Why "All" just doesn't cut it anymore and why it never has

The word "all" gets used a lot in today's social rhetoric. For example, many people say "All Lives Matter" and most of them, I hope, do genuinely believe that every life is of sacred worth. So why should we specify individual groups of people? It's because throughout human history even if our intention is to really include "all", we fall short. Woefully short sometimes.
 Most of us are drawn to people who look like us, act like us and believe like us. Life is easier when you're around people with the same worldview. But here's the problem, and I'll start with my own denomination. The United Methodist's Church slogan is "Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors." Great slogan. For me, it reflects what I want to be about and is one of the rweasons I am United Methodist and believe in our denomination. But what about that time a person with blue hair walked through your church doors? Or what about the time a transgender individual comes in? The person who looks like they are about to go record a rap music video? Were we including them in our "Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors." Probably not. If we were going to pick who was going to visit our churches, that's not who we would choose. While many churches have made great strides in this area, we still have a long way to go. When we think of the word "all", we think of people who are like us. It's human nature, but for those of us who follow Jesus it should be pretty clear that we can't trust your human nature most of the time. We have to train our mind differently. We have to recognize that our own mind and our own way of seeing things is limited and in order to have a more complete view we need to be in relationship with those who see things different from us. Essentially, we have to allow our worldview to truly be a worldview and not just an individual view. That won't happen unless we relationally invest in other people outside our circle.
So, sociologically this may make sense, but as a pastor shouldn't I be writing about Biblical topics? Guess what? This is! To me, if you look at how Jesus interacted with people, this is undoubtedly a Biblical subject. Jesus lived in a divisive time.  Cultures--particularly the Jews and the Gentiles--didn't intersect. Jesus made it clear that had to end. To Jews, the lives of Gentiles didn't matter. Or look at the Samaritans. They were generally left out and considered outsiders, and yet Jesus wanted to make it known that they do matter. A whole group of people stood in a crowd and yet Jesus went to the person with leprosy, the person they all thought no longer mattered. They wanted Jesus' attention and thought they were all worthy of it, and He goes to the person who they would have left out. Nobody--not even other women--wanted to be seen with the woman at the well that Jesus finds, and yet He singles her out and shows them that she matters.
You see, when we say that "All Lives Matter" we can't then act surprised when that includes someone else and respond, "You mean them too?" Yes, them too. When we say "all" that doesn't just include people who look like us or talk like us. It includes the drug dealer. It includes the drug user. It includes the prostitute. It includes the pimp. It includes the gay teen. It includes the Muslim. It includes the transgender woman of color who fears she will be assaulted just for walking out in public as herself. It includes the elderly who can no longer get by on their own. It includes the terrorist. It includes the victim of the terrorists. It includes the person who taught the terrorist their warped and horrific beliefs. It includes the single mom. It includes the teen mom. It includes the person with more tattoos and piercings than fingers and toes. It includes the incarcerated. It includes the recently released who can't find a job. It includes the porn star. It includes the stripper. It includes the teen who is thinking of having an abortion and hopes their parents will never find out. It includes that really annoying neighbor who plays their guitar too loud. It includes the person with a fancy car who looks down on you for driving your Volvo. It includes the depressed. It includes the anxious. It includes the person you made fun of in high school. It includes the person who made fun of and even bullied you in high school. It includes the hipster with way-too-tight of jeans. It includes the Goth. It includes the person who has never felt like they fit in. It includes the Trump supporter. It includes the Clinton supporter. It includes the cop who shot someone dead. It includes the person the cop shot from shooting more people. It includes the homeless person who you think needs to get up and get a job. It includes the slumlord who perhaps put that homeless person out on the street. It includes Wall Street CEOs. It includes that fast-food worker who acts like they could care less about you waiting 10 minutes for food. It includes your friends. It includes your enemies. It includes everyone regardless of whether or not we are comfortable around them.
If any of these people are not included in our "all", then we, in fact, do not mean "all" and that is not the type of world Jesus has called us to live in. 

Authentic hospitality: Showing yourself is your best tool

Hospitality. It's something all churches think we do well, right? Truthfully, most churches make a decent effort. The church I have the privilege of serving even does a little better than that. They are truly people who care, and I am grateful for them. But what we learned about as we dug more deeply into hospitality and what it truly means is that we have lost so much of what true hospitality truly is. The New Testament uses this word "philoxenia." The first part (philo) means love. That is probably obvious. But the second part (xenia) means "stranger." Oh oh. It's safe to say that in our culture most of our churches have fallen short in loving the stranger. We don't love them holistically like we should. We don't advocate for them. Many times I have to admit I even ignore them. It pains me to admit that, but it's true. It's easy for me as a privileged white male to go about my day and not have to worry about the suffering of others.
It pretty much goes without saying that we should feed, clothe and shelter the stranger. If we don't meet basic needs then we're the same people who didn't give Jesus a place to rest His head and shut Mary and Joseph out of the Inn. That alleviates suffering. But as someone who seeks to follow Jesus, I'm called to more than just alleviating suffering. I'm called to transformation and offering the hope of transformation to all people. No exceptions.
So how does hospitality lead us and others to transformation? It starts with us realizing that the best tool we have to offer people is ourselves. Our true selves. Not the persona we put out to the world. Not the perfect suburban, middle class family. People who are desperate for grace. People who, even if they are suburban and middle/upper class, don't find their identity in that. People who have found so much healing and grace that we put down our societal masks and show our awkward, broken and even redeemed selves.
Here's part of the problem: Us millenials have somehow been ingrained with strong BS monitors. We can see fake, and it isn't something we want to be part of. The church culture, on the other hand, has tried to remain strong and appear to be the good, faithful people they want to be. It's admirable. Many in the older generations have been taught to persevere through incredibly trying circumstances and to not show weakness. Some even want to be strong, good and faithful people for us to look up to them (and we should in many cases) But it's not real. It's not authentic. We all have struggles. We all have times of weakness. And here's the Good News: the world doesn't need people who have it together to offer hospitality. They need people who are real and don't have the perfect house or pristine environment. Hospitality says: This is who God has created me to be, warts and all, and I would love to journey with you and learn how we can help each other grow.
What our postmodern, pluralistic world needs is people who aren't afraid of vulnerability. That doesn't mean we share everything with everyone, but it does mean we can share something with everyone. It means that we are willing to put ourselves out there for the sake of others because we have been given something that we believe should belong to everybody. What we have been given is faith, and faith in Christ isn't something that we keep in isolation. It's who we are, and we share that. Not in an oppressive or forced way, but in a way that furthers the relationship so people see that we aren't a salesperson, but people who are in love with this Jesus guy and know His love is out there for all people.