Hospitality
November 27, 2007
Dear Friends,
Many years ago, my wife, LeAnn, and I were visiting San Francisco on business. We found out where meeting was on Sunday and showed up unannounced. Several interesting things happened there. First, a couple of sisters invited us out to a lovely lunch where we got to know one another. Second, a young couple invited us to stay with them at their house in lieu of our hotel. The beautiful thing is that these two acts of hospitality formed friendships between us that have grown more and more through the years. As our paths have crossed since that day, we have only grown closer. The seed was sown in these two acts of kindness.
Hospitality is one of the defining acts of discipleship. In Romans 12:13, for example, the Apostle Paul says simply “Practice hospitality.”(NIV) The Apostle didn’t just talk about it, but clearly demonstrated it. “For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him.” (Acts 28:30 NIV)
I believe that the key to hospitality is to know that all that you have is not really yours anyway, but God’s. If we believe this, it is not hard to share it with others – especially with fellow followers of Christ.
The definitive example of this spirit was in the early first century ecclesia. They shared all things common and lived off a common purse. People were provided for as they had need, not based on social standing, the amount of money they earned or some other arbitrary standard. It would be the ultimate act of hospitality to live this way, but seldom are we asked to go to this extreme any longer. Some of our most common acts of hospitality are as our brethren in San Francisco showed to us – food and lodging. I can’t recount the many times brethren all over the world have received me into their homes with food or lodging. In fact, it is so commonplace that perhaps we are in danger of seeing this as no big deal. It is a big deal, though. How many religions in the world have such a strong belief in hospitality that you can show up at one of their services in a strange city and almost be guaranteed an invitation for food or lodging? I’d be willing to guess there is only one.
The author of the Hebrews wrote: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” (Heb. 13:2 NASB) I have often wondered how literally to take this verse. The passage refers to men such as Abraham that literally did have angels visit them. Do we have literal angelic beings amongst us that test our willingness to be hospitable? If we take the implication of this verse at face value, we probably do. This is both amazing and a bit unsettling. It sure provides us with an incentive to be complicit in the command to be hospitable.
Another set of verses that bears mentioning on the subject of hospitality is 1 Peter 4:9,10. It reads:
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. (NIV)
This verse seems to indicate that we are not to offer hospitality grudgingly, but with a grateful heart. We have the privilege of serving someone. The gifts of hospitality may seem very ordinary such as cooking or making someone feel at home when they are a long way from home, but as Peter says, these things are another way of “faithfully administering God’s grace in it various forms.” This makes these ordinary gifts extraordinary.
I know that I have been very blessed to be both the giver and the receiver of hospitality throughout the years. Some of my dearest friendships started on this basis and have made my life so much richer. It is a blessing that we should not take for granted to both give and receive hospitality.
Have a great week,
Comments»
Hi Kyle,
I would like to point out two incidents where I witnessed extraordinary hospitality. It was the summer of 1961, I was in the army in San Antonio, Texas. I was not a Christadelphian. A relative sent me the address of where the Christadelphins met in Houston, Texas. I drove 200 miles to Houston and walked into the YMCA where they met. I was in an army uniform and did not know anyone there. I was treated like family and introduced to brother Wayne Tanner who treated me like a son and took me out to dinner. Brother Wayne also introduced me to sister Emadene Moran who had three teenage sons, I was 20 at that time. I was invited back to visit sister Emadene and her boys and I did on two more occasions. I also brought with me two army buddies and sister Emidene fed us all. She truly entertained strangers. Sister Emedene is now a widow living in isolation, approx 80 years of age. Martha and I visited her this summer on our way to Texas bible school and had a real nice visit. When I talked to her on the phone before we left on our trip I told her we wanted to take her out to dinner. However when we got there she was her usual hospitable self and she had made lasagna and we were going to stay and have dinner with her. I am telling you all this because she loves to hear from other believers. Her address is:
Emedene Moran
23223 Bayleaf Drive
Spring, Texas 77373
tel. # 281-353-7203
Please ask your readers to send her a card. Thanks.
The other story is about my father who was a Catholic in name only. Though he had many years of contact with Christadelphians through my mother’s family—the Giordanos—he was not interested and even was hostile to hearing anything about the Christadelphin faith. Most of the older Italian brothers were very critical of the Catholic church from which they came. When I got out of the army at the end of 1961 I took an interest in the bible. Through 1962 I was helped in my studies by brother Joe Arabia. We did not know it at the time but while my father was in the kitchen having his supper he was eavesdropping on our conversations. Later on in the year Joe asked me to go to a prophecy class at brother Charles Ghent’s house. When we were leaving to go, Joe asked my father if he wanted to go. He surprised us both by saying “yeah, I’ll take a ride.” Well now the rest of the story. My father was a bus driver with a 9th grade education. Brother Charles was a college-educated insurance executive and he treated my father as an equal. My father was so impressed with the Christ-like demeanor that he was ready to hear the truth. Charles and Betty Ghent formed a friendship with my parents, taught my father the truth and both my parents were baptized about 6 months after I was. The point in both these stories is that believers made lasting life-changing impressions just by being Christ-like.
Thanks for listening.
Brother Andy Delorenzo