“…A certain man gave a great
supper and invited many. And sent his servant at supper time to say to those
who were invited, ‘Come for all things are now ready.’”—Luke 14:17
Our home has always seemed to hum
with the activity of people. We have
always welcomed family, friends, and strangers into our home. During our children’s teenage years, it
seemed like our home was the central point of a gathering place for all their
friends, and those who needed housing assistance when they were in a family
crisis situation. Recently, I heard a
person make comment about their family coming for a visit, and that is when I
realized that not everyone had the same view as I did on being hospitable. The individual was upset because the visiting
family members were interrupting their family’s schedule, and would require
extra effort on their part. Perhaps if
this person had a clearer understanding about the practice of Christian
hospitality she would have thought differently.
Dr. Christine Pohl, the author of Making Room, said that, “A lot of us see
our homes as retreats from the world instead of outposts for the kingdom. And so we are leery of whom we welcome and
how much time it will take.” She went on
to say that some societies have become so task-oriented that their view of
opportunities for hospitality seems as interruptions. If our whole focus is on getting things done,
then opening our homes to others will always be inconvenient.
Perhaps the most inconvenient, if
not uncomfortable, aspect to the biblical tradition of hospitality is its
emphasis on welcoming the stranger into the home. Jesus said when you welcome the least of these
you have welcomed Me (Matthew 25:45).
The early Christians took these words so seriously that it was common
practice to set aside a special room in their homes. This room was called “Christ room,” or
“prophet’s chamber,” so that as strangers had a need the believers would not
miss an opportunity to welcome “Jesus.”
A passage in Luke’s gospel teaches
an important lesson about the best approach for taking in a stranger—we should
not welcome others for personal gain. On
the Sabbath, Jesus dined in the home of a ruling Pharisee. Noticing the dignified guests who were seated
around the table, Jesus challenged the host not to invite friends, rich
neighbors, or relatives, who could return the favor in one form or another: “But when you give a feast, invite the poor,
the maimed, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed because they cannot
repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (Luke
14:13-14).
We as Christians are called to
extend to strangers and those who are usually left-out the same kind of welcome
that we extend to family and friends. It
is very difficult to show hospitality to strangers if we are not showing it to
the people we know and love.
Begin to ask yourself how you could
expand your table, with questions such as: Who
are the people in my world that need welcomed?
It is the person down the street whose family lives on the other side of
the country? Is it my child’s friends,
an international student, a disabled church member, or a widower? View your home not as a private haven but
as a tool for the kingdom of God. “Do not
neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained
angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2).
Prayer—Father
forgive me for the times that it has seemed inconvenient to invite people into
my home. I purpose in my heart to look
for ways to expand my table, and for my home to be used as a tool for Your
kingdom, in Jesus Name. Amen.
