Together at God’s table

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Joe Sawatzky is a theologian and a former mission worker in South Africa.

Written by Joe Sawatzky

Giving and receiving hospitality in God’s mission

Introduction

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,” says the book of Hebrews, “for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (13:2). Through hospitality, which creates an opportunity for strangers to become friends, we experience the presence of God. Similarly, mission — the sharing of the good news of Jesus Christ across cultures — cannot be separated from hospitality. People who are sent from one place to another, being guests, rely on the wisdom and welcome of their hosts in order to survive. And hosts, showing kindness to strangers, receive from them the blessings that they bring. As Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous” (Matthew 10:41).

Together, in the giving and receiving of hospitality, guests and hosts find themselves in “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit” (2 Corinthians 13:13).

Mennonite Mission Network invites your congregation to explore what it means to experience the hospitality of God in the context of mission. Below, you will find resources to help your congregation plan a worship service, as well as ways to engage and support God’s mission through the workers, partners and ministries of Mission Network.

Scripture texts

Isaiah 25:6-10 (CEB)

On this mountain,
    the Lord of heavenly forces will prepare for all peoples
        a rich feast, a feast of choice wines,
        of select foods rich in flavor,
        of choice wines well refined.
⁷He will swallow up on this mountain the veil that is veiling all peoples,
    the shroud enshrouding all nations.
⁸He will swallow up death forever.
The Lord God will wipe tears from every face;
    he will remove his people’s disgrace from off the whole earth,
        for the Lord has spoken.
⁹They will say on that day,
“Look! This is our God,
    for whom we have waited—
    and he has saved us!
This is the Lord, for whom we have waited;
    let’s be glad and rejoice in his salvation!”
¹⁰    The Lord’s hand will indeed rest on this mountain.

Moab will be trampled down
as straw is trampled into manure.

Psalm 23 (CEB)

¹ The Lord is my shepherd.
    I lack nothing.
²He lets me rest in grassy meadows;
    he leads me to restful waters;
³        he keeps me alive.
He guides me in proper paths
    for the sake of his good name.

⁴Even when I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger because you are with me.
Your rod and your staff—
they protect me.

⁵You set a table for me
    right in front of my enemies.
You bathe my head in oil;
    my cup is so full it spills over!
⁶Yes, goodness and faithful love
    will pursue me all the days of my life,
    and I will live in the Lord’s house
    as long as I live.

Romans 12:9-21 (CEB)

⁹Love should be shown without pretending. Hate evil, and hold on to what is good.¹⁰Love each other like the members of your family. Be the best at showing honor to each other. ¹¹Don’t hesitate to be enthusiastic—be on fire in the Spirit as you serve the Lord! ¹²Be happy in your hope, stand your ground when you’re in trouble, and devote yourselves to prayer. ¹³Contribute to the needs of God’s people, and welcome strangers into your home. ¹⁴Bless people who harass you—bless and don’t curse them. ¹⁵Be happy with those who are happy, and cry with those who are crying. ¹⁶Consider everyone as equal, and don’t think that you’re better than anyone else. Instead, associate with people who have no status. Don’t think that you’re so smart. ¹⁷Don’t pay back anyone for their evil actions with evil actions, but show respect for what everyone else believes is good.

¹⁸If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people. ¹⁹Don’t try to get revenge for yourselves, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. It is written, Revenge belongs to me; I will pay it back, says the Lord. ²⁰Instead, If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. By doing this, you will pile burning coals of fire upon his head. ²¹Don’t be defeated by evil, but defeat evil with good.

John 6:1-15 (CEB)

¹ After this Jesus went across the Galilee Sea (that is, the Tiberias Sea). ²A large crowd followed him, because they had seen the miraculous signs he had done among the sick. ³Jesus went up a mountain and sat there with his disciples. ⁴It was nearly time for Passover, the Jewish festival.

⁵Jesus looked up and saw the large crowd coming toward him. He asked Philip, “Where will we buy food to feed these people?” ⁶Jesus said this to test him, for he already knew what he was going to do.

⁷Philip replied, “More than a half year’s salary worth of food wouldn’t be enough for each person to have even a little bit.”

⁸One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said, ⁹“A youth here has five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that for a crowd like this?”

