Jesus says to his disciples, “ Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. (Matthew 10:40).
Welcoming others is part of our obligations as Christians and members of the church. When you welcome others, strangers or visitors, they can become our fellow parishioners. It seems simple, but that has an incredible significant in the eyes of Jesus and his Father.
On September 16th, I received a call from the warden saying: Rev Rock, congratulations, you have been selected as the priest-in-charge of the parish. I responded: To God be the glory.
On September 30th, I traveled with my family from New York to Connecticut. When I arrived at the state line I saw the sign that said: “Welcome to Connecticut.” Even just the word “Welcome” brought an excitement to my heart.
My first night with my family in the rectory, it was raining a lot, to my surprise, I saw the warden knocking on the door to bring a delicious meal for my whole family.
We were so grateful for this warm welcome, and we will never forget it. We come to believe that welcoming is an act of love, an act of sacrifice that may not be the same level as Abraham who accepted to sacrifice Isaac, but welcoming others requires an act of sacrifice, having the desire to leave your comfort zone, and make others feel love and welcome. Welcoming is an act of good news, an act of hospitality.
In particular, this hospitality expressed by the warden is more than what the flight attendants do on the airplane by making the passengers feel happy.
I deeply understand that the warden’s welcoming is a call, a ministry that God has given him to do in the church and in the community.
I can say this, that night, the warden applied the good news of Jesus Christ that we just heard today:
“ Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
Jesus did not only tell us to welcome the strangers, or the visitors, but he did this by himself during his ministry on earth.
Jesus, the chief cornerstone of the Church, was very open, and welcoming of all.
– He was welcoming of all children as well as old people.
He was welcoming of all poor as well as rich.
Jesus welcomed children, he loved them. In Mark 10: 13-16, some people brought children to Jesus so that he would place his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Then he blessed the children and went away from there.
Jesus welcomed a poor widow. After the poor widow gave two small copper coins to the temple treasury, Jesus welcomed her, and acknowledged her, saying how great her gifts were compared with the wealthy people, by telling others that the poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.
Jesus welcomed a rich man, Zacchaeus, a wealthy man in his spiritual journey by calling him, hey “Zacchaeus, come down at once. I must stay at your house today.”
Jesus welcomed all people regardless of their status.
As Jesus’ followers, it’s time for each of us to ask the question in terms of welcoming people in the church: when was the last time I welcomed a visitor in the parish? What should I say to welcome a guest in the congregation?
We all received a call to be open and welcoming of others, especially to those who are strangers, those who speak different languages, those who have different ethnicity.
At some point, we all are ushers of St John’s. We all are called to welcome the newcomer on Sunday morning.
When there are visitors in the church we must welcome them, find a moment to tell them: welcome to St John’s, we are glad you’re here to worship with us. Please come grow spiritually with us, join us in our coffee hour where we can talk about the history of the parish.
Our main focus is the celebration of the 275/150 years anniversary of St John’s.-
Keep welcoming the strangers, the visitors; keep loving one another.- As God provided Abraham a ram so that he may offer it in sacrifice instead of his son Isaac, He will provide all that we need to make that celebration a great success for all his own glory.
Keep in mind, this celebration is not about warden Errol, and not about me, your servant, it is not about us, but it is about God, therefore he will provide according to his time. To God be the glory.
Let’s continue to welcome the newcomers, make them feel comfortable, accepted, seen, known, loved and included so that our parish can grow and flourish.
Again, as soon as a visitor worships with us, I urge you to open a conversation where they can experience the love of God. I urge you to welcome visitors with a sincere heart, a sincere smile, and a sincere handshake.
. Let’ s make this church a place of one family under God.
The warm welcome that my family and I received from the warden, the first night in the rectory on September 30th, 2020, remains an unforgettable memory, and I have come to consider a warden as a great welcomer of the church. May this role be the role of each parishioner.- This is where we can really affirm and reaffirm that St John’s parish makes a difference in Bridgeport to God be the glory.
Let’s continue to welcome the strangers, the visitors, let’s continue to warmly welcome one another in this sacred place so that Jesus, our Savior may welcome each of us in the Holy City, Jerusalem. Amen.
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