Radical Hospitality
I am beginning this entry full of joy and with tears in my eyes! I just checked each of my children's blogs. Each family has a new entry! I just love blogs! First I see my precious, adorable granddaughter, Kaylee and read how Jana, so exhausted, and at the end of her strength, prayed the Lord would allow her to have a good night's rest and Kaylee slept through the night (7 hours) for the first time! Then I see Pat making biscuits for a young man they have taken into their home for a period of time until he can get a job there in Alaska. Hospitality!
Finally, and this is the one that brought tears, I read of Lesli's special communion blessing (click the link and read for yourself). I know about "Jim" so I can totally visualize the scene. This is so in keeping with what I AM READING ABOUT HOSPITALITY! What an extraordinary blessing to have children living out a life of faith!!!!
I have purchased three books on Biblical hospitality. One is pretty shallow and not at all what I anticipated but the other two: "Radical Hospitality - Benedict's Way of Love" and "Making Room - Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition". Both of these are deepening my appreciation of the fact that Christian hospitality is one of the most fundamental ways God intends for us to build His Kingdom. Lesli's experience underscores this type of experience. True hospitality is about receiving others; opening up yourself to them, taking a risk, getting messy and getting involved in being Christ to the world.
Incidentally, reading a book written by a monk and written about monastic tradition isn't something I would have ever imagined I'd do! It certainly has demolished my concept of monastery life! Stop yawning!
Sunday we decided to invite a few people over for lunch and "practice hospitality". We had no idea who it was going to be when we went to church. We ended up with a an interesting group. One was a man visiting from out of town who was here to assist a relative clean up after the tornado. He was a widower with an eleven year old (ADD) son. Another was a godly, elderly man who attends our church whom we have grown to love. When you first see him, you figure he must be homeless or something. He wears overalls every Sunday, has a scruffy, unkempt beard and no front teeth. He has a very interesting look about him! I seldom see anyone visiting with him. He was a faithful attendee to the Monday evening Football fellowship Phil established. He is a man of prayer and faith. He is always immaculately clean. Cristy was also there and brought Brian, one of our other singles. It was an interesting group. Cristy gulped twice when she saw the boy whom she said drove her nuts in children's church. We both figured God was trying to teach her something! Who knows why God led us to these people. We had invited another single man who had recently got custody of him one-year old son. He happily accepted but did not show up.
I am trying hard to change my ways about hospitality, making it more about the people and less about what I serve, how I serve it and how prepared my home is for company! This is a struggle for me! We grilled hamburgers instead of making a big Sunday dinner. I purchased potato salad, opened a can of baked beans and filled a pie shell with a can of pie filling (Phil wasn't impressed with that!). The hamburgers were delicious!
I believe the elderly gentlemen was truly blessed as was the father and son. After lunch everyone played catch with a softball for about an hour but I got a nap. I was so tired! When the boy left Phil overhead him saying to his dad, "That was a fun visit, dad, huh?" You just never know...
In "Radical Hospitality" there are numerous profound statements about hospitality. Here are a few:
"Hospitality is not about what you do, it is about who you are becoming."
"We are accustomed to easy answers. Hospitality is not an easy answer. It requires that we take a chance and we change. It requires us to grow. The moment we engage with another person everything gets messy. Our time becomes not quite our own, we can count on others interrupting us. We become subject to a whole hoard of emotional dangers. ... Because hospitality always involves giving something of ourselves to others, it is a spiritual practice. Spirituality is about relationship.
"What we want in spirituality today is comfort. It's about wanting a Jesus that tastes good, gives you the comforts of sweets and fast food, and makes you feel good inside.....Genuine spirituality is not cozy, and seldom makes you comfortable. It challenges, disturbs, unsettles, and leaves you feeling like someone is at the center of your existence on a major remodeling mission. Spiritually is meant to change you. If it doesn't, it is something less than spirituality. This tendency of ours to seek our comfort should tell us something about ourselves. We lack. We need but what we need is not a "chocolate Jesus and Chicken Soup. They won't help the problem. We need stronger medicine for our sickly souls. We need a transforming, shake-you-to-the-soles-of-your-feet kind of remedy. We need transforming Love!"
These comments, which I just read this week were quite timely for us. You see, most people we fellowship with at our church have quite complicated lives. Many have a history of substance abuse and/or jail OR have a relative in jail or recently out of jail and/or living with them or have a drug problem and are sucking them dry, holding them hostage to their needs. When you open yourself up to embrace these kinds of people, it truly is messy and requires a lot. Many of you know about a couple who were saved in our home. God has given these people to us to transform us! It is not easy. Their lives go from one major, and I mean MAJOR crisis to another! The words from these books spoke directly to the lamentation heard in our household over the latest crisis and how in the world we could possibly help and what was it going to cost us! One thing I had to remind myself of was that we are not responsible or required to solve peoples problems. We only required to offer them love and help as God directs. Jesus is Jesus for such a time as this! And oh, how we need Him!
