A reflection for the journey of faith — sometimes we all need a little light for the way.
What do you do with a bunch of old sermons? Turn them into a blog – refined, condensed, made for today’s world – feel free to use as written, or as fodder for your own message. It’s For you! No permission needed or credit given. (Scroll down for previous posts)
Sunday June 28 – Fifth Sunday after Pentecost/Lectionary 13
Jeremiah 28:5-9
Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18
Romans 6:12-23
Matthew 10:40-42
The Welcome That Changes Everything: Finding the Yellow Ribbons of God’s Grace
One of the words we hear a lot in Christian communities is welcome.
“Welcome to worship.” “Everyone is welcome.” “You are welcome here.”
It is a good word. A necessary word. A word that reflects the heart of the gospel.
But I wonder sometimes if “welcome” has become a little too familiar — a word we say so often that we forget to ask what it really means.
What does it mean to truly welcome someone?
The dictionary definition tells us that to welcome means “to greet hospitably and with courtesy or cordiality” or “to accept with pleasure the presence of someone or something.”
That is a good beginning. But I think biblical welcome goes deeper than simply being polite or friendly.
There is a difference between being greeted at the door and being made to feel that you truly belong.
Most of us can remember a time when someone welcomed us in a way that went beyond ordinary kindness — a time when someone’s actions communicated, “We are glad you are here. We have been waiting for you.”
That kind of welcome has the power to change us.
There is a story that captures that kind of welcome. It became the inspiration for the 1973 song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon ’Round the Ole Oak Tree.”
The story tells of a man returning home after serving time in prison. He wasn’t sure if his wife would still want him back. He had written to her, telling her he understood if she had moved on, but if she still wanted him, she should tie a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree near their home.
As the bus approached his town, he didn’t know what he would find. He was prepared for disappointment. He was prepared to keep riding.
But when the bus reached the tree, he and the other passengers saw not one yellow ribbon — but hundreds of them.
She wasn’t simply saying, “You can come home.”
She was saying, “You belong here.”
That is the kind of welcome Jesus is talking about in Matthew 10.
Jesus has been preparing and sending his disciples out into the world. He has warned them that their message will not always be received. There will be rejection. There will be challenges. There will be times when following Jesus is difficult.
But then Jesus says:
“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”
— Matthew 10:40
Jesus connects welcome with the very presence of God.
When we welcome others, we are not simply being nice. We are participating in God’s work in the world.
And then Jesus says something that is both comforting and challenging:
“Whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones … will not lose their reward.”
A cup of cold water.
Not a grand gesture. Not a perfect act of faith. Not something that will make headlines.
Just a simple act of kindness offered in love.
This is important because sometimes we think God’s work requires extraordinary things from extraordinary people. We imagine that making a difference requires a large platform, a special gift, or a life-changing sacrifice.
But Jesus reminds us that the kingdom of God is often revealed in small acts of love.
A conversation with someone who feels forgotten. A meal shared with someone who is hungry. A listening ear offered to someone who is hurting. A word of encouragement at just the right moment.
Small acts of welcome can become signs of God’s extravagant love.
And that brings us to the deeper question:
Why are we able to offer that kind of welcome to others?
Because first, we have received it ourselves.
Before we can truly extend God’s love, we need to know — deep within our own hearts — that we are loved by God.
Not because we have earned it. Not because we have gotten everything right. Not because we have somehow become worthy enough.
God’s love comes first.
The apostle Paul writes:
“But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”
— Romans 5:8
While we were still sinners.
Before we had everything figured out. Before we had cleaned up our mistakes. Before we had become the people we hoped we would be.
God loved us.
God placed the yellow ribbons around the tree.
All of them.
That is the extravagant welcome of God.
And yet, so many of us struggle to believe it.
We carry regrets. We carry shame. We carry memories we wish we could erase. We carry those things that wake us up in the middle of the night and whisper, “Surely God cannot really love you after that.”
But the message of the gospel is this:
Yes. God does.
You are loved by God. You are forgiven by God. You are welcomed by God.
Not someday when you become a better version of yourself.
Today.
Right now.
Exactly where you are.
And when we begin to trust that truth, something changes. We become people who can offer that same welcome to others.
We begin to see people not as strangers, problems, or outsiders — but as beloved children of God.
Maybe the question for us this week is not simply, “How welcoming is my church?” or “How welcoming is my community?”
Maybe the deeper question is:
Have I truly received God’s welcome for myself?
Because when we know we are already embraced by God’s grace, we become people who can open our arms wider to the world around us.
The world needs more yellow ribbons.
More reminders that people are loved. More places where people belong. More communities where grace is stronger than judgment.
And the good news is that God has already tied the ribbon around the tree.
We are invited home.
May you know this week that you are deeply loved, fully welcomed, and held in the grace of God.
God's Yes + My Amen 