"Welcome Sunday" Message

 5-1-22

Grace to you and peace from God our creator and lord and savior Jesus the Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, amen. 

How are you enjoying our little “Welcome Sunday” experiment? Are you learning anything so far? As we mentioned earlier, there are treats and bags of goodies for our visitors under the big orange tent in the open space we call the Centrum - you can’t miss it! You are also welcome to join any of the small groups that are active here, and we have a cadre of extra friendly greeters who are ready to point you in the right direction. And if none of your friends or neighbors could make it today, feel free to bring a bag home with you to deliver to them! 

We’re so glad for EVERYONE that is here, both in person and online, and it’s my hope that all of us can benefit from learning more about why we do what we do on Sunday morning. This pattern of worship we use every Sunday is an ancient one, and many parts date back to thousands of years. In fact, the idea of special seasons that guide our lives is as old as humanity itself. 

Most of us pay at least a little bit of attention to the calendar year - days, months, holidays, the change in weather and seasons. Some of us are ruled by the school year - vacations, breaks, quarters, semesters, sports, band concerts, homecoming, prom season, graduation…. 

Then there is the “Church Calendar” of special  seasons and holidays too.  Sometimes all of our calendars line up or overlap like Christmas and Easter day… and sometimes they aren’t quite in sync, like with Pentecost or Reformation Sunday or the season of Lent. 

As we mentioned earlier, in the Church Year today is the third Sunday after Easter. That means Easter Sunday was 3 weeks ago, and we have 4 more to go, because Easter is not just one day, but a season that is 7 weeks long!

Perhaps by now the Alleluias are starting to get a little stale, and the lilies  you brought home are looking kind of sad… and life outside these walls have definitely gone back to “normal.” Our other calendars are WAY past Easter and telling us to gear up for graduation season and summer. So really, did it matter that a few weeks ago we celebrated Jesus’ victory over death? Do we go back to “business as usual” after we have encountered the life-changing reality of the Resurrected Jesus? 

From what we heard in our reading from John just now, according to Peter’s reaction … His answer to the second question seems like yes - time to go back to fishing as usual. Peter and the other disciples have by now experienced the Risen Jesus… not once but MULTIPLE times… but Peter still apparently longs for the familiar. But as we just heard, Peter and the other disciples are soon off the boats and eating breakfast with Jesus. After brunch, though, Jesus keeps Peter on task. Peter needs a little reminder that following Jesus means taking care of the people that Jesus loves - the hungry, the vulnerable, the oppressed, people in need of hearing the good news. 

But Jesus also alludes that life following him would not be lattes and bubble baths. They were in for a hard time, often caused by none other than Saul from our first reading. (By the way, time can sometimes be a little wibbly-wobbly here in worship!)

From the book of Acts, which is short for The Acts of the Apostles, we heard how the followers of Jesus were hunted down and prevented from talking about Jesus. One of the most notorious of these enemies of the early church was Saul. And, spoiler alert - he probably has the best redemption arc in all of history. First, he is Christianity’s worst enemy… and then he becomes Christianity’s best PR person EVER. 

How did this happen? Well, his villain story begins in another part of the book of Acts. At the stoning of the first Christian martyr Stephen, a young Saul held the cloaks of the others who did the actual deed. From that moment on, Saul became infamous for his relentless harassment of the early church, arresting both men and women for believing and preaching about Jesus. 

But persecuting Christians in Jerusalem wasn’t enough for Saul. He wanted to stamp out these heretical followers of Jesus everywhere. But on his way to a neighboring city, he had an encounter he didn’t expect - with the very last person on earth he expected to meet - Jesus himself! A bright light flashed from heaven and Saul was made completely blind in an instant. 

Now, to switch gears for a moment, imagine you are Ananias. One night, the Lord speaks to you, and tells you not only that the one and only SAUL is in your town, but that you should GO VISIT him… and to top it all off, to HEAL HIM! 

Well, we heard how Ananias responded. Even after all that Saul had done, Ananias did heal and welcome him, and even called Saul his “brother.” That, I think, might just be the true miracle of the story. Saul was then baptized and began to preach about his encounter with Jesus. He changes his name to Paul, and becomes the author of most of the New Testament. All because he encountered Jesus and was welcomed into the community of faith with open arms. 

It's not surprising then that Paul also became a champion of including outsiders into this community of faith - and is the reason all of us are here today, as part of the Christian fold belonging to God’s flock. Because Paul was welcomed, Paul became a champion of God’s radical welcome for all. 

Nothing will get in the way of God’s radical welcome - not Ananias’s reluctance, not Paul’s past, or Peter’s obliviousness…. And nothing will get in the way of God welcoming us: not our past deeds or misdeeds, not our past inability to see Jesus, not by our desire to go back to the way things were - not even sin, human brokenness, and death can stand in the way. And so, We simply do what Jesus modeled for us and commanded us to: invite.  Jesus welcomes. And so we welcome too. Whether this is your first time year or your one millionth time here, there is a place for you among us. 

Now, this is the part in the sermon where the pastor usually wraps up… but also it’s supposed to be where you insert yourself into the story. As soon as this sermon is over…. as soon as this worship is over… as soon as Sunday is over, our Monday lives will creep back in. Now is the perfect time to ask yourself - how have I felt welcomed today? What can I do to keep the welcome going Monday through Saturday in the coming week? What can our family talk about on the way home from worship today? How can I talk about this at the water cooler or at the lunch table on Monday? How do these stories of Peter, Paul, and Ananias speak to me this week? 

That’s the fun and exciting part that YOU get to explore - how God is at work with this week’s word inside your heart and your minds. Good luck, and know that you are not alone in wondering, learning, welcoming. Because next week, guess what? We get another chance to do it ALL OVER AGAIN. Thanks be to God. Amen.