In our last two articles we spent some time looking at hospitality as an ancient cultural practice shared by most nomadic people's as well as by ancient Greek society. We also discovered that this practice became an integral part of the Biblical narrative, in both the Old and New Testaments. Hospitality was practiced by people as diverse as Abraham, Jesus and members of the early church. It would seem fitting then that we as 21st century Christians exercise this spiritual discipline as well. However the question becomes what does hospitality look like in America in 2013? I ask that because chances are most of us would be a bit averse to inviting any and every stranger into our homes in order to feed and clothe them. While this might work on occasion, I have heard too many stories of this kind of hospitality ending up costing people their property and their lives. So what then ought hospitality to look like?
Hospitality ought to look like a loving attitude toward "the other." I define "the other" as those people who are different from us in any way. Unfortunately we live in a place and time where the media (radio, television, internet and print) and politicians attempt to make us fearful of "the other." We are to build up security barriers all around us so that regardless of where we are we can be alert and not allow "the other" to harm us. This fear is described in a recent Huffington Post article where a cab driver (originally from Ghana) decided to attend a local Baptist church in Maryland where he had dropped off a fare. The members called the police and accused him of being a trespasser…even after he told them he was a "Baptist from Ghana." Christian hospitality is to demonstrate the exact opposite attitude. It is to be one which sees the other as a child of God regardless of race, religion, language, ability or any other worldly condition.
Hospitality ought to look like intentionally welcoming "the other." In the same article, the author describes attending a church in Washington D.C. which was renowned for its welcoming spirit toward the homeless. Regardless of this reputation however, when the author visited the church not a single person spoke with him during the coffee hour after the service. Our world has been described as one in which we have come to expect more from our technology and less from each other. This growing technological divide combined with our innate Western sense of personal space leads many of us to feel uncomfortable welcoming those whom we do not know, or with whom we do not have some immediate common bond (school, work, hobbies, etc.). Christian hospitality challenges us to move out of these comfort zones in order to intentionally greet and make to feel welcome those with whom we come into contact. While we ought to insure that we practice this kind of hospitality within our church walls, the critical test of hospitality is how we practice this in our schools, work places and neighborhoods.
Hospitality ought to look like making a place for "the other." As noted above, hospitality begins with how we see others and then continues with how we welcome them. The final part of hospitality involves integrating people into the community. This means being intentional about discovering and implementing ways to insure that "the other" becomes "us." At Everybody's Church we do this through coffee hour (insuring people are introduced to others); through our AAIM ministry (Rejoicing Spirits worship and other inclusion activities); through our hosting SOS during which we get to know our guests and invite them to be part of our community; through Bible studies, Dinners for 8, small groups and other fellowship and service opportunities. Though the description of hospitality I offer does not exactly mirror that of the scriptures (for example by not taking strangers into our homes), I still believe it offers us a faithful vision of Christian hospitality in our day and time
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