Welcoming others because we were welcomed

Excerpt from Luca’s sermon to St. Mary’s in the Valley, Ramona on August 17, 2025 reflecting on Luke12:49-56

I actually have a bit of a hard time connecting with a lot of today's scripture, Angry God

is something I find uncomfortable. But I work hard to work past these feelings. In the

gospel this week, we see a Jesus that isn’t usually presented in the Bible: we see him

tired and grumpy from the work in front of him and how the people around him just

aren’t getting it. That is a feeling we are all familiar with: looking ahead at that the

daunting task of working to help others, while knowing in your heart that doing said work

might cause division. Some of this may be familiar to the people running Agape, who

have been working to build new student housing that has been in progress for a decade

Now.

But from a student perspective, the connection of this week's service to Agape’s ministry

lives in a line of the post communion prayer. During this prayer, we make a commitment

that “we who have been welcomed, welcome others.” This line sticks out to me a lot, as

someone who has felt overwhelming welcome everywhere I go within the church. It

means the most to me when I think about Agape’s ministry. I was welcomed into a

community on campus, and now I feel a calling to extend that welcome to others. No

matter if they look different then I do, speak differently than I do, or believe in different

things than I do. I feel a need to welcome anyone, no matter how many shoes they have

on.

This is the clearest when we give out pizza on Wednesdays. It is a very simple thing,

handing out food and drinks to people who happen to be nearby, while also offering a

safe space to rest, but it is also one of the most important things that I am a part of.

Sharing a connection with a person, even if its just a conversation after handing over a

slice of Costco pizza, is one of the most Christlike things you can do. He wants us to

share the love of being a live, and be kind to others no matter how different they are. That

connection was the message he was having such a hard time sharing. While forming

that connection, you will inevitably have conflict, because you are different people, and

different people think differently. That is a good thing! Seeking those differences, and

understanding them, and maintaining respect while doing so is incredibly important. It

lets you grow.

Having a community that allows these sorts of connections to grow is impossibly

important to me. It is one of my favorite ways of fulfilling my baptismal covenant, by

respecting the dignity of every human being, and seeking and serving Christ in all

persons, loving my neighbor as myself.