By definition, hospitality invovles some space into which people are welcomed, a place where unless the invitation is given, the stranger would not feel free to enter. When we think about locations of hospitality, we usually think first of the home. … For Christians, the other site most commonly associated wtih hospitlaity is the church…
Christine Pohl, Making Room
As I continue to think about hospitaity the question this quote poses has been particulary on my mind. Where do we show people hospitality? Certainly our home is going to be the main place where this happens, and it probably should be. The church will more than likely be a close second. But it’s too easy to leave hospitality to be a discipline we practice only at home or church. What other places would a stranger feel unwelcomed that we could welcome them into?
Last night we were at a birthday party with several friends. The party was held in the common room of a condo building in town. As I entered the room I saw a group of people who were shooting pool off to the right, I automatically assumed that they were friends or family of the host since he was talking to them. As I was making my way around meeting people I finally came to one of the guys who was shooting pool. The host of the party was talking with him and inviting him to come and have something to eat. It was only after talking with this man for a few minutes that I realized that my friend had never met this person before in his life. He was someone else who lived in the building and just happened to be in the room. The host of the party was intentionally seeking out these strangers and inviting them to his party.
If ever there is something to which a stranger would feel unwelcomed, unless invited, it would be a birthday party for someone you don’t know. Last night I saw how living out biblical hospitality affects everything we do, even a birthday party.
