Across the Pastor’s Desk by Tom Biatek

Not all coffee shops are the same. There is a coffee shop in Minneapolis called “Spyhouse” that is noisy, full of young hip kids and is always busy. It is hard to find a table there. There is a Dunn Brothers in an old farmhouse in Eden Prairie that has small rooms, creaky floors and a roasted coffee smell. Most Caribou Coffees are the same, with their logo on the cups and tables mostly for two. Our local Prairie Winds Coffee on Main is in a lovely old brick building, long and narrow in size, and usually plays really nice music.

I once went to a coffee shop in Portland, Maine, that took me aback. At the time, it was one of the most amazing coffee shops I had ever come across. I walked in from a bright sunny day into a basement room. There were only half-sized windows to let in light and the room was dark. It was hard to see to the back and I had to wait for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. When I could finally see to descend the stairs, I saw that everyone was looking at me.

As I walked past the first table, someone reached out and shook my hand. “How ya doing, man?” he asked. The next table did the same. A woman greeted me and guided me to a seat at the bar. What a friendly place, I thought. I had never been welcomed into a coffee shop like I had been welcomed there. More people came in. They paused at the door, let their eyes adjust to the dark and came in. They were welcomed with kind words and handshakes all around. I greeted one myself just like all the others were doing. The place soon was packed.

The barista came over and asked me what my order was going to be. I ordered my usual — a large skim latte — and he headed off to make it for me. When he came back, I said, “I was surprised when I walked in. Everyone is so friendly here. Half a dozen people shook my hand and greeted me.”

“Oh,” he said. “That was nothing. We heard that an astronaut was visiting town today and might come in to greet people. We just thought for a moment you were him.”

There is a lesson in there somewhere. What would happen to our world if we thought each person who walked into our life was someone special? How would we greet them? How would we make them feel welcome?

Usually, we greet strangers as strangers and leave well enough alone, but we are all fellow travelers through life and each of us has something that makes us worth knowing. What if we, instead of looking for a familiar face, dared to reach out to the stranger and looked upon them as someone special? What if we greeted them with joy and love?

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. — Hebrews 13:2

 

Albert Lea resident Tom Biatek is the pastor of United Methodist Church in Albert Lea.