Hospitality In The Flesh

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.

Hospitable People

Hospitality [means] extending to strangers a quality of kindness usually reserved for friends and family.
Christine Pohl, Making Room

Two Sundays ago I preached at Crossbridge Church. My sermon was part of a series titled “Hospitable People”. The series is designed to encourage this church plant to show biblical hospitality to one another and to the city of Miami.

My text was Deuteronomy 24: 18:21, the focus of the sermon was on the hospitality of Israel to the widow, orphan, alien, and stranger. I was glad to preach on this passage because it helped me to think through something that we are trying to be very intentional about as we live in our new home – hospitality.

The Saturday night before I preached this sermon we had several friend over for homemade gnocchi. All week as we were preparing to have everyone over the things I was studying preparing for my sermon kept coming back to me. Finally, I talked about it with Kate and we invited the couple that rents the efficiency behind our house over for dinner. I confess that I did not think they would come. But I did pray that they would. I was not, however, ready for what did happen. As we were in the middle of rolling out the gnocchi our neighbor comes over and tells us that she is sorry they can’t come over because her husband is not feeling well… but she brought us a cheesecake. And not just any old Publix Cheesecake but a Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake (with strawberries and whipped cream)!

And so it was that once more God has made us the recipients of someone else’s hospitality. This is the amazing thing about biblical hospitality – the lines between host and guest are blurry. Just as we are seeking to be intentional in getting to know our neighbors and extending hospitality to them we find that we are the ones who are becoming the recipients of their hospitality. This happened once when my neighbor lent us his lawn mower and now it has happened a second time. What I love is that this is how friendships are born. From strangers who are seeking ways to enter into each other lives and be friends.

Blogposts on Lying

I just came across a series of blog posts at The Shepherd Press Blog on lying. I think they are worth reading so I am linking them for you here.

Truthful Lips Endure Forever

Shepherding vs. Control

Why Children Lie

Here is a quote that I found both insightful and helpful:

Children tend to lie in two types of circumstances. First, they lie when they fear a consequence so much they will do anything to avoid it, e.g., punishment for hitting. Second, children tend to lie when there is something they desire, and they see lying as the best way to get it; e.g., I am angry with my brother, so I will make up something to make him look bad. In both situations the reason for the lie is the same—a self-centered viewpoint.

In other words, my children lie for exactly the same reasons I lie. This is where I am reminded yet again that my boys and I are sinners in need of grace. Plain and Simple.

As a bonus check out this other post titled: Discipling Christian Children.

Books on the Genocide in Rwanda

My previous post got me thinking about the books I have read on the Genocide in Rwanda. Here is a list of the books in no particular order. I have also included some of the books that I hope to read in the future.  If you were going to read one book I would recommend the book by John Rucyahana since it not only reviews the events of the Genocide but also discusses the positive and negative role of the church in the Genocide.  Second on my list would be Philip Gourevitch’s work.

Books I have read:

An Ordinary Man : An Autobiography by Paul Rusesabagina

We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch

The Bishop of Rwanda by John Rucyahana and James Riorda

A People Betrayed: The Role of the West in Rwanda’s Genocide by Linda Melvern

Books I want to read:

Genocide in Rwanda: Complicity of the Churches? by Carol Rittner, John K. Roth, and Wendy Whitworth

A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide (P.S.) by Samantha Power

Another Book Worth Mentioning:

This book is not strictly on the Genocide in Rwanda but it does deal with Darfur.

Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond by Don Cheadle and John Prendergast

Redemption In Rwanda

I recently read on the BBC website that Rwanda had indicated that 33 military and political leaders in France were complicit in the 1994 Genocide. France, of course, denies this. If you have read anything about the Genocide in Rwanda you probably know that several countries bear some of the burden over what occurred, either by directly helping the genocidaires, turning a blind eye, or stalling to send aid. Ever since I saw the movie Hotel Rwanda I have been fascinated with the subject. I have read several books and watched the HBO film Sometimes in April, which in some ways is better than Hotel Rwanda.

