Father George\u2019s Sermon:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Welcome (28 June 2020)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Episcopal Church Welcomes You\u201d this is the message of the ubiquitous blue and white signs that mark the way to a local parish church all over this country. When I travel noticing those signs have started many a side trip, or distraction, from the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This morning\u2019s Gospel is about welcoming the stranger, inviting into our midst one who is unknown to us and bringing them into our fellowship \u2013 inviting them to be at home with us, even if they\u2019re just \u201cpassing through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the ancient middle east hospitality wasn\u2019t just a courtesy, it was often a matter of life or death. Travelers were sometimes dependent upon the kindness of strangers for food, water, and shelter in an extremely hostile environment. To turn someone, especially a sojourner away was a grievous breach of cultural expectations and was considered a sin in many communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hospitality and welcoming are something we do well here at the Church of the Mediator. In the few short months with you I have noticed that we go out of our way to welcome the visitor, make them feel at home in our worship services, and see that they are included in our fellowship time in Ryan Hall. In this way, we are living into both our baptismal covenant and our congregation\u2019s mission statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we welcome the stranger, or sojourner, into our midst we are welcoming Christ himself. Throughout Christian history we Jesus appeared to his Church, he always came to us in the guise of a stranger \u2013 often a poor stranger who would be easy for us to reject and\/or neglect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joan Chittister writing in her book in 40 Stories to Stir the Soul (Benetvision, 2010) tells this story:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was a monastery that was renowned for its hospitality, a welcoming place for many weary travelers in need of rest. One day while the abbot was deep in prayer, an angel appeared, surrounded by golden light. The abbot gazed in rapt contemplation and was filled with a peace beyond measure. <\/p>
Suddenly a series of heavy knocks resounded on the front door. \u201cIt is some weary traveler come to find shelter,\u201d the abbot said to himself. \u201cWhat should I do? If I go and answer the door, the angel might disappear. If I stay, who will care for the traveler?\u201d <\/p>
Reluctantly the abbot rose, looked resignedly at the angel, and left the room in order to attend to the needs of the dust-stained traveler. When he returned to his cell, the angel, to the abbot\u2019s great surprise, was still there. The angel said to him, \u201cHad you not gone to help the needy traveler, I myself would have been compelled to leave.\u201d<\/p>From 40 Stories to Stir The Soul<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
When we welcome the stranger, we welcome Jesus himself; and suddenly, we find that we are his guests at his table as he welcomes us into his fellowship. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers every day. Stay safe and let us all remember to pray for each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Peace,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fr. George+<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Father George\u2019s Sermon: Welcome (28 June 2020) \u201cThe Episcopal Church Welcomes You\u201d this is the message of the ubiquitous blue and white signs that mark the way to a local parish church all over this country. When I travel noticing those signs have started many a side trip, or distraction, from the road. This morning\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,10],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-father-george","category-inspirational","tag-sermon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediatormicanopy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediatormicanopy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediatormicanopy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediatormicanopy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediatormicanopy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mediatormicanopy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":259,"href":"https:\/\/mediatormicanopy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258\/revisions\/259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediatormicanopy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediatormicanopy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediatormicanopy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediatormicanopy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}