I have struggeld a little bit this year with Lent and Easter being so early.  I mean, it seems as though we just finished with Christmas, and here it is, our other big climactic event of the year.  Spring hasn't even officially begun yet, but the stores are full of spring and Easter themed goodies-- cheering on a grey wintry day, but a little out of place nonetheless.

But I guess that's what we've come to expect from Christ, isn't it?  Jesus made his name by being out of place wherever he went-- the Pharisees thought him out of place when he ate with those they deemed sinners.  His disciples thought him out of place when he talked about his sacrificial death that was to come-- and again, when he appeared to them in the locked room, after they thought he was dead and gone. 

And maybe that's something we who follow him today need to remember-- that the more out of place we feel as Christians, the more we're following Christ in an authentic way-- and, the more we are accepted by the general society, the more we are the norm rather than the exception--we run the risk of being on society's path rather than Christ's.  And if that's the case, maybe being out of place isn't so bad.

As someone who never feels as if I fit in anywhere, I appreciate a good host.  A good host invites people in and makes even the mistfit comfortable.  Hospitality is seen by most people as just good manners; and that's a part of it, especially for those of us in the south.  However, hospitality is an important spiritual discipline too. 

To practice hospitality in a spiritual way is to invite all people into the story of Christ.  We may do this through telling our own story-- how our lives have been impacted by Christ's hospitality.  We can also do it using Bible stories of the way Christ drew people into himself, healing them and loving them regardless of who they were.  Hospitality as a spiritual discipline means welcoming people who are different than we are, who are broken and seemingly unlovable--- sometimes even accepting hospitality from people we don't like or are afraid of. 

Christ made even the mistfits feel as if they fit.  Christ calls us to be good hosts in his name.

Hospitality isn't one of those things that most of us consider to be a Spiritual Discipline.  When we think of hospitality, we think of inviting people into our homes and entertaining them with food and drink.  It's a fun thing to do for most people, so maybe we don't imagine that practicing hospitality can help us become better disciples of Christ.

But when I think of the ultimate act of hospitality, I think of the Lord's Supper-- or communion, or the Eucharist, or whatever name you know it by in your tradition.  I think of that last passover meal that Jesus shared with his disciples-- which is where we get the framework and the theological backing for our own celebration-- in which Jesus invited his disciples to share in a new covenant with him.  This covenant was built around forgiveness of sins (see Matthew 26:26-28) and was poured out not just for the disciples and followers of Jesus but for many-- the many being those who did not yet beleive and those who would come after.

In this act Jesus welcomes the stranger, the unloved, the broken, the sick and tired, the many multitudes of human beings who are looking for something more-- making the Lord's Supper the ultimate act of hospitality.  Take and eat, take and drink, he says, take me into yourself and I will take you into myself.  Come to me, all are welcome.  And as we accept this hospitality from Christ, we are also to offer the same welcomeing spirit to those we encounter in our communities, those who visit us at church, anyone who is a stranger, a visitor, anyone who is looking for something more in life.  Welcome them in, welcome them all in. 

Ok, this is my third attempt at making a second blog entry.  Maybe the third time will be the charm???

Rocky Raccoon is back. Last summer we had a problem with a raccoon coming into our house through our cat doors.  Not cool.  So we put new pet doors in and locked them, and after a couple of weeks he went away.  And now he's back, and he's figured out how to get through the locked cat door, so we can lock it in and out-- but now the pet doors are useless for our cats.  I'm impressed by the persistence of Rocky; no matter what we do to try to run him off, he keeps coming back.  Perhaps this is a good metaphor for how the Holy Spirit is always present in our lives, always working to get through the barriers we put in place, always there even though we might not be able to sense the presence of the Spirit. God is always with us even if we might want God to go away! Like Rocky Raccoon, God will always find a way into our homes and our hearts.

 

It's the fifth Sunday in Lent, the weeks are FLYING by toward Easter.  Today begins Daylight Savings Time (yeah!) and it's been nice to see the sun after so much cold raininess. 

I don't know exactly what I'll be writing about in this blog-- maybe some devotions, maybe some book reviews, maybe news about what's going on at Parkway.  So, here we go!