I imagine the town of Davis is like a runner the day before a marathon – stretching, breathing deeply, and limbering up as it gets ready for the big race – the start of another year at UC Davis.
That means soon the aroma of academia will fill coffee shops, the bike bunches will return at all the hot intersections, and the bedtime for Downtown Davis will go up an hour or two. It also means our zip codes and our lives will be filled with about 10,000 new strangers. with a mix of new first-year freshman, transfer students, and graduate researchers.
It turns out God has a thing or two to say about strangers. It was a fundamental command in the law of God’s people – not simply because it’s nice to be hospitable, but because it is a direct response to the way God cared for Israel when they were strangers in Egypt (Deut. 10:19, Lev. 19:34). Do this because I did this for you, and I want you to look like me in the world.
When Jesus separates the sheep from the goats, he shares a defining characteristic of the sheep: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matt. 25:43-44)
Let’s not forget the stunning statement from the writer of Hebrews: “do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Heb. 13:1-3).
Like many imperatives in Scripture, it can be easy to get caught in the questions of paralysis: How? What counts as a stranger? Am I doing enough?
I invite you to lean into the simplicity of the Fall. Every year 10,000 strangers come into your town. 10,000 people who might be away from home for the first time, who don’t know how to get to Trader Joe’s yet, who are asking fundamental questions of worth, belonging, and value.
College Life will be on campus welcoming these strangers –throwing our arms open as wide as possible and declaring each person can thrive in the Kingdom; and on the campus.
But Jesus doesn’t just tell the college ministries to welcome the stranger – that’s the job of the church.
So, FBC: there might be a new face or two walking past the fountain, up the steps, into the sanctuary in the next few weeks. Will you welcome that stranger? Here’s how you can do it:
Look for the College Life Table in the courtyard the next few Sundays. It will be the one with the smiling faces.
Break into the conversations! You’re the regular, and they’re the stranger. Take the initiative to do the welcoming.
Never underestimate the power of a warm, “hello! What’s your name?”
May this new crop of students say of FBC, “when I was a stranger, you welcomed me.”
Your partner in Welcoming,
Peter