Finally, and this is the one that brought tears, I read of Lesli's special communion blessing (click the link and read for yourself). I know about "Jim" so I can totally visualize the scene. This is so in keeping with what I AM READING ABOUT HOSPITALITY! What an extraordinary blessing to have children living out a life of faith!!!!
I have purchased three books on Biblical hospitality. One is pretty shallow and not at all what I anticipated but the other two: "Radical Hospitality - Benedict's Way of Love" and "Making Room - Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition". Both of these are deepening my appreciation of the fact that Christian hospitality is one of the most fundamental ways God intends for us to build His Kingdom. Lesli's experience underscores this type of experience. True hospitality is about receiving others; opening up yourself to them, taking a risk, getting messy and getting involved in being Christ to the world.
Incidentally, reading a book written by a monk and written about monastic tradition isn't something I would have ever imagined I'd do! It certainly has demolished my concept of monastery life! Stop yawning!
Sunday we decided to invite a few people over for lunch and "practice hospitality". We had no idea who it was going to be when we went to church. We ended up with a an interesting group. One was a man visiting from out of town who was here to assist a relative clean up after the tornado. He was a widower with an eleven year old (ADD) son. Another was a godly, elderly man who attends our church whom we have grown to love. When you first see him, you figure he must be homeless or something. He wears overalls every Sunday, has a scruffy, unkempt beard and no front teeth. He has a very interesting look about him! I seldom see anyone visiting with him. He was a faithful attendee to the Monday evening Football fellowship Phil established. He is a man of prayer and faith. He is always immaculately clean. Cristy was also there and brought Brian, one of our other singles. It was an interesting group. Cristy gulped twice when she saw the boy whom she said drove her nuts in children's church. We both figured God was trying to teach her something! Who knows why God led us to these people. We had invited another single man who had recently got custody of him one-year old son. He happily accepted but did not show up.
I am trying hard to change my ways about hospitality, making it more about the people and less about what I serve, how I serve it and how prepared my home is for company! This is a struggle for me! We grilled hamburgers instead of making a big Sunday dinner. I purchased potato salad, opened a can of baked beans and filled a pie shell with a can of pie filling (Phil wasn't impressed with that!). The hamburgers were delicious!
I believe the elderly gentlemen was truly blessed as was the father and son. After lunch everyone played catch with a softball for about an hour but I got a nap. I was so tired! When the boy left Phil overhead him saying to his dad, "That was a fun visit, dad, huh?" You just never know...
In "Radical Hospitality" there are numerous profound statements about hospitality. Here are a few:
"Hospitality is not about what you do, it is about who you are becoming."
"We are accustomed to easy answers. Hospitality is not an easy answer. It requires that we take a chance and we change. It requires us to grow. The moment we engage with another person everything gets messy. Our time becomes not quite our own, we can count on others interrupting us. We become subject to a whole hoard of emotional dangers. ... Because hospitality always involves giving something of ourselves to others, it is a spiritual practice. Spirituality is about relationship.
"What we want in spirituality today is comfort. It's about wanting a Jesus that tastes good, gives you the comforts of sweets and fast food, and makes you feel good inside.....Genuine spirituality is not cozy, and seldom makes you comfortable. It challenges, disturbs, unsettles, and leaves you feeling like someone is at the center of your existence on a major remodeling mission. Spiritually is meant to change you. If it doesn't, it is something less than spirituality. This tendency of ours to seek our comfort should tell us something about ourselves. We lack. We need but what we need is not a "chocolate Jesus and Chicken Soup. They won't help the problem. We need stronger medicine for our sickly souls. We need a transforming, shake-you-to-the-soles-of-your-feet kind of remedy. We need transforming Love!"
These comments, which I just read this week were quite timely for us. You see, most people we fellowship with at our church have quite complicated lives. Many have a history of substance abuse and/or jail OR have a relative in jail or recently out of jail and/or living with them or have a drug problem and are sucking them dry, holding them hostage to their needs. When you open yourself up to embrace these kinds of people, it truly is messy and requires a lot. Many of you know about a couple who were saved in our home. God has given these people to us to transform us! It is not easy. Their lives go from one major, and I mean MAJOR crisis to another! The words from these books spoke directly to the lamentation heard in our household over the latest crisis and how in the world we could possibly help and what was it going to cost us! One thing I had to remind myself of was that we are not responsible or required to solve peoples problems. We only required to offer them love and help as God directs. Jesus is Jesus for such a time as this! And oh, how we need Him!
posted by Linda @ 6:33 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home