¹⁰Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass there. They sat down, about five thousand of them. ¹¹Then Jesus took the bread. When he had given thanks, he distributed it to those who were sitting there. He did the same with the fish, each getting as much as they wanted. ¹²When they had plenty to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces, so that nothing will be wasted.”¹³So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves that had been left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴When the people saw that he had done a miraculous sign, they said, “This is truly the prophet who is coming into the world.” ¹⁵Jesus understood that they were about to come and force him to be their king, so he took refuge again, alone on a mountain.

Children’s time

Children’s story #1

Giving and Receiving all year-round

What do you remember about last Christmas? Did you open a present that you really liked, or spend time with relatives that you hadn’t seen for a long time? Maybe you ate some really good food, like your grandma’s roast turkey or your uncle’s secret-recipe Christmas cookies.

However you spent your Christmas, it is important to remember the real reason for celebrating. You probably know the story of Jesus, God’s only son, being born as a human so that he could save us from our sins.

You might be thinking, “Why are we talking about Christmas now? It’s almost summertime.” There’s a good reason for that, and we’ll get to it soon.

Have you ever wondered why we give presents at Christmas? It’s Jesus’ birthday, but you and your family are giving the gifts to each other!?

When we give presents to other people on Christmas, it symbolizes the gifts that the three wise men gave to Jesus in the Christmas story. Do you know what “symbolizes” means? It’s when we do something to remind us of another thing that has happened before. We give presents to each other because Jesus gave all of us the greatest gift of all — the gift of living among us, dying to share with us abundant life. Remember that. That’s what the Christmas spirit is about.

A church in Barcelona, Spain, celebrates Christmas by giving small presents to children at the Christmas Eve service. Even though the kids loved getting the gifts and the church loved giving them, sometimes there weren’t enough gifts to go around. The church kept a list of all the children they thought would be at the Christmas Eve service — and they made sure they had enough presents for those kids. But sometimes, children showed up who weren’t on the list, and there wasn’t a present for them.

Have you ever seen someone else get a present when you didn’t get one? It can be a bummer.

So, two years ago, the Barcelona congregation started a new tradition. Instead of getting gifts, the kids gave gifts to everyone. The day before the church’s Christmas celebration, they decorated Christmas cookies to give to others at a party after the Christmas program.

Now, nobody gets left out, and the kids in the church know the real meaning of the Christmas season. They think about what they can give to others instead of what they can get from others. They can feel good about helping the church, and they probably get to help eat the cookies, too!

So, why are we talking about Christmas now?! Because giving is as important as receiving. Not just at Christmas, but through the whole year! We all have opportunities to give to others every single day of our lives. What are some ways that you can give and show the true spirit of Christmas to people all year-round? You don’t have to give presents to someone every day, but you can give other things: your time and help, or even a simple smile. (Give them a chance to answer or offer suggestions.)

Help your family with chores around the house.
Without being asked, do your homework or chores before you play.
Listen to your parents/guardians.
Help your younger siblings with their homework.
Play with someone in your class at school who doesn’t have many friends.

Prayer

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for coming to live on this earth and showing us how to love each other. Thank you for showing us how to forgive each other. We want to give in the spirit of Christmas all year-round. Help us to remember that, every day, we should give gifts such as our time and help and kindness. Amen.

Children’s story #2

Sharing your faith in Jesus with others

When Jesus returned to heaven, he gave his disciples one last instruction: “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). When he said that, he meant for his followers (like you and me) to share their faith with everyone they meet wherever they (we) are — on the playground, in the halls at school, or at a friend’s house.

Do you know what sharing your faith means? It’s like when grown-ups ask you to share a toy with one of your brothers or sisters or a friend. When you share a toy, the person you’re sharing it with gets to enjoy it and have fun, too. Sharing your faith is just like that. When you share how much you love Jesus with others, it helps them to learn to love Jesus, too!

In Argentina, a country in South America, people in the Mennonite churches get excited about sharing their faith with others! In fact, they’ve been doing it for more than 100 years now. That might be longer than your church has been around!

Argentines drink a tea called mate (MAH-tay) that is made by pouring hot water over tea leaves. This tea is made in a special cup with a metal straw and it is passed around to share with everyone.

Travelers in Argentina can stop and ask people they don’t know for water for their mate. While the water is heating up is a time when Christians will share their faith and maybe even ask others if they want to go to church!

Followers of Jesus tell the story of driving a bus from town to town. They named the bus Lazarus, because it broke down many times and would be fixed and brought back to life — just like Jesus’ friend, Lazarus. When it broke down, they stayed longer in the towns to wait for repairs, and they shared their faith while waiting.

