So, 

Halloween is coming! And Thanksgiving. And Christmas. 

They are all such wonderful holidays, when families and friends gather and give each other candy, share a meal, or even give each other presents.

Do you know what is similar about all those holidays? 

Well among other things, it is a time we practice hospitality! 

And when I say practice, I don’t mean we are just doing an exercise so we can get it right so day. Rather it is a time when we are just plain hospitable.

To be hospitable, according to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary is to choose to offer a pleasant, friendly, and sustaining welcome to guests.

And the two stories in today’s scripture reading offer two examples of hospitality, although with some notes about how hospitality can go wrong.
 
Now a note to parents!

The scripture lesson’s focus today is on the second story about Martha and Mary. That’s what the children and youth are learning about. But we are looking at both, because, well, there is something to learn here.

The first story about the Good Samaritan is an addition.

That’s because it offers us a reminder that while our hospitality in our own house and churches ought to be amazing, our hospitality ought to reach out well beyond both into the communities all around us near and far!

For Jesus, answering the question “who is our neighbor” meant looking beyond the persons who lived physically next door to you, and physically next door to the church, to the larger world.

A man, he said, was traveling from Jerusalem down the roads to Jericho where he was overtaken by thieves and beaten and robbed and left for dead! 

And Jesus seems at pains to make sure we see that even this man is our neighbor, and that therefore, we have responsibilities to act with hospitality toward him. 

We are, like the Samaritan, and unlike the priest and the deacon, to be pleasant, friendly, and sustaining to him, not to pass him by and avoid him. 

It’s funny, we seem to understand the rules of hospitality and the spirit of it when little people come to our doors looking for a candy treat on Halloween. 

We know to be pleasant and friendly and even feed the little monsters.

But when Jesus suggests the same rules apply to anyone we meet who is in need, whether they have a costume on our not or whether they are children or not, we seem to get a little shy or scared or resentful. 
Jesus, in fact, goes on to tell the story of the Samaritan, a fellow who understood the rules of hospitality, even though he, by definition, was a heretic. 

Samaritans were quite frankly despised by the religious folks of Jesus’ time. He would be what we consider the opposite of us, whatever that is.

But Jesus wouldn’t have it. Hospitality is and has been a biblical mandate from the beginning, when we discovered our God is a welcoming God. 

So, no, you may not shun folks you think are different!

Not even children dressed as ghosts and goblins, or witches and vampires. Not even if they are dressed as Republicans or Democrats.

All people, children and adults are to be treated with respect and love and shown hospitality. And that is exactly what the Samaritan did, taking care of the injured man, even paying for his first century’s hospitalization!

Now in the second story, hospitality is demonstrated again, but with a twist. 

Martha one of the two sisters in the story shows hospitality by making sure that all the household details of hospitality are observed. That’s so cool! I’m sure many of you have experienced them. 

When special folks are coming to your house, what are some of the things that get done to make the experience of your guests amazing?

Do you clean? Vacuum up all the dust bunnies? Wash the floors? Maybe you make the guest beds, clean the bathrooms, change all the pictures on the walls to the ones your visitors gave you?
Maybe you cook? Get out the good plates and the fancy silverware? Usually, we just get out the good paper plates, just saying! Or maybe you cook special dishes because someone in the family is gluten free, or doesn’t eat fish, or is a toddler and only eats baby food.

And according to Luke’s Gospel, Martha was on it! She was steaming up the kitchen good! But…

She was also upset because while she was cooking and cleaning and serving, her sister was sitting and listening to Jesus.

Preparing the space for a great visit is good, but the visiting, the conversations, the relationship building, the discoveries about each other lives is where the real power of hospitality shows through.

And Jesus told Martha so. 

What Mary was doing, sitting at his feet and listen to his teaching and soaking up as much as she could in those few moments of relationship was not only as important as what Martha was doing, but perhaps even more important for Mary than making dinner or setting the table.

So, when it comes to the calling of a disciple to practice hospitality, how are you doing?

What are your specialties? Do you make an amazing cheesecake? Or is your specialty vacuuming the whole house? Or at church, are you the one that greets everyone, tells them you are so glad they are here, and then makes sure they have a great time?

Because, remember this always, hospitality is in fact the Lord’s work. Just saying. Amen.