February 26

I visited those that were sick.  One of these had kept her room for many months, so that she had never heard the voice or seen the face of any Preacher of this way: but God had taught her in the school of affliction.  She gave a plain and distinct account of the manner wherein she received a sense of her acceptance with God, more than a year before; and of a fuller manifestation of His love, of which she never doubted for a moment.  (February 26, 1743, emphasis in original)

It impresses me that Wesley always found time to visit people who were sick.  With all of his traveling, preaching, and checking in with different societies that he did, he still found time to visit the sick.

Many leaders in the Church today seem to forget about the importance of doing this.  Not that it's too surprising...   Pastors find themselves having to be preacher, teacher, program organizer, counselor, administrator, and sometimes janitor, among other things...  And to add visiting people in hospitals and nursing homes on top of that!

But Wesley did it.  And he didn't do it half-heartedly.  He describes this woman, whose only relationship with God, it seems, has come through her suffering.  This, along with Wesley saying that she hadn't heard the voice of a preacher 'of this way,' suggests that the woman wasn't even a member of one of his Societies.  On top of that, he didn't just stop by so that he could mark her off a list of people to visit, but took the time to find out where she was in her relationship with God, to really engage her and her faith.



Pastor Eric has been preaching about the "Five Fruitful Practices" outlined by Bishop Robert Schnase, one of which is "Radical Hospitality."  Schnase writes, "congregations that practice Radical Hospitality demonstrate an active desire to invite, welcome, receive, and care for those who are strangers so that they find a spiritual home and discover for themselves the unending richness of life in Christ" (www.fivepractices.org).  I believe that in visiting this sick stranger, of offering himself and his time to this woman, John Wesley offered a superb example of how to be radically hospitable.

And it doesn't have to be just pastors who do this!  Each of us is called to reach out to people in need of love, care, and healing.  I encourage you to find a way to live out radical hospitality in your own life and context.  Maybe there's somebody who you have been struggling with.  Maybe there is somebody you know who is in the hospital right now.  Or maybe you just need to pick up the phone and call a friend who you haven't talked to in a while.  Be the voice and face of Christ this week!