Through the years, new churches developed in some of the towns in which Lazarus, the bus, broke down. Those followers of Jesus helped other people want to share their faith because of the kindness given and received while waiting for the bus repairs.

You can share your faith by being helpful: If you see that someone forgot their lunch at school or is out of lunch money, you can share your lunch with them. Even if they just forgot their pencil in math class, sharing a pencil with them can go a long way to showing them your faith.

You can also share your faith by asking others for help, too. It seems strange, but asking someone for help can give you the chance to make new friends that you can share your faith with. If you had to move to a new school, asking someone for help (like to borrow a pencil!) can put you on the right track to making new friends.

Or if you’re searching for your lost pet (ask the children what the names of their pets are), you ask around the neighborhood if people have seen them. They can keep an eye out for your pet, and you might just make a new friend, too — and, hopefully, you’ll find your old one (good boy!). Just remember, always make sure you are with a grown-up and ask for permission before talking to people you do not know.

What are some creative ways you can share your faith in Jesus with the people you meet at school or other places? Remember, it doesn’t have to be hard. Even just being kind in small ways is enough to share your faith in Jesus.

Since we don’t drink much mate here in _______________, what can we ask people for to start a conversation? Directions? Time? Tissues?

Prayer

Dear God, thank you for all the things you do for us. Help us to be able to share our faith with people we meet wherever we are. Help us to show kindness to others, just like you would. When it feels hard to share our faith, help us find the little ways that we can help others so that they can see your love in us. Amen.

Sermon starters

With John 6:1-15 as your primary sermon text, consider using the following observations and questions to focus your study.

At the beginning of the text, Jesus “went up the mountain” (v. 3). At the end of the text, Jesus “withdrew again to the mountain” (v. 15). The “mountain” is also featured as the setting for Isaiah 25:6-10. What connections might you make between the mountain in Isaiah and the mountain in John?

References to eating occur twice in this text. The first is in Jesus’ question to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” (v. 5, italics added). The second reference is in the voice of the narrator, who says, “from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets” (v. 13, italics added). How would you describe the relationship between the two instances of “eat” in this story? How would you characterize the change that took place in the story between these two usages?

The five “loaves” and two “fish” are used to feed the five thousand (vv. 9-11). By what process did this feeding take place? Which characters participated and how did they participate?

In the middle of the text, the people “sit down” or “recline” (Greek: anapesein) — the posture for enjoying a meal (v. 10). Where do they recline or “lie down?” What connections do you notice between this detail and Psalm 23?

The word “sign” (Greek: semeia) is used twice in this text, once at the beginning and once at the end (vv. 2, 14). The nature of a sign is to point to the reality that it signifies. What does the feeding of the five thousand signify about Jesus?

Finally, how does this story speak to you about hospitality?

Worship resources

Worship resources from Voices Together

Call to worship:

No. 853 “If you are delighted to be here”
No. 1023 “What will you offer the body of Christ today?”
No. 1024 “There is no scarcity”

Prayers:

No. 958 “This home is yours, my God”
No. 1016 “Jesus of love and leftovers”
No. 1038 “La paz no es producto del terror ni del miedo”

Songs:

No. 124 “For the Fruit of All Creation”
No 174 “Christ Has Broken Down the Wall”
No. 460 “From North and South, from East and West”
No. 461 “Come to the Table of Grace”
No 462 “We Place upon Your Table”
No. 464 “Somos pueblo que camina”
No. 474 “All Who Hunger, Gather Gladly”
No. 481 “In the Singing, in the Silence”
No. 482 “Let Us Break Bread Together”
No. 511 “Come On, Children, to the Gospel Feast”
No. 757 “There’s Enough for All”
No. 801 “I’m Gonna Eat at the Welcome Table”

Table blessings:

No. 486 “Great God, the Giver of All Good”
No. 487 “Gracias, Señor”
No. 488 “God is Great and God is Good”
No. 489 “Bless This Food and Bless Your People”

Ideas for fellowship meal

Prepare a fellowship meal as part of your Mission Sunday celebration. Feature foods from the countries where the ministries your congregation supports, through Mission Network, are located. Make the meal a community celebration, inviting neighbors who may not have a church home. Check out www.MennoniteMission.net/MissionMonth for recipe ideas.

Recipe suggestions: