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.
“Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.” - Ephesians 2:12.
What is he getting at?
In some ways... we are all on the outside... wanting to get in... and when we do...we must not turn our backs and exclude others.
Hospitality to those still outside God’s household reflects God’s mercy to all.
The place you have with God is not of your own making...It is a reflection of God’s compassion...and the common ground that we share.
In Jesus, we find ourselves now to be the enemy who has been loved, the sinner who is saved, the stranger who is welcomed.
“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God is saying we should love by remembering ourselves to be outsiders who have been dearly loved by a lavishly hospitable God. [3]
Of every spiritual practice... this may arguably be at the root of developing life with God. The whole Bible is the story of Divine hospitality... because it is the story of God’s welcome for all to come.
We might wonder how we can see God as so welcoming....so inclusive... if we know that some lives will be excluded from life with Him.
In short... the Bible reflects the understanding that truth is exclusive… but love is not. His welcome is for all. He has made a way for all... it is ultimately our responsibility not to exclude ourselves from that way...and that welcome.
So to practice hospitality is not about compromising our commitment to God...but rather to create space for the common ground and common grace that we share with all people.
This is what Jesus represented that blows up the religious world.
This is why Jesus essentially blows up the religious world.
Apart from the grace of God, we will create religions that encourage dividing the world between what is good and what is bad... and then hoping to become separate from the bad. But Jesus saw a world in which everyone needed grace.
And this of course is what the religious could not understand. How could he join in gatherings and share meals with those deemed drunkards and prostitutes?
What became so powerful and prophetic in the way Jesus shared in such meals was not the menu but the guest list. It was the way he included others in his life.
It was hospitality.
The power of hospitality lies in the significance of INCLUSION.… including others in the kind of care that reflects a place of common ground...and common grace.
Jesus was so explicit about this..
At one point he says when you invite people to lunch or dinner....don’t just invite your friends... invite the strangers... the poor... disabled...and you will be blessed. [4]
Such hospitality... isn’t easy. We know that we are called to love our neighbors...but we’d like to choose the one’s that we consider acceptable.
As you may recall, Jesus then tells the story often referred to as The Good Samaritan.
Luke 10:29-37 (NLT)
The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. 31 “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. 33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. 34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ 36 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. 37 The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
Let’s not miss the obvious… the first thing we have to hear…really hear…is that this man wanted to quickly affirm that he knew the commandment to love his neighbor... and was trying to justify his indifference to those in need. So he seems to deflect this into a question of “so let’s get philosophical about who really is our neighbor.”
So we read in verse 29…
The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” – Luke 10:29
So Jesus tells a story. It begins with a fellow Jewish man walking the through the vulnerable roads that was familiar to all who heard this. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho. And there he is taken by robbers… beaten and left wounded and dying.
What does he teach us about how to practice hospitality... about joining God in brotherly love for the stranger? Let’s recognize what Jesus makes so clear.
1. Hospitality begins by seeing those unseen.
Luke 10:33 (NLT)
“…when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.
There are lives along life’s pathway…that are wounded and in real need.
Such wounding... needs...can take many forms.
There are some who have become entirely lost... seen by almost no one.
My Father saw those unseen.
The last day I was with him...asked me to try and connect with a distant relative... His father had been an alcoholic after the war…and his mother died of disease when he was still in school…and he soon withdrew from life after high school….and I mean all of life. No phone. No contact. My father was the only one who maintained any relationship…and later I picked up on that.
I did... and as I shared once before... …I got a call…introduced themselves as MARIPAZ CARDENAS …DEPUTY PUBLIC CONSERVATOR. She asked if I knew a Forrest Wellman. Jim was found dead in the basement he lived in... and the only contact found was my number on his refrigerator.
I asked her…”Is this primarily what she does?” She said yes it is. Explored some more…discovered that in LA County…about 200 people die every month without any known connection.
About six bodies arrive each day at L.A. County's cemetery in Boyle Heights. Their remains are placed in what is called “The Common Grave’…where a book with the names is attached… 1,000 pages of names and dates fill row after row in near-perfect script.
How many face life alone…or have aspects of their lives unknown?
How easily we can see...but not really see.
Jesus describes how a priest comes by… then a Levite… which as some translations describe…were the temple assistants. Well…when the main guys are too busy…you can always count on the assistant. They took care of whatever the main priests were too busy for. But he too passed by.
Jesus was bringing the story really close to home. He cast it with the characters everyone knew.
