Regarding Hospitality

Hospitality is tied to food. We invite our friends and family into our homes and there is always something to nosh on, whether it is football snacks like nachos or pizza or a feast like Thanksgiving dinner.

These two articles remind me that we are losing our hospitality in this generation. The first is Why I'll Eat Anything You'll Serve Me, where the author discusses the hospitality pitfalls from the individualized diets so plentiful in our culture.

We don't break bread together often enough. I know that we rarely had friends over while we lived in a townhouse. I just never felt like we had enough space to accommodate folks. I mean we had the occasional family gathering for birthdays and we did have friends over for dinner a few times. But I like to host parties and I was never comfortable with the idea of attempting one in that smaller space. Now that we have a larger home, I'm excited to host some dinner parties, teas, and Super Bowl gatherings.

But the other article, takes on the topic of hospitality as more than just feast gathering and it's both intriguing and convicting, Unpacking Hospitality.

In ancient Greece, practice of hospitality was associated to Zeus, the chief deity. Folks referred to him as Xenios Zeus–Zeus the Stranger–the idea that any stranger could be Zeus in disquise. This myth served to stress the utmost importance of hospitality. The host was to welcome strangers as though they were Zeus. Etiquette stressed that hospitality was to be offered in a way that honored the guest. Hosts were to wash the feet of guests, offer them food and drink, and–only after the guest was comfortable–ask the strangers name.

Greco-Roman hospitality wasn’t simply about welcoming a stranger, but also about equalizing the guest and the host. A host who begrudgingly showed care to a guest was considered a poor host. Hosts were to treat guests as equals and help them feel comfortable before even asking their name.
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In Jesus’ teachings, we go beyond the myth of entertaining Zeus to believing that every stranger we entertain is the same as entertaining Jesus (Mathew 25:31-46). In other words, we aren’t hospitable because the stranger might be Zeus, but because when we welcome the stranger, we are, in some real sense, welcoming Jesus himself.

Jesus not only challenged how we extend hospitality, but broke the social norms by being a guest to questionable hosts (like tax collectors). It was a big no-no to be a guest in the home of a disreputable person. This goes beyond the Hebraic notion of hospitality into something much more provocative. Jesus didn’t ask for the stranger or outcast to adopt the regular symbols and practices of covenantal faithfulness before including them in the Kingdom.

As a result, Christians were called to be radically inclusive. Strangers were possible brothers and sisters. The early church grew quickly because marginalized folks were treated as honored equals.

One of the things I was excited about when we found our new house in the spring (we moved into it in July), was the ability to host. I'm excited to be able to extend hospitality as there is need, be it family and friends, but also the stranger. Although being slightly paranoid, I will be cautious - strangers through my church, for the most part, like missionaries or students or whomever is in town and needs a place to stay. And, of course, a good meal or two.