“Reach Across Difference” was preached at First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, PA on October 10, 2021. You can hear/watch this sermon here, starting at 27:05.
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Matthew 25:31-46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,[a] you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
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Just under ten years ago, the first preacher from my family preached a sermon from the passage we heard today.
Now there’s no other clergy in my immediate or extended family; it’s just me. But there was another preacher.
My little brother, at the age of 18, preached a sermon on Matthew 25:31-46. I wouldn’t preach my first sermon until a year later.
He was preaching at our home church at what we would refer to as “Senior Sunday” – one Sunday like ours that celebrates the graduating seniors.
Now I could say that I remember everything he said from that sermon, but I’ll be honest; I don’t. But I do remember one part of his sermon, which I have to say, “Good job, little brother. I remember a sermon of yours ten years later.”
At one point during his sermon, he was listing how the youth were cared for by the church as they went from children’s ministry to the youth program, how they went from confirmation to graduation. He was giving examples how sometimes the youth like himself could be referred to as the “least of these” – like how the youth were cared for by the church when the youth were hungry or thirsty or sick.
Then he said the best line. He said, “Our passage says, ‘I was in prison and you visited me,’ – well, I’ve never been to prison but I’m currently grounded and you all are visiting me now.”
And that is how
our church cares for our youth. We have their parents force them to worship and
youth group when they are grounded. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Last Sunday, when we launched our new faith formation and fellowship hour, we also started our new monthly theme of “hospitality” and “welcoming all.” This is part of a new churchwide theme where worship and faith formation of all ages are connected to a similar scripture text and theme each week. Faith formation for children, youth, and adults are designed to be an expansion of worship, to build upon what we heard here and to be discussed and digested later.
This month – for the first four weeks of October – we are focusing on hospitality. Which is fitting because if Christians should be known for anything, it should be how we welcome others. Hospitality is at the core of who we are. Adele Ahlberg Calhoun in her Spiritual Disciplines Handbook says, “Hospitality creates a safe, open place where a friend or stranger can enter and experience the welcoming spirit of Christ in another.” This definition truly reveals what a gift and challenge Christian hospitality can be.
It definitely can be an easy joy, especially when we welcome those we love most; the people just like us. But the real challenge is creating an open, safe space when we invite people who impinge on our own comfort levels or who are different or disliked. Christian hospitality needs to be a commitment to both, welcoming those who are like us and those who are not.
Now last Sunday, Pastor Jan started with a message taken from the two creation stories in Genesis chapters 1 & 2. In both creation stories, humans, like all other livings things, are created and welcomed by God into God’s creation. A relationship is established between God and humankind in the very beginning. And so from that moment on till the end of time, we know as God’s chosen people, we are called to welcome others because we have first been welcomed into a placed prepared for us by God. Right there from the creation, we learn that hospitality to others is not a choice for us. It is part of our covenant with God. God welcomes us, and we are to welcome others.
We know that we are called to treat all others as fellow beloved creations of God. This is especially important when we consider the vulnerable.
In our passage today, toward the end of his life on earth, Jesus tells his disciples about the future day when all nations will assemble before him and he will separate all people into two groups like a shepherd who separates the sheep from the goats. Those who will “inherit the kingdom,” Jesus says, are the ones who gave him food when he was hungry, drink when he was thirsty, and clothing when he was naked. Those who will inherit the kingdom took care of Jesus when he was sick, visited him when he was is prison, and welcomed him when he was a stranger.
But then the ones who will inherit the kingdom – the righteous – will become confused on this future day because they don’t remember doing any of this for Jesus. And Jesus gives them and us the beautiful message, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”
Jesus tells us when we as his disciples go out and serve those who on the margins of society, those that society has forced to be considered as “the least of these”; when we go out and serve them, we minister to Jesus. When we welcome those unlike us, we welcome Christ.
Again, Christian hospitality is both a gift and a challenge. It’s easy when we welcome those most like us. It’s a real challenge when the person we are welcoming is a person that we dislike or causes us discomfort. Who might be considered the “least of these” today? Although I appreciated my brother’s sermon, we know it’s not just youth who are grounded. Who are the marginalized? Who are the people we dislike? Today, it might be people who are different ages, socioeconomic status, ethnic background, political convictions, worship style, or any other characteristics.
To welcome those different than us is our Christian responsibility; part of the covenant God established with us.
I have a video that I think we all we truly love. This congregation has a connection to Fred Rogers and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. The Rev. Dr. Bill Barker was a senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, and a dear friend of Rev. Rogers. I know many of you still hold a part of your heart for Rev. Barker. While this video doesn’t include Rev. Barker, it was a significant moment in history. In one of Misters Rogers’ Neighborhood most famous episodes, Fred Rogers invited Officer Clemmons to cool his feet in the same pool of water as himself. This took place on May 9, 1969. Although at this time segregation had been legally struck down by the courts, many areas of life in America still remained largely segregated. This included swimming pools. Listen to Francois Clemmons’ reflection on this moment and what it meant for him and for all viewers. And watch what Mr. Rogers does when Clemmons pulls his feet from the pool; it’s something so powerful and biblical. Let’s watch together.
Did you see it? Did you see what Mr. Rogers does as Officer Clemmons pulls his feet from the pool? Mr. Rogers grabs the towel and starts drying Officer Clemmons’ feet; an act taken straight from Jesus as he washed the feet of his disciples. Jesus said to them, “So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them.” This is from the 13th chapter in the Gospel of John.
So Mr. Rogers, without even mentioning scripture, does exactly what Jesus commanded of all of us. He reached across difference and dried the feet of someone unlike him, someone society falsely deemed less than him. He did this after sharing a pool with Officer Clemmons, something that was still not widely accepted.
Francois Clemmons reflected on this moment in the video. He said, “To say he didn’t know what he was doing or that he accidently stumbled into integration or talking about racism or sexism. That’s not Mr. Rogers. It was well planned and well thought out. And I think it was very impactful.”
Every day we must intentionally push ourselves out of our comfort zones to embrace the Christian practice of hospitality. It’s easier when it’s with the people just like us. But our responsibility also lies with welcoming those who are different. Letty Russell in her book Just Hospitality notes, “Hospitality is an expression of unity without uniformity. Through hospitality, community is built out of difference, not sameness.”
Oh is that not we need at First Presbyterian Church of Allentown: a diverse body of faith committed to living God’s love.
Remember this: practicing hospitality with only our friends and people most like us, we are not actually engaging in the kind of Christian hospitality our faith requires of us. We aren’t just called to love our friends and family; we are called to love strangers. We are called to see Christ in people who don’t look like us, talk like us, or act like us.
Because we do that, when we fully embrace that, an unexpected and miraculous thing happens. God begins to bring a new community together in new and powerful ways; a community that is built upon unity and diversity.
That’s the type of community we are called to be. That’s the community we can be if we see Christ in every person.
In the name of the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Thanks be to God. Amen.
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