The Reward of Welcoming the Unwelcome in Ourselves

 

Blessed be God who animates our lives and welcomes us always. AMEN

Sometimes the most wonderful gifts come in small packages! And that may be what is being offered to us this morning in the brief passage from the Gospel of Matthew. 

And sometimes there is a complexity to even the shortest of phrases or koans like those of the desert fathers and mothers or of Rumi or of Jesus. Let us pause with the apparent clarity of Matthew’s message of welcome and lift the veil to expose a new intent or meaning.

Many have preached on the word welcome and many who have, receive approving nods and glazed affirmation. Of course we are called to welcome. We are called by Jesus over and over in story after story to welcome the marginalized, the broken hearted, the stranger. We are called to welcome the unwelcomed! For we know that if and when we do, we entertain angels, we entertain Christ Christ’s self.

Many also focus on the reward part of the passage, the promise of something amazing when one welcomes in the name of Christ. We, however, tend to turn that promise into something material and transactional, quid pro quo.

Today I am wondering and would like to wonder with you who have welcomed me, not just about this reward but more importantly about whether the stranger to be welcomed is indeed our selves. How many of us fail to truly welcome the shadow sides of ourselves? How many of us fail to welcome, celebrate, the divine aspects of ourselves? It is uncomfortable…

When I find myself in this kind of space which calls me to turn inside and shed my self consciousness I remember and repeat the great commandments: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and mind and soul; and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself…as thyself we forget that part.

I think about the metaphor of the oxygen mask on an airplane and the instructions to put on one’s own mask first before assisting a child or another. We need to breathe ourselves or we are no good to anyone else. 

We are called to love our neighbor as ourself…as ourself, how are we set free to love unless we know love of self.

It seems to me that welcome is a form of love and might be substituted in the commandment to read as follows: thou shalt welcome thy neighbor as thyself. We need to welcome ourselves before we can truly embrace the entrance of another.

What would it look like to welcome ourselves? We have so many clues, like breadcrumbs along the way. For most of us here we have been or witnessed baptisms and in so doing we conclude that service with let us welcome the newly baptized. And we renew our covenant with each watery sacrament so it would seem to me that we too are to be welcomed. We do not tend to pause and focus on our own welcome. 

The problem might be that we are not sure how to welcome ourselves, especially the difficult shadowy parts of ourselves. 

Pema Chodron a Buddhist nun and mystic has written a book entitled Welcoming the Unwelcome. In it she addresses many of the questions which I have brought up today. Essentially, she encourages a practice of opening our hearts to all which is unwelcome, all which is difficult, fearful, painful etc. 

She says: Our aim is to fully awaken our heart and mind, not just for our own greater well-being but also to bring benefit, solace and wisdom to other living beings. (Chodron, p.1)

Is this not the reward of which Jesus speaks? 

Opening our hearts to that which is unwelcome is often at the heart of Jesus’ teachings. If we are to bind up the brokenhearted then what is broken within us is included. If we are to strive for righteousness then we might ask how right is our relationship with ourself.

The reward is not material. It is not wealth or power or prestige. The reward is blessedness. The reward is in the words of Scripture: Great in Heaven!

This welcome of self and all aspects of our true selves is not about ego; it is about the spark of holiness which dwells within each creature of the Creator. when we welcome the shadows of our lives we get closer to our whole, integrated, authentic selves. And those selves, no matter how shrouded, how anxious, how painful, and how joyful, are created in the image of God, no matter what, no matter how, no matter when.

So in the end Christ seems to be offering the metaphor of a guest house certainly for others in need of a safe space like on the night of His holy birth, but also of the guest house which is us, summoned to welcome joy and sorrow, grief and gratitude, that in the end we might know peace and wisdom.

Rumi beautifully supports this notion in his poem, 

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

And I would add each has been sent as a guide from God to lead us home. Amazing grace the reward for genuine welcome.