We begin today, too. In some ways, we have already begun. I began in December praying for the people of West grove upon hearing the news that Pastor Bk had become a DS. It was such a surprise to hear that we were appointed here in January, but we changed our prayers with joy. We began with warm welcomes and transitioning support from you all. But today, we begin in earnest. We begin our journey together. rnrn So, I want to share a few things about me and my journey as we walk this next part together. I grew up in the Church- in a United Methodist Church, to be more specific. My family was very active in our local United Methodist Church, Hopewell. I am the oldest of three. I have a younger sister who works for senior vice president of operations for the Maryland Food Bank, and a younger brother, who is a CPA for Ernest and Young in Philadelphia. My mother and her husband are still active at Hopewell. I was active in all aspects of our church as a child and youth. So, it was to the church we turned when my father was diagnosed with brain cancer. And the good people of the church was loved us, fed us, and supported us through surgery, treatments, and my father’s very quick death. rnrn At first, I treasured the small gestures of love and hospitality of others. I experienced the converting and warming of my heart as I served others at a Good Works camp, repairing homes and rebuilding communities. And then, as often happens in crisis, I began to worry, I began to doubt. I was scared and overwhelmed. Very quickly, I found a downward spiral of anorexia, depression, and hospitalization. It was in the midst of that deep, dark place that I reached out. It was the healing presence of Jesus Christ that met me in the Communion that the volunteer youth worker from my church brought to me. It was in the relationships and community that I found healing. rnrn For me, there was healing from sexual abuse and brokenness in the continual invitation from Jesus Christ. An invitation that came not once in my life, but time after time. An invitation that included a beautiful fall day in September of 1999, when I paused in the chapel at Goucher College, where I was seeking a major in dance science. Where I paused in the chapel to pray and heard the voice of God say to me “look at those ministry packets.” rnrn And my response was strong and my response was committed. I have been saying yes for the last 15 years. Yes to serving in leadership roles in the Christian Fellowship at Penn State, Yes to the candidacy process with the United Methodist Church, Yes to marrying Steve, Yes to going to seminary, Yes to serving as a 2nd grade teacher, Yes to serving as director of Christian Education, Yes to licensing school, Yes to two beautiful daughters, Yes to going where we are sent, Yes to serving God. Yes to ordination. Yes to being in ministry in Hatboro, Hellertown, Ackermanville, and YES to ministry in West Grove, here! Yes to proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and seeking to life as a disciple and lead others as disciples. rnrn It is from that impulse that our gospel lesson today finds us in the center of Jesus’ instructions to the disciples as they prepare to go into all of their known world – preaching, teaching, healing, and sharing the kingdom of God with all they met. They are beginning a new chapter in their journey with Jesus, even though they have been with him for some time now. But Jesus is still able to shock them and still able to surprise them with his instructions. And so, these instructions tell the disciples to take up their crosses, love Jesus more than anything and offer even a cold cup of water to the little ones, the least well thought of ones. rnrnFor the people of the book, Jews and Christians, hospitality is an intrinsic part our identity. The call to welcome the stranger anchors the image of God welcoming the wandering people called the Israelites. It is also a measure of the community’s faithfulness. Travelers and strangers litter the pages of the Old Testament. These were unknown persons, often foreigners with foods, different clothes, different languages, and different gods.rnrn Interestingly, the words: host, guest, hostile, hostage, hospital, and hospitality all originate from the same Latin root – hostis. The root word means stranger or enemy. To extend hospitality, to be a host is to widen one’s preferred circle and take a risk. The same remained true in Christian communities: welcoming the stranger, offer hospitality to the aliens. The letter to the Hebrews gives us this gem of insight: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entrained angels without knowing it.” rn rn It is hard to believe that you and I might entertaining angels when the phone rings with a sales call during dinner or the supermarket teller who is more interested in texting than conversation. In believing that the stranger might be the very presence of God, the message is clear: Come right in and disturb our perfect lives. You are the Christ for us today. This was part of the Benedictine rule of living. Each visitor, expected or unexpected was the very presence of God. The rule goes farther to suggest that in letting down the barriers of our souls, the God of the unexpected can come in.rnWith Jesus’ focus on welcome and hospitality for those who are traditionally at the edge of society makes the current presumption by the wider culture that the church is a place of judgment, rather than welcome, hard to swallow. But the truth is many more people associate the church with judgmental than welcoming. Perhaps, there is something for us to examine. rnrn It could be that if you anything like me, you are better at welcoming on your own terms: When you know someone is coming; When the house is clean; When there is extra food in the pantry; When you have the time to linger around the conversations. It is much harder to offer a welcoming spirit, when you, yourself are rushing to the next and the welcoming act is more of an interruption. rnrn Hospitality can seem like a luxury, unnecessary as way of living. Barbara Brown Taylor, the famous preacher reminds us that we are not “consumers” but “providers of God’s love.” The church is not “hideout,” or “the place where those of us who know the secret password can gather to celebrate our good fortune,” and we are not simply “chosen people who have been given more good gifts than we can open at one sitting: healing, forgiveness, restoration, resurrection.” Instead, “the Holy Spirit comes knocking at the door, disturbing our members-only meeting and reminding us that it is time to share”. rnrn The life of discipleship, two thousand years ago in the Galilee and today in Chester County is in small acts of devotion and one thousand small gestures. It is on the strength of this very passage that Mother Teresa was oft to quip, “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” Welcome as a practice of hospitality doesn’t just happen. It has to be taught. Giving a cup of water to the least, the last, the lost. Giving a cold cup of water on blistering hot day to someone you would rather not relate to. Paying attention to the very ones that are not worthy of your time. rnrn Hospitality is offered from exactly where you are today. In her book Amazing Grace, Kathleen Norris tells the story of a nun who, although she has Alzheimer’s, still asks to be rolled in her wheelchair to the door of her nursing home so she can greet every guest. Said one nun of her sister in ministry, “She is no longer certain what she is welcoming people to…but hospitality is so deeply ingrained in her that it has become her whole life.” Norris continues, “I read somewhere, in an article on monastic spirituality, that only people who are basically at home, and at home in themselves, can offer hospitality…hospitality has a way of breaking through our insularity.”rnrn It may seem easy and inconsequential, the offering of a cup of cold water. Jesus emphasizes the same by his use of the word “even.” You and I often dream up gigantic images of discipleship in which we must feed the whole world, address of the socio-economic blights holding back the children of the world, or prevent war from ravaging the people of the world. I am convinced that sometimes we are called to such bold and audacious actions AND on a daily basis discipleship is nothing more than giving a cup of cold water to one in need. Or offering a hug to someone who is grieving. Or a listening ear to someone in need of a friend. Or offering a ride to someone without a car. Or volunteering at the local food bank or Community café. Or making a donation to an agency like UMCOR . Or…you get the idea. In beginning again and beginning anew, you and both get another chance to offer hospitality to each other and to the rest of the world. rnrn This is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, thanks be to God, Amen. rnrnFootnotes:rnGuenther, Margaret. At Home in the World: A Rule of Life for the Rest of Us. (Seabury Books: New York, NY), 2006, 49. rnHebrews 13:2rnChittister, Joan. Rule of Benedict, The: Insight for the Ages. (Crossroads Publishing), 1996.rnTaylor, Barbara Brown. The Bread of Angels. (Cowley Publishing: Plymouth, UK), 1997, 154