
Some thoughts towards worship on Sunday, June 28, 2020:
There is a lot of welcoming and receiving going on in Jesus’ words at the end of Matthew 10. If I am not careful, I fall into a legal mindset and begin to ask, “What is Jesus asking us to do here? Whom do I need to welcome well?”
Another way of looking at this text is to ask, “What does this text mean?” and even “What does this mean for me?” We are invited to look to the scripture not so much for direction as for relationship.
Do you notice that Jesus first words in this periscope place us in the position of being the ones welcomed? That may be a clue as to how to enter into conversation with this text.
Wonder with me about hospitality:
Where have you felt welcomed this week?
Where did you not feel welcome?
Whom did you welcome?
Who welcomed you?
…and the kicker: How do you experience the welcome that God extends to you?
With the world in chaos with a viral pandemic and with erupting disruption of injustice, we people of faith need to be at the top of our game. We need to be ready to speak God’s love and justice into situations of heated disagreement and heartbreaking loss, of debilitating fear and willful ignorance. And that is only possible when we ground ourselves in the power of God’s love, God’s welcome.