(Some excerpts from my sermon on June 22)
I will never forget that day. I was home from college on summer break, sitting on the porch, and praying after just reading the following words from Jesus, “
For I was hungry and your gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me…And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matt. 25: 35-40).
All of sudden a young volunteer fireman was riding down my street on his bike after returning from a fire call. He looked extremely hot and worn out.
What will I do? Will I follow God’s call to show grace (hospitality) or will I just watch him pass by?
Because God has unconditionally shown hospitality when we were strangers/estranged, we must unconditionally show hospitality to strangers within and outside the faith.
Two questions I want to pursue:
1. What is biblical hospitality?
2. To whom is God calling us to show hospitality?
In the following Scripture passages: Romans 12:13b says I am to practice hospitality. According to Hebrews, I am even to "
pursue the love of strangers" (Heb 13:2)—not simply offer hospitality to my friends. If I want to demonstrate obedience to my heavenly Father, I will choose to practice hospitality.
1 Peter 4:9 builds on the instruction to practice hospitality and reminds us that our attitude is of utmost importance—We are to practice hospitality without complaining/grumbling!
What do you think of when you hear the word hospitality? Many associate hospitality with Martha Stewart or Rachel Ray or the magazines
Good Housekeeping or
Country Living (one of my favorites, seriously!). Others might think about having people over for coffee and dessert one afternoon making certain we have the appropriate home decor. While some think hospitality is entertaining by having a dinner party with a mouth-watering menu and thematic table setting.
Often, people put so much pressure on themselves to have a clean and beautiful house because of their desire to be accepted and admired by others, the work to get ready for a guest often discourages people from actually doing it.
Moreover, hospitality is frequently viewed as kind, friendly, Mr. Rogers-like. Most associate it with feminine characteristics rather than masculine characteristics. Women are more likely than men to be identified as hospitable.
The word hospitality may make us think of the hospitality committee at our church. These committees are often responsible for making sure that visitors feel comfortable. Many churches have hospitality rooms. This is often a particular room in a central location that is set-aside for people to feel welcomed.
Unfortunately, these above examples are sometimes the extent to which a church understands and lives out hospitality. Too often, Christians have a limited view of what biblical hospitality is all about.
However, the hospitality of the Bible is deliberate, demanding, and for everyone. It is radical, far different than what we know of it today.
Hospitality: According to American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1830, “
The act or practice of receiving and entertaining strangers or guests without reward, or with kind and generous liberality.”
The Greek word for hospitality is “
philoxenia”. The word can be interpreted “love of strangers.”
This goes against many of our thoughts and ideas about strangers. Few of us, when we think of strangers, think of loving them. It is more likely that we think about fear of strangers rather than love of strangers.
Yet Christ’s teachings are often radical and counter-culture, and stretch us to live dependently on Him and His strength, not on ourselves.
Historical Impact: The period in which biblical hospitality was most vibrant was the first five centuries after Christ’s death. Hospitality was evidence of Christianity. The act of hospitality directed toward strangers distinguished the church from its surrounding environment. Offering care to strangers became a distinguishing mark of authentic Christianity.
Biblical hospitality involves taking chances and serving others in ways in which we might feel uncomfortable.
It is
deliberate. Biblical hospitality goes against our nature. It is not something we are naturally drawn to do. We have to be deliberate in our actions to engage in this type of hospitality.
It is
demanding. If comfort and predictability are important to you, than biblical hospitality is not what you are looking for. Biblical hospitality forces us to get involved in the lives of others and committing ourselves to walk beside them no matter how hard and messy it might become. It forces us to be more dependent on God in order to fulfill our commitment to others.
John Calvin challenges, “
Now hospitality is not one of the least acts of love; that is, that kindness and liberality which are shown towards strangers, for they are for the most part destitute of all things, being far away from their friends: he therefore distinctly recommends this to us. We hence see, that the more neglected any one commonly is by men, the more attentive we ought to be to his wants.”
P.E. Kerr, “Hospitality As the Christian Individual and Corporate Relational Reality That Reflects God’s Character”, confirms that hospitality is “
being food and drink for one another, about enlarging and extending ourselves as we enlarge and extend the tables to fit another guest.”
Henri Nouwen, the founder of a community for disabled people, states “
the concept of hospitality is one of the richest concepts to deepen our insight in the relationship with our fellow human beings. It may offer a new dimension to our understanding of healing relationship and the formation of a recreating community. Hospitality without the inner stretching of the heart becomes that inferior produce called entertainment.”
Challenges to Hospitality: things that I have said and have had heard others say.
• “I do not have enough time.”
• “My house is not big enough.”
• My children are too young and I have an obnoxious dog.”
• “I don’t have the gift of hospitality”
• “My life is not where it should be. How can I show this kind of hospitality when my life is all messed up?”
We need to examine ourselves to determine if our biggest challenges might not be within our home or time or ability, but rather, within our hearts.
The FOCUS of hospitality is on our guests—on the stranger—not on our hip home decor, our immaculate housekeeping, our innate ability or our available time. Setting too high expectations for such things is often a matter of pride and unbelief.
Why do we practice this kind of hospitality?Because Jesus has shown us this kind of hospitality!Jesus was
deliberate: He gave up his comfort and left his Father’s heavenly and perfect presence and throne, voluntarily lived in this broken and messy world, and deliberately gave up his life for us and died for our mess so that we can enjoy an eternal relationship with God. We can know forgiveness, peace, joy, and hope because of Jesus.
He was willing to face the
demands of living in this world for us. He experienced our rejection, our hatred and yet he welcomed us, strangers, into his family. More amazingly, he experienced God’s rejection and hatred on the cross that we should have experienced so that we can be called God’s friend.
Because we have been show radical and severe hospitality by God through Jesus, we as Christians must show hospitality as our reasonable service to our Savior who has saved us.
Who are the strangers? The single parent; the homosexual couple down the street; the Democrat who supports Obama or the Republican who supports McCain; the homeless in our community; the co-worker who struggles with addictions; the rebellious child; the distant spouse; the hurting neighbor; the financially stressed couple, the mourning widow; the lonely elderly man, or the differently enabled young girl. In our lives, God has placed many kinds of strangers for us to show severe hospitality!
Some Ideas to show severe hospitality?• Hosting neighbors in our homes for the sole purpose to get to know them and bless them.
• Opening our homes to children or people in crisis and providing them temporary housing and guidance.
• Providing food for the homeless and help them find housing
• Helping the financially insecure with budget training
• Creating a food pantry for those in our community
• Visiting a widow in your community on a regular basis
• Provide snacks for the skaters in your neighborhood
• Reaching out to those who are experiencing domestic violence/abuse in their homes
• Initiating lunch with your obnoxious or agnostic co-worker
• Recreating a community of grace!
What did I do with the hot and tired fireman? I welcomed the stranger! I went in to my home, got a cold glass of water and gave it to this stranger who needed some grace.
As Jesus welcomes us as strangers, may he give us the grace to welcome the “strangers” in our community!
Warmly,
Pastor Jeff
