Hospitality and Friendsgiving

 I Peter 4:9- "Show hospitality to one another without grumbling."  

Thoughts:  I am  okay with showing hospitality, but Lord, do you really have to add, "without grumbling"?  I guess it makes sense that my attitude toward being kind should also be "kind." 
      Part of being a Christian is to imitate the God who is so hospitable toward us.  He made this earth in a way that we can live in it- He made a home for us- with water, air, land, and many blessings.  But He also came down to make sure we are okay, to show us He loves us, and to make a way to a more permanent home.  That is another show of hospitality.  Jesus said that He "goes to prepare a place for us that where He is we may also be."  That is another show of hospitality.  
      We know that we should forgive others because we are forgiven.  But we should remember we are to show hospitality because we are shown hospitality.  So many parables and commandments surround this- but one great one is the Good Samaritan that stops what he is doing (when other busy people won't) to help someone in need.   He was a stranger who made a friend.  
     This fall, is a great time to meet some new neighbors.  Maybe have them over for lunch or supper (we do have that china for something).  During covid no one could be hospitable without scaring another.  But today we should be able to do something- even if it is an outside cookout on a pretty day.  The idea of Friendsgiving came about for people who are scattered from family, as a combination "friends" and "thanks" meal.  Maybe you haven't met the neighbors two houses or apartments over.  It is a great time to pick a date (maybe toward the first part of November) and invite them over.  You don't have to have a turkey- you might have BBQ or even just hors d'oeuvres.  Being hospitable means to not just focus on yourself or even your family- but on those around you.  The Bible says by entertaining strangers some have even entertained angels (Heb. 13:2).  Let this be part of your mission for God.  

Prayer: Lord, help me to see others as you see them.  Give me a heart to get outside of myself, even to risk to reach out to my neighbors this fall for your glory.  

Being Hospitable When You Don't Feel Like It

 "Show hospitality to one another without grumbling."  1 Peter 4:9

Why would Peter say such a thing?  Surely the early Christians who saw or heard Jesus never grumbled!  I think this could be translated, "Show hospitality even when you don't feel like it!"  Grumbling and complaining often happen when we don't feel we are being treated fairly or things don't happen the way we expect or feel they should happen.  
    One viral video that has been going ballistic this week is of two women fighting at a concert in Pittsburgh over who gets to use the porta potty first.  One claims another cut in front of her in line.  Now, this kind of thing is something we should have learned to handle in kindergarten!  Wait your turn.  Take your turn.  Put others before yourself.  As it was, neither got to use the toilet very fast because they were fighting each other.  Learning how to put others ahead of yourself even if you are inconvenienced is important.  It shows respect for others as human beings.  Serving others before yourself is in part what hospitality is all about.  Loving your neighbor is not just for the person who lives next door, but the person you meet in the grocery store line, or the hardware line, or even the porta-potty line.   
      But another point of this is it is possible to do something good and grumble about it the whole time you are doing it.  So Mary and Martha both welcomed Jesus to their home.  But Martha grumbled that Mary had quit helping and was sitting at the feet of Jesus.  Grumbling is not the Christian way.  We don't hear Jesus griping and complaining to the Father that He was about to die for the sins of people who often don't care, are apathetic, take His death for granted, or worse still continue to mess up.  Instead, you see Jesus weeping over the stubborn hearted in Jerusalem.  You even hear Jesus on the cross say of his crucifiers- "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." 
     Sometimes we may have a headache and providentially we have the opportunity to be hospitable.  Sometimes we are busy, or tired, or just want to relax.  This verse doesn't say, "Be hospitable to others as long as it is convenient to you."  In that sense, this is a tough verse!  But it is also a caring verse.  We are called to love others even when they don't deserve it.  
The way of the cross is not the grumbling way.  But it is a giving of oneself without complaint that changes our outlook, our attitude, our world.  

Prayer: Lord, let me give myself freely and willingly for others.  Let me put others above myself without even grumbling.  

Labor of Hospitality

 1The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

3He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, ^a do not pass your servant by. 4Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. 5Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”6So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”7Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.9“Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.“There, in the tent,” he said.10Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”

Abraham was full of hospitality,  He invited his nephew Lot to come with him and then gave him the choice of land.  Here, Abraham entertains angels unawares (Hebrews 13:2 may be referring to this passage).  Abraham shows the common ways of hospitality.  He treated them with respect, welcomed them and even encouraged them to come stay in his camp.  Then  he had water brought to refresh them, had Sarah work with him to prepare food, had a calf killed for them, along with curds and milk- the finest food of his nomadic life.  
     It usually takes work to be hospitable.  Today there is a whole industry called "The Hospitality Industry" made of hotels, restaurants, and entertainment venues.  But hospitality had its roots in the home.  It is still hospitality to go out together at a restaurant or put someone up in a hotel room when they come visit.  For many with big enough homes, hospitality centers around the places they live.  It is an invitation to see how we live, and to participate with us.  
       On this Labor Day weekend, let's think of inviting someone over to share in our lunch or watching the game.  What we find is, that in seeking to be a blessing to others, we ourselves will be blessed.  Abraham could not outgive God.  So next year he would have a son.  In entertaining other- and possibly angels- we will be blessed. 

Prayer: Lord, inspire me to be a person of hospitality- opening up my life to others. 

James Tissot (1836-1902), "Abraham and the Three Visitors"  thejewishmuseum.org
 

Embrace Hospitality

 There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavenst. a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing.  (Ecclesiastes 3:1,5a)

Jesus said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age."  (Matthew 29:19-20)

God is a welcoming God.  He wants all people from all areas, all nations, tribes, and languages to come to Him.  The Bible says that Jesus (God in the flesh) came to His own- the ones He made- and they did not receive Him.  God loves us, and wants to embrace us and have us embrace Him.  He wants to be our God and for us to be His people. 
    Why is this important?   The love of God is why we are here.  It is the reason we are called not only to love God, but to love our neighbors as ourselves.  In the love of God we find our identity.  We are made out of love- in His image.  
    For the next few months I will be blogging regularly on the need to embrace God and each other.  As we embrace each other- we are to remember we are not only to embrace our family but even people of a different culture.  We are called to be people of love- reaching out beyond ourselves. 
     In our society we find we are consumed with ourselves.  We have a consumeristic mentality- where we judge everything by how it can help us.  Many even believe they have a right to decide if God is good or even exists by whether God has helped them the way they want to be helped in life.  In contrast God calls us to get beyond ourselves to respect others, love others, and therefore be missionaries of God's love.  

Prayer: Lord, strengthen me to love others- to embrace you and others.  Help me to put you above myself.