Welcome. Holy Welcome.

Retreat House Director and Founder Reflects on Matthew 10:40-42  

I often point out that the two most significant parts of the Retreat House Rule of Life are: 1) All are welcome at the table. 2)All offerings of prayer are welcome. In Matthew’s message this week, there is no doubt that God invites us and expects us to welcome all, even what we at first perceive to be unwelcome.

Think Holy welcome. If you welcome someone with the awe and wonder to expect God to be present, you will see the Holy in the other. On the flip side, if you welcome someone with fear, you will see the fear. You see, the passage is also teaching us that the way we welcome has a direct response to the way we receive. Think Holy listening. Am I expecting to see the Holy? Or am I expecting to see the fear? The Holy, Jesus reminds us, can be in simplest offering of hospitality like a cup of cold water, freshly drawn from the well of our soul.

Notice the water is cold. Remember there is no ice and refrigeration in Jesus’ day. So if the water is cold, it is freshly drawn, intentionally, to welcome someone. To welcome all, the stranger, and the enemy. In the greatest offering of hospitality, you are welcome at the table. Holy welcome. In this time of pandemic, I equate “giving a cup of cold water” to wearing your mask in public, intentionally honoring and welcoming the health of another by embracing the unwelcome mask.

Yes, we are weary and tired. Yes, we have some fear about the virus. Yes, it takes courage. Yes, it is a time we shall be more aware of and love our neighbor. Holy welcome. In this time of racism, I equate giving a cup of cold water to engage in conversation and loving action with our black brothers and sisters. Fear breeds silence. Break the silence and gently embrace the voice of judgment that lives inside you. Sit down with it, and have a conversation with judgment.

This is part of what you carry around with you and project on others. Do not listen to the voice that says you don’t have it. We all have it. We all project from our own experience. Stop denying it. Welcome it. It has something to teach you. It will bring freedom to you and to our black brothers and sisters. Holy welcome.

In this invitation to a time of healing, I equate giving a cup of cold water to spending 15-20 minutes each morning in a spiritual discipline of prayer that grounds you in Holy welcome. Centering prayer, lectio divina, nature walks soaking in the holiness of creation, meditation, breath prayer, stillness, etc. Being grounded in Holy welcome will make a profound difference in your relationship with the Holy, with yourself, and with your neighbor. The more you practice the more you will see the Holy before you. Holy welcome. 

You are always welcome at Retreat House. All events are virtual today as we extend Holy welcome to one another, compassionate and loving action to honor the well-being of self and other. Please join one of our programs or reach out to a spiritual director who can guide you in your journey toward Holy welcome.

Listen to Rev. Dr. Lil Smith's Guided Meditation for Praying the Lectionary for Matthew 10:40-42.

As you experience the practice of praying the lectionary, adopt a loving, caring and compassionate stance. If the end of your prayer and meditation time is not pointing to love and hope, there is more work to do. Keep wrestling. God is faithful to your journey. Love and hope will emerge. Be gentle with yourself and befriend any judgment that arises in you.

This excerpt was taken from a weekly meditation deployed to Retreat House subscribers via email every Sunday morning. To add your name to this list and receive weekly meditations, please email us.