Great honor is bestowed on guests who are received in Indian village churches. On one occasion, as we climbed out of our car, bottle rockets fizzed and popped above us, firecracker strings cracked around us. Carpet sections were laid before us as we walked to a thatch-roof church. Women picked up the portion we had passed over and quickly ran ahead to lay it again before us. We leapfrogged to the church this way between rows of children tossing flower petals into the air. When we finally got to the church, our heads and shoulders were covered with petals. Then a fabric shawl was draped on our shoulders, and fresh flower garlands, heavy, wet, sweet-smelling, were hung around our necks.
During the worship service the electricity cut out. Lights and microphone went off. More importantly in the sweltering, crowded room, the ceiling fans quit. Suddenly a young girl rose to her feet and, though no adult directed her to act, she walked around the altar and toward me as I sat off to one side listening to the sermon. She stood before me with a fan in her hand. As the service continued, she silently fanned the congregation’s guest. What lovely, unprompted hospitality toward a stranger!
How do we welcome guests at our worship services? We have something precious to share with them: the Good News that God’s own Son, Jesus Christ, came from heaven to be with us, to live and die in our place, to win forgiveness of our sin and an eternal home for us in heaven. We eagerly receive visitors in our churches because “blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it (Luke 11).”
The ELS relationship with the Lutheran Mission of Salvation – India is conducted by the Asia Committee of the Board for World Outreach.