Hospitality Series

Hospitality

Series: Spiritual Practices: Developing Life with God

November 14, 2021

Welcome...each of you here...and online... so thankful for this time.

Do you want to experience connection with God?

That is what Jesus represents... restoring that connection.

He takes our separation upon himself.... and says receive it...receive me.

But he also teaches us ....how to live in connection with God.

Jesus, in his earthly life, lived in connection with his Father in heaven.

Our human nature can connect to God’s divine nature.

And that is our focus this season... our series Spiritual Practices: Developing Life with God is about recognizing and renewing the patterns that are a part of developing our life with God... developing God-centered life.

We want to experience connection with God... and in this series we are recognizing what connects us most.

The nature of spiritual practices is about choosing to do what is most like God.

It could be like someone you meet... and it’s when you discover something in common... perhaps some activity or art or anything that is really a part of you...and share in it...that you really experience connection.

Jesus calls us into those elements where we can experience connection with God. We could say that they align us with the nature of God. They resonate with God.

And they are available to everyone. These are not something that only some sort of spiritual superhero... with super powers can do. These are actually about practicing what God created in us from the beginning. It’s about living into the way things really are meant to be.

In our first weeks we have looked at worship....giving.... serving.

Today... we are engaging the spiritual practice of HOSPITALITY. [1]

The Apostle Paul in the Biblical Book of Romans call all of us to...

“Practice hospitality” - Romans 12:13

“Show hospitality to strangers,” - Hebrews 13:2 (NLT)

Hospitality is at the very root of the heart of God. To join life in God is to join in HOSPITALITY... in crossing the road of separation.

To really get this...we tend to need to shake off some associations with the very idea of hospitality out of our minds.

When we use the word hospitality… what are the first ideas and images that come to mind? Perhaps we think of warm meals around a finely decorated table… to which Martha Stewart is the queen.

While Martha Stewart and so many gifted creative party hosts may have lots of great ideas for home decor and great meals... they have nothing to do with the heart of hospitality. Why? Because...

The true nature of hospitality is rooted in God’s desire for all to be included in life with Him. Hospitality is about creating a place for others ...and it’s not about the art of the space...but the heart of the inclusion.

The actual word that we translate as hospitality literally means the brotherly love of a stranger. And The Latin root of the word hospitality is hospes, which refers to a guest, visitor, host or stranger. Our word hospital is derived from this same root word… and the word hostility from it’s opposite. (hostis: stranger, foreigner or enemy.) [2]

And it is this love flows from God ...and what God calls of His people.

God has never wanted people to be left out.

God looks at human life as parent would look at their children living in separation from one another... by a million vain indifferences and divisions.

We can hear this how God commands the nation of Israel...and people he called...when he says in Leviticus 19:33–34:

Leviticus 19:33-34

“‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

This is a call not only to hospitality... but to realize that it is about aligning with God’s hospitality.

The point is that they were strangers in Egypt, but aren't any more! Why? Because: "I am the Lord your God.” The words "I am the Lord your God," are packed with meaning because they are the very first words of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:2. Any good Israelite could finish the sentence: "I am the Lord your God WHO BROUGHT YOU UP OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, OUT OF THE HOUSE OF BONDAGE."

For the people of God in the Old Testament the duty of hospitality came right from the center of who God was. God made a home for you and brought you there with all my might and all my soul. Therefore, you shall love the stranger as yourself.

And this finds even greater truth when God comes in Christ... and gives his life for everyone... including the Gentiles who had never been included.