If we feel we cannot stop to consider our neighbors because we are too busy and preoccupied… especially when it is with “religious activity”…we may be missing God’s priority.
Jesus didn’t miss the irony. He included it…because it is explaining the way things are.
The way we can believe that the way we treat our neighbor doesn’t relate to loving God.
If we think it is some secondary extra credit optional choice… we really don’t love God.
We might think that what got in their way was being too busy.
It never actually says how busy they were…. But we do know that the Samaritan had to get to some other responsibilities. He couldn’t just stay. He had to get to some other things but would come back by. I think it’s interesting that the one who does stop and love their neighbor…is the one who appears to have had other responsibilities they needed to get to.
So Jesus isn’t telling us about those who have time can help when those who are too busy can’t…. he tells us the story about how those who appear to justify themselves with religious duties…and how one WITH responsibilities stopped, saw, cared, and managed to still be responsible.
Only one is really a neighbor... and it the one who stopped. … the one that Jew on the road would consider a villain…
2. Hospitality crosses the road of indifference.
Verse 34 begins with very significant words...”Going over to him”...
Most literal translations simply state…”When he saw him…he went to him…” .that is, he crossed the road…”
What do you think that space between them represented? What do you think he had to cross when he crossed that road?
Fear? … sure … the man had been robbed… and it’s dangerous…that kind of violent could be waiting for someone to stop. We can see some messes we don’t want to get involved with.
Conflict? - that man as a Jew despised him. If will have to deal with his hatred…his prejudice…with his belief that he will be unclean if he is touched by such a man. Maybe you have a neighbor who you know has major differences with you
Indifference? – just don’t feel any responsibility for a neighbor… each have our unit of life…what appear to be mutual boundaries… so home is a place I escape expectations.
Jesus says the one who loves their neighbor as themselves …crossed the road.
To love our neighbor will require crossing the road…including the road of indifference.
There’s a road between us and our neighbor. It may be a crossing the street… the sidewalk… the courtyard… the hallway...the parking lot. Hospitality involves crossing that road.
And once you come close to someone... you can discover their needs. Which leads to the third main element in practicing hospitality is how...
3. Hospitality serves the needs of others.
Luke 10:34 (NLT)
Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.
Jesus tells us how the Samaritan helped cared for the man’s needs.... how he cleaned…bandaged… took him where he needed to go to be safe and heal…and gave towards it.
Those are words we do well to take in... he soothed his wounds.
There are countless ways that people have been struck... so many ways people have been robbed,
When we see people with needs... and cross the road that separates us...we can begin to simply care.
This is a picture of providing hospitality... and it’s interesting... there is no home involved.
Hospitality ...the love of strangers... the welcoming of guests... includes our homes and places of living .... but is not limited by them.
Jesus embodies hospitality in all it’s fulness... and never had a home.
He did so with who he shared meals with...who he noticed... who he attended to....and ultimately who he dies for.
Hospitality can be practiced in so many ways....
As straightforward as our Hospitality Team...
When old and younger lives reach across the generational differences ...and show that they see the other.
Hospitality can be the choice to relate to those who may be socially marginalized at work or public space
Hospitality can as substantial as opening up one’s home to a foster child... or to refugees.
While hospitality is not limited to our homes... the nature of hospitality sees huge significance in our homes… becomes our homes are the most notable expression of being a family… of being included. The meals that are served there express this in the most essential way.
CLOSING:
Opportunity to Practice – Holiday Hospitality Challenge
Holiday Hospitality Challenge
Jesus calls us to “love our neighbors” and this becomes a very dynamic calling when we allow it to include our actual neighbors...those who live closest to our own living space. No matter what your circumstances are, the challenge is to embrace that the year end holidays are the time in which people are the most naturally open to heart of hospitality. People gather. People share.
Our Holiday Hospitality Challenge is about embracing the power of initiation. It is about simply choosing to express loving thoughtfulness to our actual neighbors by choosing one of the following choices.
Host a Holiday Party – This year as we emerge from the long pandemic, most neighbors will welcome gathering...particularly when outdoor space is notably included in such a gathering. So if you have a backyard or patio, a front yard, or a common outdoor space available in your apartment or condo building... choose a date, make and deliver invitations, and watch how people are blessed.
We even have a great suggestion….consider the first weekend after Thanksgiving…the first weekend in December….before all the other commitments on the schedule.
Use the term “holiday” rather than Christmas… that welcomes those from every cultural background.
Consider a simple cider and desert gathering on Friday evening… or Sunday afternoon
Hospitality appreciates the significance of offering what is ‘special’ but is centered in the simple.
