"Hospitality is the lens through which we can read and understand much of the gospel, and a practice by which we can welcome Jesus himself," explains Christine Pohl in her book Making Room. Then why has so much of the modern church forsaken it?
Jeromy and I have begun a study on recovering the practice of church-based hospitality with a small group of servants at RH. After the first week, I am convicted of neglecting the practice and renewed with courage to pick it back up.
Within the church, hospitality offers more than fellowship to friends, but compassionate welcome to strangers. Making room for the least of these is not a substitute for the regular meeting together of Christian family, but simply a fulfillment of the other half of the equation. In Matthew 5, Jesus says "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?"
In fact, the distinctive Christian contribution to hospitality in early church history was the emphasis on including the poor and neediest, the ones who could not return the favor. When was the last time I hosted stranger in my home? What was the most recent occasion that I welcomed someone into my life who could not offer me anything in return? The instances that come to mind are not as commonplace as these exemplars of the early church. Could it be because of my fear, aversion to risk, tight hold on my possessions, or packed schedule? I can't snap my fingers and force those obstacles away, so I'm praying that Jesus would free me from hindrances and enable me to practice His discipline of hospitality.
The resurrection of Christian hospitality is not solely purposed for the care of those in need. In the first few centuries A.D., it cannot be overlooked that hospitality played an instrumental role in the spread and credibility of the Gospel. It paid no heed to race, class or gender, but infiltrated lives with Good News and an offer to come and partake. "Deeds speak the language of the great virtues far better than words do... words limp outside the gates of the mystery of compassion for strangers," mused Philip Hallie. Indeed, Jesus came, He spoke, and He acted... perfectly. We are left with His example to do likewise, including meeting the "strangers in our midst" where they are and inviting them in to our social circles, our row at church, our conversation, our plans, our communities, and our homes.
Many have followed the example of the early church in offering hospitality to strangers, including refugees, the homeless, the disabled, the sick, and wanderers. In so doing, Dorathy Day, a Catholic Relief Services worker poetically remembers, "Mistakes there were, mistakes there are, there will be." Serving people in this way never follows a systematic process; it is sacrificial love and love, well, it's messy. A dish may be broken, sheets sullied and carpets muddied, but the gift is worth the sacrifice. It is better to give than to receive. "Show hospitality," God plainly says in Romans 12. In the end, making room and welcoming can be uncomfortable and uneasy, but "the biggest mistake is to play things very safe in this life and end up being moral failures," concludes Day.
I am convinced most of these blog entries are opportunities for me to preach to myself as much as anyone else, so as I respond to conviction and tease out the application of God's call to hospitality, join me.
Pohl suggests that embracing sustained hospitality requires a full girded in prayer, a light hold on possessions, and a commitment to a simplified lifestyle. It can be difficult to know to whom, when, and how much if we are distracted by our complex lifestyle and not listening to the Father. What a brilliant place to start.
No comments:
Post a Comment