Hospitality...

The words hospitality, hospitable and entertain occur only six times in Scripture but each time it is an imperative. The Greek word combines ‘philo’, meaning ‘to love as a dear friend’, and another word meaning ‘being fond of guests/entertaining’. So, being hospitable consists of a desire to support and provide sustenance, to harbour (with all its connotations of safety and embrace) and cherish and experience (i.e. engage with) your guests – and to accommodate them.When I think of accommodating people, it’s not just letting them in; it’s making a comfortable, safe, welcoming space for them – physically, emotionally, intellectually. Acceptance.The Oxford Dictionary defines a hospitable person as someone of open and generous disposition, who is disposed to receive (read ‘accept’) and welcome kindly with liberality and goodwill. Does this sound like Jesus or what? And isn’t this a great way to emulate Him!Paul tells us, via his letter to the diverse and divided Roman church, to “Practise hospitality” (Rom. 12:13). Peter in his first letter says, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling”, which is a bit of a no-brainer given the connotations of hospitality – generosity, kindness, nurturing, etc. Whoever wrote Hebrews encourages his readers “not to forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it” (Heb. 13:2). How about that for incentive! Maybe this kind of hospitality is a means of “compelling” outsiders into the kingdom feast – in fact, is part of the kingdom feast.I was so encouraged today by an affirmation of a particular aspect of my being, my who-I-am: I love home. If I’ve thought about this characteristic at all, it’s to have seen it as a barrier to rather than an opportunity for mission, which is actually a reflection of my limited idea of mission (now expanded). I love it that Malcolm was able to show me that my ‘in’ (being a home body) has the potential for ‘out’. I can count that aspect of me a plus. I love home. More particularly, I love my living room, which is a kitchen/dining/sitting-in space (generously made possible to me by my children, who financed it). Here I do what I love most – preparing food and studying the Word (another kind of food). I love to feed people. That’s my entree into hospitality.I want to “practise hospitality”. At the moment a small group comes together in my living space to be hospitable over coffee and the Word on Wednesday nights, 7:30-9:00. If you would like to join us, we would like to welcome you kindly – and to practice on you, loving as a dear friend!Blessings, Lesley Wilson