Hospitality

Once it was so common that we hardly used to name it.

Now it is the name of a whole industry.

I’m talking about hospitality.

‘The friendly and liberal reception of strangers and guests’ (Websters)

We can find hospitality (usually) when we visit a restaurant or café, perhaps when we stay at an accommodation place such as motel or B&B, as to the business owner and or employees, we are a stranger yet a guest.

But the art of offering hospitality in our homes in this country is on the slide.

You and I tend to offer hospitality to only a limited number of people, people who we already know and like - mostly relatives and a few close friends.

This is in contrast to many cultures around the world, who still uphold the value of offering hospitality to all, even the stranger. In Biblical times too, hospitality was extended to whoever needed it, strangers and acquaintances alike. In fact, ‘in its original form, "hospitality" combines two separate words - one meaning friend and the other meaning stranger. So, from the beginning of its usage, hospitality has carried with it the idea of making friends out of strangers’ (J Cox).

In the Biblical letter called Hebrews, there is this advice: ‘Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.’ This may be a reference to Abraham in the Old Testament showing hospitality to three visitors who turned out to be God’s representatives.

Jesus also taught the importance of hospitality, and spoke of people giving him something to eat when he was hungry, something to drink when he was thirsty, being invited in when a stranger. Of being clothed, looked after when he was sick, and even visited while in prison. Although Jesus hadn’t necessarily received these things personally, he said, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

When we offer hospitality in any of these ways, God is pleased.

Sure, it may be risky. Strangers after all are strangers. We don’t know anything about them, so we don’t know if we can trust them. When we show hospitality to the stranger, we should ensure that we offer hospitality sensibly, and with some safeguards in place.

But if we totally dismiss the idea because of the risk, we exclude the opportunity to learn, to make new friends, and to receive the rich reward and blessing that seems to accompany the hospitality experience.

In his book Outlive Your Life, Max Lucado writes: ‘Hospitality opens the door to uncommon community. It’s no accident that hospitality and hospital come from the same Latin word, for they both lead to the same result: healing. When you open your door to someone, you are sending this message: ‘You matter to me and to God.’ You may think you are saying, ‘Come over for a visit.’ But what your guest hears is, ‘I’m worth the effort.’”

May we each learn to live with open hearts, and open homes.

www.salvationarmy.org.au/mornington

Breaking Down The Walls

On November 9^th, 2013 it will be 24 years since the fall of the Berlin wall.

Construction of the infamous wall began in the dead of night one August in 1961 to separate West Berlin from surrounding East Berlin and East Germany, and probably to halt the large numbers of people wanting to leave East Germany at the time for the democratic west. Just past midnight, trucks with soldiers and construction workers started tearing up streets that entered into West Berlin, dug holes to put up concrete posts, and strung barbed wire all across the border between East and West Berlin.

Imagine how shocked the people were when they woke up next morning. What had once been an open border was now fenced off. No longer could East Berliners cross the border for operas, plays, or sporting matches. Approximately 60,000 commuters couldn’t head to West Berlin for well-paying jobs. No longer could families, friends, and lovers cross the border to meet their loved ones. Whichever side of the border one went to sleep on during the night of August 12, they were stuck on that side for decades.

In 1989, amidst a changing political scene, and significant civil unrest, it was announced that East Germans would now be free to visit West Berlin and West Germany and the gates were opened on November 9th. Bit by bit the wall was chipped away by souvenir hunters with sledgehammers or hammer and chisel, before finally being removed totally by earthmoving equipment in 1990.

The fall of the wall brought freedom. And it brought great joy. Families were reunited, relationships restored. Two separate territories eventually became one.

Some two thousand years earlier, another wall came down. The barrier between God and mankind – sin – was torn down as Jesus paid the penalty with his death, and we were all reconciled to God through the gate of forgiveness this opened up. The forgiveness was not just for the Jews, but for all people – men, women and children of every race, creed and socio-economic group on the planet. His death brought freedom, and reconciliation, and subsequently joy.

Walls and barriers that divide are terrible things. Yet we seem good and creating metaphorical walls between ourselves and others, particularly those that are different to us in one way or another. And I’m sure this saddens God.

Don’t erect walls. Don’t divide or section yourself off from individuals or groups of people. We were all created equal. God loves everybody equally. You don’t have to agree with everybody, or even like everybody, but once the wall goes up it gets so hard to bring down.

And most importantly, don’t separate yourself from God. Keep your face turned towards him, living lives that are wholesome and pleasing to God. Enjoy the freedom and the joy that comes with being able to be in relationship with the God of love.

www.salvationarmy.org.au/mornington

Use By Date

One of the regular features on most of the packaged foods we purchase from our local supermarkets are the 'use-by' or 'best before' date stamped on the box, wrapper or bottle. This date gives you an idea of how long the food will last before it loses quality, or in some cases, for health and safety reasons, the date by which the food must be eaten to be assured of being safe for consumption.

Shoppers are becoming more and more aware of use-by dates, and will look to purchase items with the latest use-by dates to purchase the freshest, and give the longest time to use the product before it spoils.

However, foods still need to be properly stored to remain fresh and safe. It’s no good leaving a carton out of milk out in the sun, and then wondering why it is sour when still a few days within the use-by date!

As I get older, I wonder what my ‘best before’ date is. In physical terms, I’m past my ‘best before’ already, as I get slower and stiffer and take longer to get over bumps, bruises and minor ailments. But in many aspects of life I think I’m still managing to improve, or at least not get worse. Perhaps my driving is an exception!?

I think for many of us, our hope is that our ‘best before’ is some time in the future.

And for all of us, our lives have a ‘use-by’ date. Only problem is that none of us know when that will be - when our heart will stop beating and we take our final breath on this earth. With that being the case, shouldn’t we put a bit more effort into enjoying the days that we have while we have them?

Shouldn’t we all love more deeply, forgive more quickly, listen more carefully, speak more words of encouragement and affirmation, knowing that today could be our last?

In the book of Ephesians in the Bible, it encourages us to ‘be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.’ (Ch 5: 15-17)

The Lord God wants us to do things like love, forgive, to act compassionately, to seek justice, to care for others and for our earth, to be grateful and to give thanks. Good things. Positive things. From our hearts.

May we each do our best to make this world a better place, before our ‘use-by dates’ are up.

www.salvationarmy.org.au/mornington