Healing Hospitality

WESTMINSTE R PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
November 8th 2009
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Healing Hospitality”
Genesis 18:1-5; Mark 2:1-12

It really is almost a throw-away line. “… it was reported that he was at home.” There is something powerful about being at home. At home is where we often take off our personas and masks and begin to get honest. Most of Jesus’ ministry happens in the house. If he was not “on the way” or “on the road” or “in Jerusalem,” Jesus teaches and preaches in houses. So Jesus is at home and so many people have come over to hear him teach and be in his presence there is no more room for anyone. The crowd has swelled outside the doors.
At the margins of the crowd are four people who simply must see Jesus. But they could not. The crowd in front of them would not move. Realistically they should have given up. You cannot get in by the front door or the window so the only course of action is to be prudent and find a better time. If they had chosen this course of action I am pretty sure we would not know anything about these four friends, even if they eventually found healing for their friend. These four friends were on a mission to bring healing to a friend. They would not remain prudent or proper. They got up on the roof of Jesus’ house and tore off the roof. They put the healing of their friend over the risk of destroying private property, the private property of the Son of God no less. I suppose when you know someone in need this risk seems small in comparison.
When it comes to sharing our faith with other people there are two kinds of barriers which stand in the way. They are internal barriers and external barriers. First, internal, or personal, barriers are the barriers inside our heads. Even the words, “sharing our faith” come with all sorts of baggage. We do not share what is most important in our lives because we worry about how or what we might say. Or we worry about risking a friendship. What happens if I invite my neighbor to church and then they say no? What if I make my friend feel awkward? What if someone thinks I’m pressuring them? What if I come across as judgmental? What if . . . ? So most of the time, we don't talk to our friends, unchurched or formerly churched, about our faith. On top of the “what if’s” we may even begin to feel a little guilty about not doing it. And guilt is not a positive motivator. These inner barriers can keep us from ever mentioning faith to our friends who may just be hungry for a caring faith community.
Jeff was going through a difficult time in his life. He had been laid off from work just before his wife was diagnosed with cancer. The financial and spiritual struggles were nearly debilitating. Fortunately, Jeff and his wife had some dear friends. Two couples that they had known for some time were with them throughout. They came by to see them regularly and brought over meals occasionally. When the Jeff's wife died, they were there to comfort him. These were good friends. After some time had passed, Jeff began to consider returning to church. He hadn't gone to church anywhere since he was a teenager. But there was something about church that sort of kept bugging him. He decided to try the church in his neighborhood first. When he walked into the sanctuary, there were his friends! Both couples had been going to that church for years. They had also been friends with Jeff for years. But they had never talked about their faith, even through his ordeals. It just hadn't come up. They were shocked and very glad, to see each other there.
The research behind the Unbinding your Heart study shows that these internal barriers that keep us from talking about our faith never fully go away. Even people who eventually get really good at evangelism still have resistance to sharing their faith. And this is why we need a new definition for evangelism. Instead of trying to emulate a theology with which we do not agree we really ought to think about it this way. Sharing something you enjoy with someone you like. That can be evangelism. For the four in today's gospel story, it was a matter of sharing something they thought might help with someone in need. That can be evangelism too. Sharing something you need with someone else who needs it . . . Sharing something that makes you smile with someone who could use a smile . . . Sharing something that gives you peace with someone in chaos . . . Sharing something you enjoy with someone you like - That’s evangelism.
Somehow, the four friends in this story had the courage to bring this man in need to Jesus. Somehow, they had overcome whatever internal barriers there might have been in their heads. But then, they faced another barrier entirely. Remember, there are two kinds of barriers that might keep us from sharing our faith with other people. Internal barriers in our own minds might be overcome. But still, external barriers must be dismantled. When the four people got there with the man on the stretcher, the physical entrance was crowded. People were not letting them by. I wonder how long they tried to push their way through before they decided to try another way.
External barriers can be very daunting. If you have ever gone church shopping do you remember how vulnerable you felt the first time you visited a church? Or going to some other organization for the first time? There is a story about a man who went to a neighborhood association meeting. He didn't see anyone there he knew, so he just sat in the back during the meeting. When it was over, he signed up on one of the volunteer lists they had posted. He really wanted to help out with organizing a neighborhood clean-up day. That's where he put his name and his phone number down. But no one ever called him. It was not a major slight, of course. But afterwards he wondered, "I sure hope people don't feel like this when they come to my church." (Big Pause)
"They could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowds," verse 4 says. We need to ask ourselves and the Holy Spirit this very searching question: Are there any barriers that are keeping people from getting to Jesus in our church? This may seem like a strange question. After all, we do not have the crowds that surrounded Jesus in his house. But the truth is that no matter how many people there are our church can feel crowded. Just because spaces are empty doesn't mean that they are truly open.
I want to invite you to participate in a mental imaging exercise. In your mind's eye, join me in a virtual tour of our church. First, think about the corner, where we park, the gardens, our parking. Where do guests park? Do they know where to come in? Do they have to "dig through the roof" so to speak, like the paralyzed man's friends did? When they get to the entrance and come inside, are they greeted immediately? Are there signs to show them where the restrooms are? Or, when a new parent comes with a baby, do they find a sparkling clean nursery with two ready attendants or changing stations in the bathrooms? When a guest comes into worship, do they find ample room in the back pews, yes the back pews… really!
We don’t know for sure whether or not this house described in Mark’s gospel was Jesus' house. But where is Jesus’ house? Chapter three of Ephesians says we are the very dwelling place of God, with Jesus Christ himself as our cornerstone. This is Jesus' house. Since that is so, let me ask: “As we took our mental tour through the church building, were there any barriers to Jesus' house?” Was there or is there anything that would keep people from coming in and finding Jesus here? Anything that says “Keep out!” instead of “Please, come in!”?
In your bulletin you will find the pink prayer sheets. Please, take a moment now to write down an area of our church that needs Jesus' touch. Or an area that needs our touch! Where do we need to be more ready for guests? If you are new to our church, particularly if today is your first time here, we especially invite you to do this! Your insight is the most valuable we can receive. What has welcomed you? Or not welcomed you? Please, help us do better. Where is there an external barrier to Jesus’ house? Take a moment right now to write it down. Then at the conclusion of the worship service please place them in the prayer wall. Whatever the barriers are, internal or external, let us commit to prayer and reflection on how we can rip off the roof to bring others to the healing and welcome we have found in this community of Jesus’ followers. Amen? Amen.