Jesus tells us of banquets… but also of basics… even a cold cup of water.
Entertaining people in Martha Stewart fashion can be about impressing others… whereas hospitality is about including others.
Great to be the host...but sometimes a neighbor will want to help or even host...and getting neighbors to do it together is great.
I want to tell you something that I hope adds to your desire to take this challenge. You may think that those who are pastors are different. We face the same fears…awkwardness….busyness.
EVERY PASTOR said they were planning to hold a party this year.
What’s most vital… is that you decide…then set a day and time…and then communicate this in some manner.
As you do….let your goal begin with just enjoying your neighbors. They are sacred.
You are loving your neighbor by bringing them together.
Share Holiday Treats – Make or buy some holiday teat...and deliver them to your neighbors with a simple note.
Identify A Neighbor’s Need to Meet – Identify one need amidst your neighbors or neighborhood and take initiative to meet that need. It may be someone who has been unable to care for their property, or to enjoy a warm fresh meal, or to get holiday decorations, or just to enjoy a conversation.
For a simple guide to identifying your neighbors...and then going forward with any one of these initiatives, see the Holiday Hospitality Challenge page.
Practice including those who are outside your usual circle.
Henri Nouwen has written that one of the gifts we bring to the world is ‘making our lives available to others.’
Jesus himself was a stranger his entire life... yet what was so powerful about his life was his availability to others.
Sure he needed time out (especially with his Father) and each person ministering or living in community needs their private space as well. but what we also know is that Jesus continues to be a stranger in this world until we practice the attitude and actions of hospitality.
The stranger in us all is looking to see if there is a place of welcome... a place in which we are not excluded by our differences... difficulties.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the hospitality that flows from you.
For the hospitality that flows through us.. and among us… we thank you.. and ask that you would bless it.
Many of us know that we have become small… we’ve allowed our meaning to become disconnected… our tables have become small. Show us where our privacy has become a detriment… where our boundaries have become our bondage. Teach us about your party… and how to be a part of it.
Notes:
1. The whole of the Bible reflects divine hospitality. Good expounding at
Biblical Hospitality: Inviting Outsiders to be Family By Scott Cormode here
Strategic Hospitality by John Piper here
Among other New Testament calls we also read ...
Romans 12:13 (NRSV) - “Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.”
1 Peter 4:9 (GW) - “Welcome each other as guests without complaining.”
“Show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!” Hebrews 13:2 (NLT)
2. The Greek word for hospitality, "philoxenia" is a Greek compound word.
Philo means love, like Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love."
Philoxenia means the love of xenos - stranger; the love of a stranger.
Hospitality literally is the love of a stranger.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines hospitality as “welcoming guests with warmth and generosity…and well disposed toward strangers.”
3 Captured in - http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/hospitality-and-the-great-commission4. Jesus pressed the point of inclusion in all that he did… it was his greatest offense. One night while having dinner at one of the religious leaders’ homes…
Luke 14:12-14 (NIV)
Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
Jesus is saying something pretty strong here… it can read like there is no place for friends. That isn’t the intent.
What Jesus says in v. 12 literally should read, "Then Jesus said to his host, 'When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not always keep inviting your friends.'"
It shouldn't read "do not invite your friends" as if it is totally wrong to get together with friends or family members.
Jesus is not saying don't ever get together with friends. But literally he says, "Don't always keep inviting friends." In other words, don't exclusively restrict your invitation list to those who you already know and like and who are friends with you or family members.
Jesus is always, always open to someone new.
We also begin to see that hospitality is prophetic because it points to eternal reality.He went on to describe God’s invitation as that of an invitation to a grand banquet…
Luke 14:15-24 (NIV)
When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God." Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' "But they all alike began to make excuses. …The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' "'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.
Central here is an indictment upon those who failed to respond… but the whole scene declares who God is and what He is doing… eternal reality is reflected in a banquet… and inviting… and inclusion. The living God… of all compassion… desires to fill His house.
We also find that...
Hospitality was the criterion for choosing elders. One of the requirements of an elder is that they be “hospitable” ... again the literal meaning of “loving of strangers.” It does not suggest their wives can be the source... but rather they themselves.
It was a commandment given to all Christians.
Christ even pointed to the practice of hospitality as evidence that we have come to know him as Savior, and a lack of hospitality as evidence that we haven't. “Truly I tell you, in so far as you did it for one of the least, in the estimation of men…you did it for Me.” - Matthew 25:40 (AMP)
