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