Thought for the day – Wednesday 8th July 2020
Those people who know me well will be aware that I am one of those people (some might say one of those strange people) who enjoy the Methodist Conference. That being the case you will not be surprised that I have spent quite a lot of time during the past week watching it online in what for everybody has been a rather strange format, brought about by necessity given the current situation.
Much has been said at Conference this year about the need for the church to be more inclusive, welcoming all regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, physical attributes….. the list could go on. We need to ensure churches are hospitable places for all.
As I listened to some of the Conference debates my mind went back to the Methodist Conference in 2003 when the then Vice President, Judy Jarvis, took as the title for her address “Hospitality Lies at the Heart of Our Faith”. The more I think about the idea of the church being a hospitable space, the more I realise that as followers of Christ we have no choice but to be hospitable, because hospitality truly has to be at the heart of our faith, a fact demonstrated so clearly in the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus loved meeting people and receiving hospitality from them. In the same way, how many times in the Gospels do we read of Jesus showing hospitality, feeding a hungry crowd or inviting himself for a meal at the home of somebody frowned on by the rest of the community.
Throughout the Gospels, when Jesus tells stories about the Kingdom of God, as often as not he uses the image of generous hospitality.
Over the past few months, amongst all the traumas and difficulties of the Covid 19 pandemic, how often have we witnessed in all walks of life, wonderful examples of generous hospitality, offered by people of all faiths and none. Many people can be heard to say “Life will never be quite the same again” or “We’ll have to get used to the new normal”. But what about the church, how will that have changed? Will that ever be quite the same again?
In response to that question, I want to go back again to the Vice President of Conference’s address in 2003. Judy Jarvis told the story of an occasion when she was leading worship at a church in Brixton and was told “the children want to read something in the service” where upon a young man of about eleven stepped forward and read the following words:
I dream of a church where love & people are more important than stone or steeple.
I dream of a church with an open door where no one is privileged except the poor.
I dream of a church where milk & honey will flow more freely than power or money.
I dream of a church where young and old will be inspired to change their world.
I dream of a church that will make all our dreams come true.
Isn’t that a dream that all of us have and by offering generous hospitality to others we could help to make that dream become a reality.