Unexpected Guest

Can you imagine if you invited someone over for dinner, and then one of their poor friends showed up in raggedy clothes needing to talk to them? That is kind of what happened in this week’s Gospel reading from Luke 7. The Pharisee thought he was doing a generous and nice thing as He invited Jesus into his home, but then this woman shows up to pour perfume on Jesus’ feet.  In that culture, a woman was seen as a lower citizen, so having one come into the house of this Pharisee, someone who was on a different level with God (or so he thought), was an outrage. It is easy to give the Pharisee a bad rap, but in this case, if we think about a stranger coming into our home and stealing our time with our guest right out from under us, we can understand the Pharisee’s bitterness. Jesus quickly responds to the Pharisee’s dismay by saying that a person who has more to forgive will show even more gratefulness, and talks about how the woman truly greeted and cared for Him, while the Pharisee just invited him into his house.

There are a lot of lessons to be learned here, but one that has taken me years to understand is that we should be prepared for unexpected guests walking into church. Being prepared is easier said than done. It means that we, in every corner and in every place, look to help a new person understand our culture. It means we look to explain Lutheranism all the time. I spent years thinking, or maybe being taught, that if we changed our music or the way we preached, we would get more people. But the answer is not found in making these changes just to look like some other church that seems to have more people. The answer is helping the people who come understand why we do what we do. Once we get a friend in the door, we need to help him/her understand this unfamiliar setting. It is education—something the Lutheran church has traditionally been good at. Perhaps we need to work a little harder, or more intentionally, in this one particular area.

Last weekend after the funeral, I shared one of the most powerful parts of the committal with the family at the graveside. I talked about putting dirt on the casket, then I put my hand on the casket and spoke the words that define the roles of each person in the Trinity. If you have been to a committal or graveside service done without this part, there is not much to it. Later I was talking to a pastor friend of mine (of a different denomination) and we talked about the amazing gift of the committal liturgy in the Lutheran church. It has such powerful language, which provides comfort in a confusing and sad time. That is the beauty of liturgy; words that are not dependent on the pastor coming up with everything for himself in the moment. This is an important point in helping people understand liturgy and why we do services and worship the way we do.

Imagine if the Pharisee would have welcomed the woman into his home. What if he had said, “You want to see Jesus?  Of course! Come in. Join us.” What if he had set a place for her and helped her understand his traditions and what to do at his table? Can you imagine her reaction?

We know that when people find out about Jesus they want to get to know Him better. As extraordinary servants, it takes time to talk to people about the uniqueness of our Lutheran heritage, and also the uniqueness of our church. It means slowing down, taking steps to build relationships with newer people and talk with them.  Then in the comfort of that relationship, they can feel at ease asking questions and you can explain the whys.