In the New Testament, three apostles write repeatedly about the importance of hospitality (Rom 12:13; Heb 13:2; 1 Pet 4:9; 3 John 1:5; 1 Tim 2:3; Tit 1:8). But it is Jesus who lifts the importance of hospitality to a divine level.
“Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in…Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.”
(Matthew 25:34-36, 40)
These principles of Christian hospitality have been practiced since the time of Abraham, but in the modern age the church abandoned the traditional language of loving strangers in favor of a new dialect. We called it “seeker sensitivity.” The seeker church movement has taken the Abrahamic idea of hospitality (host first, ask questions later) and reversed it.
Now, thanks to the influence of business practices and marketing, the church tries to discover everything possible about its target guests and then hosts according to their predetermined expectations. The result has been a radical shift in the way Christians worship and express their devotion to Christ and a dehumanizing of Christian hospitality.
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Hello, Ron.
This series on hospitality, reminded me of some items posted in the side bar of the Loving Deb Smith blog.
"Intense love does not measure, it just gives.
I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love.”
- Mother Teresa of Calcutta
"Small things done with great Love will change the world" - Steve Sjogren of Cincinnati
"I pray that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." ~Eph. 3:17-19
Many witnesses testify that often Mother Teresa would sit with the most destitute, who were about to die, carefully attending to their comfort. She saw Jesus in each of them. She would ask about them and their lives. She would also tell them, "You are going to meet Jesus soon," to which the frequent puzzled but hopeful reply was, "Is this Jesus anything like you?" This is the fruit of being rooted and grounded in Boundless Love!
No point in elaborating, just enough to use for reflection, repentance, and motivation for obedient hospitality!
MANY BLESSINGS to you, dear brother.
Peace and All Good!
Michael
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