Welcoming Strangers, Entertaining Angels

Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it, -Hebrews 13:1-2

Like much of America, I decided to return to the gym in January. This past summer, going to the gym was part of my daily routine. It has been for the past several years, off and on. I knew it was good for me to start going to the gym again, and I knew if I paid for a membership, I’d be sure to go. A financial incentive always seems to do the trick!

I walk into the fitness area at the recreation center, and I’m confronted with a roomful of fit young men—lean muscles rippling and faces stern in concentration—as they attempt to sculpt there bodies into even finer specimens. I felt horribly out of place in my faded sweat pants and t-shirt unadorned by any particular company's logo. But I kept going…

When I walked into the cardio room, the place was packed with people moving in sync with their music and machines. Again I felt horribly out of place, the words “What am I doing here?” running across my mental screen. But I stayed…

I stayed because I knew it was good for me. It was good for me to overcome that sense of awkwardness and unbelonging and take care of myself physically. I knew that no one was paying me any attention anyhow, so I could go about my business.

In the church, we have people who come who because they too recognize that it’s good for them. They too, for whatever reason, arrive because they recognize that going to church outweighs the benefit of staying away. But it can nonetheless be difficult for them. We who are the “insiders” at the church—the ones who know what words like “liturgy,” or “lectionary,” or “acolyte” mean. And sometimes that knowledge sets us apart from people in ways that do more harm than good.

It’s not that we don’t want to welcome people, but sometimes we don’t know how. But unlike at the gym, we’re called not to simply ignore them and stay in our own “church world.” We are called to reach out and welcome people who aren’t like us, to make room for them at our banquet—the banquet of our Lord. This is something that even the most welcoming churches must keep working on. Just as God’s welcomed us into the mystical union with Christ, so must we also—as a reflection of that lovingkindness—welcome people into our midst. For the body of Christ is that much richer for each new face, voice, and hand that is incorporated into it!

And you might never know. By welcoming a new person into the fold, you could just well be hanging out with an angel of God!

-DS