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Friday, August 20, 2010

Some Thoughts on Hospitality
By webmaster @ 12:01 AM :: 1002 Views :: 1 Comments

Hospitality is not optional for Christians, nor is it limited to those who are specially gifted for it. It is, instead, a necessary practice in the community of faith.
~Christine Pohl, in Making Room: Recovering Hospitality
as a Christian Tradition

Marble Collegiate Church has been called "America’s Hometown Church." It has also been known as a place "where good things happen" when our church family joins together throughout the week. For many, coming to Marble is like coming home. And, like any family, the longer we stay together--worshiping, praying, listening, speaking, sharing, and eating--the stronger the bond is between us.

Being together on a regular basis helps us to know and trust each other better; we begin to feel more comfortable and at ease when we see each other frequently. This can take time but such repetition is necessary in order to build an authentic sense of community, a feeling of togetherness.

The longer a church family stays together, however, the harder it can be to allow other people to feel a part of that inner circle. Let’s be honest: change is difficult, especially when it comes to welcoming the stranger in our midst. We might think to ourselves, "Who is that standing over there? I don’t recognize them as one of us." Rather than making a move to greet that person, we often remain steadfast to our comfort zones, hoping someone else will bravely initiate a conversation. And that’s assuming we’re even paying attention to those around us.

The word "hospitality" rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it? We hear the word used repeatedly and yet, if you were pressed to define it, what would you say?

In her book, Just Hospitality: God’s Welcome in a World of Difference, the late Letty Mandeville Russell, feminist theologian and longtime member of the Yale Divinity School faculty, provides a helpful definition of hospitality:

The ministry of the church is to be partners with strangers, to welcome those whom Christ welcomed, and thus learn to be a community in which people are made one in Jesus Christ in spite of their different classes, religious backgrounds, genders, races, and ethnic groups. Our koinonia or partnership in Christ is a gift of our baptism and not a result of being of one class, race, or sexual orientation. It is a gift that transcends real differences through participation in the mission and ministry of the church on behalf of healing the brokenness of the world, beginning with ourselves.

This is what it means to demonstrate hospitality. It is not just some limited, charitable welcome, but a process that necessitates companionship with the "other" in our broken world. If you have not read Professor Russell’s book, I commend it to you as a well-articulated challenge to partner with the stranger in our struggles for justice.

In addition, the New Testament helps us to understand the ministry of hospitality. The Greek word for hospitality is philoxenia, meaning "the love of strangers." Its antithesis: xenophobia, or "fear of strangers." In the 25th chapter of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus promises to be with those who love and care for strangers (i.e. the marginalized, oppressed, hungry, thirsty and naked). Professor Russell understood this to mean that we, too, are called to be in "solidarity with strangers, a mutual relationship of care and trust in which we share in the struggle for empowerment, dignity, and fullness of life."

There are several other helpful passages in the New Testament to consider:

…extend hospitality to strangers. ~Romans 12:13b

Be hospitable to one another without complaining. ~I Peter 4:9

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. ~Hebrews 13:2

These passages and many others keep the charge before us. The challenge it offers us as a church family is to actively seek out the stranger as we worship and fellowship together after the service and meet throughout the week for outreach and study. Move beyond your comfort zone to offer a warm greeting to those you don’t know, and take time to ask good questions, listening carefully to their responses. Hospitality was never met for "professionals only." Our participation is essential for helping a church become a vibrant place "where good things happen" and where strangers are never overlooked.

Comments

By SniffNY @ Friday, August 20, 2010 10:33 AM

Ouch!

Hospitality is something I like to experience but not to deliver myself. It takes courage. But what is there to be afraid of? Here are a few fears I can think of. Fear of rejection. Fear of introducing myself to someone I met last month and showing my forgetfulness. Fear of meeting someone who is boring. Fear of being boring. All of this has happened to me on the few occasions that I do take the risk of saying ''hi" to a stranger. With risk there is also the potential for reward. I've met surprising people by saying "hi" to folks at Marble. I've met people from other countries, different professions, folks getting ready to take a missionary trip, people who know people I know. I find it easier to say ''hi" when I'm with a friend already. I guess I get courage from my friends.

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