Having read as much as I have on the genocide a question was beginning to haunt me: Where was the church? It is a mixed answer. There are stories of priests who turned away from people who were seeking refuge from the genocidaires in their churches. The Hutu extremists would lock people inside the church and set the building on fire. The priests did nothing. There are, however, other stories of monks and nuns who protected those in their care from harm. I actually have a book on the complicity of the church in Rwanda which I am hoping to start reading some time soon.

There is a second question that has a much better answer: Where is the church in the rebuilding of Rwanda? This is where John Rucyahana’s book, The Bishop of Rwanda, has been so encouraging. Rucyahana is an Anglican Bishop who was exiled from Rwanda during the genocide. He lost family members as a result of the massacres, and attempts were also made on his own life. Rucyahana is now leading the nation of Rwanda in the process of healing and reconciliation. He has Hutus and Tutsis, murderers and victims, sitting together and beginning the process of moving forward. The horrible tragedy of Rwanda is that there is no person who was left untouched by the genocide. This means that every person needs to deal with the forgiveness. Rucyahana writes:

We want to unearth the realities. And once we do that, we have to help the people process those realities, and that takes time. Revenge s like a disease that eats away at us from the inside. We therefore have to forgive in order to live. Forgiveness not only helps the perpetrators of the genocide, but it also helps the victims, It works both ways. When we forgive, we get healed.

It is sad to know that people who claim to follow Christ, and even those who have been ordained to care for his church, could be a part of the genocide. It strikes against what it means to follow Christ. It is not, however, a surprise to learn that the church is at the center of the redemption of Rwanda.

On Talking About Your Children

A few weeks ago Kate and I had a chance to catch up with some old friends who live in Arkansas. As we were Skyping with them several of their children made their way in and out of the conversation. At one point Kate asked how her children are doing. She proceeded to tell us how each of her kids were doing but in a way I have never heard before. She began to give us a glimpse into the spiritual condition of each of her children. She told us of their struggles and victories in a way that was respectful of each child and yet very open and honest. It really struck me but it took me about two days to sort it all out in my head.

During those two days I had some other conversations with parents about their children but those were very different. The tenor of those conversation had much more to do with how the children were a drain on the parents and how the parents were eager for school to start again so that they could have time for themselves once again.

Then it clicked for me. Even when we talk about our children we need our conversations to be different. This does not mean that we cannot be honest with other parents about struggles and frustrations that we experience as parents. Our friend in Arkansas, for example, told us of the struggles that some of her children were having with obedience. But when we speak about our children we need to make sure that what we say about them honors them as boys and girls who have been created in the image of God.

Lawn Therapy

One of the things I have to do now that we are in a house is mow the lawn.  It has been about 4 years since I have even turned on a lawn mower so I was really looking forward to it.  Our landlord left a lawn mower for us to use but it looked like it had seen better days. This past Sunday I went out to turn it on and mow the lawn.  The mower would not turn on. Frustrated, I came inside to figure out with Kate what we should do.  Then I remembered that our neighbor two doors down, Oscar, told me if I ever needed to borrow anything to let him know.  He told me this with a lawnmower right next to him.  So I decided that this was a good opportunity for me to go back to Oscar and take him up on the offer. He gracioulsy agreed and my lawn now looks great.  When I went back to return the lawn mower the guys who were there fixing his truck offered me a beer and this lead to another conversation with Oscar and him lending me his trimmer so I could finish the lawn. 

I have been praying for opportunities to get to know our new neighbors.  It would be easy to dismiss this past Sunday but I can’t.  I am glad that lawnmower didn’t work.  It wasn’t how I was expecting my prayers to be answered, but answered they were.

