I’m spending a little time reading about hospitality. I find hospitality to come in many different
forms, and have most understood it to be a particular kind of welcome—generally
of a “stranger” or someone new in one’s life.
But after reading today I have a little different understanding:
“Hospitality is an invitation from God to grow deeper in
love.” Christine D. Pohl. Living into
Community: Cultivating Practices That Sustain Us (Kindle Location 1988).
I like this image.
Jesus and his followers spent a significant amount of time traveling
around, accepting the hospitality of many, many people. And Jesus frequently spoke about welcoming
others into fellowship and most of the time, those we are to invite in are “strangers”
or “others” or people who make us uncomfortable in some regard. To see these kinds of expressions of hospitality
as invitations from God to see, learn, experience and grow into deeper, loving
relationships is a nearly breathtaking ‘aha’ moment.
It isn't always easy to see the gift of this
invitation. Many of us tend to stick to
the people who have been parts of our multiple circles, and sometimes those
circles do not even touch! We place
relationships in silos of specificity.
Why? It sometimes takes a major
event, like a graduation party, for people from multiple venues to come
together to meet, to celebrate, and to join together. Other times lives cross for a moment, perhaps
through the simple act of opening a door or smiling at a weary mom with her
crying baby. When we accept the invitation, we are treated to a God-moment.
Being alive we are bombarded with opportunities to give and
receive hospitality. Sometimes we “get”
it and pay attention to the offers.
Other times we let “stuff” get in the way:
“Hospitality and living truthfully meet here because welcome
is not about putting on a show but about inviting people into our lives as we
live them.” (Pohl: Kindle Locations
2013-2014).
How often have I held back an invitation, or refused an
invitation because my “house” was not in tip top form? And I don’t just mean my physical house, I
mean my heart, my sense of self, my physical response to others, my emotional
state of mind. I live a messy existence in
my head sometimes. Sometimes the house
is a mess. Sometimes my ability to love
is cluttered with ugly self-talk and doubt.
As I've gotten older I have begun to realize that “all of me” is worthy
of relationships, that my voice counts, that I do not have to pretend to be
someone I am not. And some people will
be able to accept this, while others will not or cannot. And it’s okay, even when it doesn't feel
very good. Because, “hospitality is an
invitation to mutual truthfulness” (Pohl: Kindle
Location 2014), and if I can learn to accept myself without putting on a
show, then I hope to be willing to accept others as they do the same.
Dear God, thank you for the many opportunities to experience
you through and in the hospitality of others.
Keep my mind open to the experiences placed before me and let me be who
I am without putting on a show, so that I can fully welcome the invitation to
both giving and receiving holy hospitality.
Amen.