Practise hospitality Embracing the importance of welcome
Christine D. Pohl Special to ChristianWeek
I
n the earliest days of Christianity, everyone
depended on hospitality. Disciples of Jesus travelled to spread the good news, shared meals with poor people, took in brothers and sisters who were fleeing persecution and worshipped together in the context of households. Te practice of hospitality was,
as Donald Riddle noted decades ago, central to the transmission of the gospel in the early Church. Today, many folks regard
hospitality as a “nice extra” if we have the time, and we don’t usually have the time. We rarely notice how important hospitality is for the contemporary church’s identity, mission and ministry. Oſten, our churches and
church planting strategies are oriented toward measuring numbers and they depend heavily on technique and marketing to accomplish their purposes. Te people we are trying to reach, however, are wary of yet another sales pitch or program, no matter what it might be offering. Although hospitality is
important to almost every religious tradition, it belongs at the centre of the Christian life because it is at the heart of the gospel. Trough His life, death and resurrection, Jesus made a
place for us in God’s household. He came to Earth as a stranger, welcomed strangers throughout His ministry and taught about the importance of welcome. Much like us, His disciples
struggled with making room for others, especially if the others were different in some way. But slowly, as they began to understand the extraordinary nature of Jesus’ welcome to them, His followers opened their hearts, homes and congregations to others, and particularly to those most likely to be overlooked in the rosters of the important or impressive (Luke 14:12-14).
Consider the costs
Offering welcome can sometimes be difficult and we worry about risks, resources and personal costs. Tese are important concerns and believers have struggled with them since the first century. Taking our cue from earlier generations, however, we can find ways to address the challenges without neglecting the practice. Paul reminded the Christians
in Rome to welcome one another as Christ had welcomed them (Romans 15:7). Te early communities took hospitality seriously and the hostile outside world noticed. Te practice was so significant in the first centuries that it was offered as proof of the
truth and the life-changing power of the gospel. A life-style of hospitality
remains a powerful witness to God’s love and welcome today. Families, churches and communities that make room for strangers are, in Jean Vanier’s words, signs of “contradiction” that love is possible in a broken world. In a larger culture
characterized by loneliness and skepticism, Christians can offer people a place of belonging, participation and healing. We don’t open our lives and
congregations to others because we have gotten everything right.
We offer welcome out of gratitude for the grace we have received. Although our hospitality can
be costly, it is also filled with the promise of blessing. We might find ourselves encountering angels or Jesus Himself when we open the doors of our hearts and communities (Hebrews 13:2; Matthew 25:31-46).
Christine D. Pohl, professor of Christian Ethics at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, is the author of several books includ- ing Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition. She is a keynote speaker at re:Call, a national church planting con- ference held November 15-17 in Winnipeg.
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