Book Review: Breaking the Idols of Your Heart

The book of Ecclesiastes challenges the way we view the world. Twenty-Eight times in the book we read that life is meaningless. This is the assessment of what life is like under the sun. When the phrase “under the sun” is used the book is pointing to the fact that life as we know it, life apart from the reality of God, is meaningless. It is Ecclesiastes that Dan Allender and Tremper Longman use as the starting point for the book Breaking the Idols of your Heart: How to Navigate the Temptations of Life.

I picked up this book because I am going to be speaking at a retreat in August on the subject of idolatry and a friend recommended that I read this book in preparation. Allender and Longman use Ecclesiastes as the rubric for breaking seven idols that we struggle with as humans. 

… you don’t have to bow down before a statue in order to participate in perverse worship. Ecclesiastes reminds us that idol worship often takes a more subtle form. To the author of Ecclesiastes, the pursuit of money or power, or any object is the same as bowing down before Baal. (p. 15)

 

This book is written in order to help the reader identify and tear down the idols of our hearts. It asks us to acknowledge the deep dissatisfaction we have with the things we are chasing.

The idols that the authors deal with are: Power, Relationships, Work/Money, Pleasure, Wisdom, Spirituality, and Immortality. Each chapter begins with the story of a couple, Noah and Joan Adamson. Their story is a lens for us to see how subtle idolatry really can be in our lives. As their story progresses over the course of the book we see them (and sometimes other people) deal with each of the seven idols the book addresses. Allender and Longman have done a great job of weaving the stories with the content of each chapter.

Each chapter moves from the story to addressing the particular issue. Why is it that we long for things like power, relationships, pleasure, wisdom, etc. Then on the terms of Ecclesiastes we see how meaningless these things can be under the sun. Our efforts to have power and control are futile and frustrating. Relationships “are marred by fights, abuse, neglect, and loneliness.” (p.54) We may work very hard but there is no assurance that we will be recognized. Money cannot protect us from evil. Pleasure doesn’t meet our deepest desires. Wisdom lets us down. Spirituality is simply a way to cope without knowing God. Death laughs in the face of Immortality. Having dealt with the pitfalls and limits of each of these seven idols, each chapter ends with addressing how the person and work of Jesus re-casts these seven topics into their proper light. If there is one short-coming to the book it is that these sections are too short. Breaking the Idols of Your Heart calls us to view life not “under the sun” but rather “above the sun.”

… the above the sun perspective charges all aspects of our earthly life with new and everlasting significance, so that

- control leads to surrender to God’s will.
- relationships lead to trust in God’s love.
- work leads to laboring for God’s Kingdom.
- pleasure leads to a hunger for God’s coming.
- wisdom leads to a humble curiosity to know God.
- spirituality leads to embracing God’s wild heart.
- life leads to a joyous celebration of death and resurrection.

The lesson of Ecclesiastes is that Christ makes the difference. Our lives are far from meaningless, because he infuses our lives with meaning. (p. 181)

I recommend this book.

I love Summer/ I love Mangoes

We have been knee deep in mangoes this past week. On Thursday I went to a church members home to drop something off.  I was greeted with a bag of mangoes.  But to make it even better she gave me a pole so that I could pick some more mangoes for myslef.  On Saturday we went to the Mango Festival.  We tried several different kinds of mangoes and bought some of the ones we really liked.  I tried to get a mango tree for my parents but we did not find the tree we were looking for.  For dinner that night I made a mango salsa and with caremlized shrimp.  Finally, on Sunday some friends brought me a bag of mangoes, about 8 of them.  So I decided that it was time to make mango sorbet.

Fair Trade Music

One of the blogs I read recently posted a link to Noise Trade. On this site you can find over twenty albums from various artists: Derek Webb, Sixpence None the Richer, and Sandra McCraken – to name a few. To download an album you simply need to tell three friends about the album, or you can pay what you want for it. I just downloaded Gravity/Love by Sandra McCraken. I’m also working on my list of people to e-mail about this website – so don’t be surprised if you get an e-mail from me.