Hospitality-Fellowshipping Meal Program

I wrote this article (some text taken from Samuele Bacchiochi’s book on the Sabbath), and in one part of it I mention a hospitality-meal program my first pastor, Fred Kellers, set up.  This was for the fledgling Boston congregation of the Worldwide Church of God, and I still have some very fond memories of those Sabbath meals.  Since that idea about Sabbath meal hospitality was set up and set in motion by Fred Kellers (who just retired from serving in the United Church of God, both as a longtime UCG pastor and longtime Worldwide Church of God pastor), it is a legitimate idea that can be carried out within and by the members of any Sabbath-keeping Church of God congregation.  There’s some good sermon and/or sermonette material in this article as well.  But Fred’s program of Sabbath hospitality-meals is one of the most powerful programs I’ve ever seen (and unknowingly) participated in (as a young hungry bachelor and newbie in the Boston congregation of the WCG).  It was a quiet program, as none of us knew Fred had set it up (except for those hosting these meals).  He had selected some key members in the congregation to sponsor and have these meals, who would invite a mixture of solid older members and new members over to their houses after services for a good meal and fellowshipping, newbies like me who had just become a part of the congregation.  We’d sit around at a meal, fellowshipping, and us newbie members could ask questions about the Faith in a friendly unofficial atmosphere, where we’d feel far more comfortable asking questions.  It seemed someone was always having one of these meals, and I bounced from one to another.  If there’s ever a Revival like the one I was in during the early 1970s, a program like this should be a key part of it (and we never knew Fred Kellers had set this up, I found out years later). This is a short quote from that article I wrote for the Worldwide Church of God section of my website.

What Was Jesus’ Intent, Emphasis for the Sabbath?

“Since Yahweh, the Great I AM of Exodus 3:13-15 was none other than Jesus Christ (cf. John 8:58), we’d expect the answer to the be same. And it essentially is. And it even goes into the question of meals on the Sabbath, hosting meals and such. It all goes down to intent. Let’s get right into a Scriptural passage, and then we’ll discuss it. Luke 14:1, 12-14, “Now it happened, as he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched him closely.” OK, verses 2-6 show it’s a set-up, they have a poor unfortunate guy there who probably has elephantiasis, and Jesus does his thing, and instantly heals this man. The man himself was probably extremely grateful that Pharisee chose him as bait, to bait Jesus, because he walks out a healed man. In verses 7-11 Jesus spells out some rules of etiquette for when you’re invited over say for a wedding feast. But he was invited for a Sabbath dinner, so now he gets right to the point, and what Jesus says ties right in with what we just read in Isaiah, doing the Lord’s things and not our own things on the Sabbath. Jesus used the Sabbath to edify others, and so should we. Let’s see what he said to this ruler of the Pharisees. Verses 12-14, “Then he also said to him who invited him, ‘When you give a dinner or a supper [verse 1, context, “on the Sabbath”], do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast [again, context, a Sabbath feast], invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection.” Now, the poor, maimed, lame and blind could also be the spiritually poor, maimed, lame and blind, or they could be physically so. We know physical ailments have their spiritual counterparts. It’s not too far a stretch to say Jesus is talking about both. Now let’s discuss this a little bit. You spend six days out of seven in the world. In today’s poor economy it’s not uncommon for most of us to be working six days out of every seven, if we can find work, just to make ends meet. Most of us are not fortunate enough to be working with brethren. When the early apostolic Church formed after the Pentecost of Acts 2, fellowshipping, especially on God’s Sabbaths and Holy Days, occurred with great regularity and over meals. Some of my fondest memories as a newbie in God’s Church were memories of shared meals with brethren after Sabbath services. I was a young bachelor (with an appetite and the ability to not gain an ounce of weight), and boy could some of those ladies cook up a storm. Mr. Fred Kellers (my first pastor), I learned much later, had assigned a number of spiritually mature families to invite small groups over to their homes after Sabbath services (on a rotating basis), and to especially include any new people or visitors and strangers who had shown up in services. Due to this quiet ministry he had set up, we were one of the most hospitable Churches of God going. And many of my myriad number of spiritual questions new people have were gently and effectively answered at these “love feasts”, taking quite a load off the pastor’s shoulders, I might add. I don’t see this happening too much within the Churches of God right now. Has the Church gone too Pharisaic against the cooking or presenting of meals on the Sabbath to allow this? Inviting God’s people, strangers and visitors, new people who show up at services is not “doing your own thing,” it is “doing God’s thing,” God’s work through godly hospitality. Currently I attend a tiny house-church which has grown to four families and some singles (six kids in our Sabbath Bible class), we’ve bonded like brothers and sisters, and over time a powerful love-dynamic has formed between us members. We have services, and fellowship over a pot-luck meal afterwards, hanging around and fellowshipping well past sundown most of the time. Larger congregations, often lacking that intimacy, can appear to be cold and sterile, and this is merely because the dynamic is different, it’s nobody’s fault at all. I know one larger congregation that has a pot-luck meal once a month after services, and this goes a long way toward creating a bond of fellowship amongst members, and showing love toward those who need it. But it can be taken a step further, by voluntarily being part of a group of people who are given to hospitality. This “group” can be organized by the pastor or not, it doesn’t matter. If you see a need, fulfill it, it’s that simple. Your first priority on your invite-list is the single folk, visitors and strangers that show up in Sabbath services. They should never be allowed to leave after services without an invitation somewhere. Do you want your congregation to grow or shrink? Some of that is in your pastor’s hands, some of it is in God’s hands, but a lot of it has been left in your hands. God will bless a friendly church with more new people, because he knows their needs will be taken care of, both physically and spiritually. There is a powerful spiritual dynamic here folks, so let’s take advantage of it.” I wrote this article to be a part of my Worldwide Church of God section, you might like it, it has some interesting ideas about Sabbath observance in it. 

see

https://unityinchrist.com/wwcofg/The%20Sabbath%20and%20Hospitality.htm