Hospitality
Faith Practices • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 37:12
0 ratings
· 44 viewsHospitality is the act of making space for guests, visitors, or strangers, and extending to them the privileges of family; biblical hospitality focuses on how we will live as God’s people in relationship with people who are different from us.
Files
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
Welcome back to our series on faith practices. If you are keeping score at home we have been through three of these faith practices already; today we are on number four. In total by the end of the summer we will look at twelve different faith practices. So, we are on the way, but still have further to go.
discipleship is always something we can do better
The reminder I keep in front of us at the beginning of each one of these sermons is about the purpose. The reason we pay attention to faith practices is to become better disciples of Jesus. Discipleship is not just a ‘yes or no’ question; it is a ‘how much’ question. Discipleship is always something we can do better. And that is the whole point of faith practices. That is what faith practices are for.
come up with a personal discipleship plan based on a menu of faith practices that work best for you
Let me also revisit the big picture to remind you of how we are working through this series and what the end result will be. Each week we focus on a different faith practice and then take the week to sort of try out some of those habits. I am encouraging everyone to track or journal your activity in this as we go; we have the Faith Practices booklet to help you do that. And after the summer we will wrap this up by looking back over the whole thing and identifying two, three, or four of these faith practices that really jump out and resonate. That list will likely be different for everyone here. The result is that I am going to encourage everyone here to come up with a personal discipleship plan based on a menu of faith practices that work best for you. You are going to write it down; you are going to set some goals; and we are going to create some accountability here together so that we can all move forward becoming better disciples of Jesus.
hospitality by its very nature is an outward expression
Today we get to a faith practice that holds a particularly unique place. Hospitality is corporate habit—meaning, it requires other people in order to be done. In the past weeks when we have looked at things like sabbath and gratitude, there were inward individual applications of those habits. Hospitality by its very nature is an outward expression. It requires other people to be the recipients of that hospitality. But as we will see, hospitality is much more than simply being nice to others; it is more than just throwing a dinner party; it is more than serving the needs of someone else. Hospitality is a faith practice that helps make us better disciples of Jesus.
Let’s look at this story of hospitality that comes from the Old Testament in Genesis.
Genesis 18:1–8 (NIV)
The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”
“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”
So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”
Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.
most important thing that people in our area are looking for in a church is welcoming relationships
Survey data suggests that hospitality ought to be something that jumps to the front of the list for people of faith. Our Church Renewal Lab team spent some time reviewing a mission insight report which summarizes information based on the population demographic in a two-mile radius from this church. That includes most of Grandville, and a portion of Wyoming to our east. One of the measurements of this survey identified in order of importance what people are most looking for in a church. Do you know what the number one answer to that is? You can probably guess since I am mentioning it in a sermon on hospitality. The most important thing that people in our area are looking for in a church is welcoming relationships. Biblical preaching was second on the list and everything else you could think of was way down beneath that. The report data tells us that people in our area are not looking for churches based on the music or the worship style or the condition of the building or the menu of programs offered. Far and away on the top of the list is that people are looking for welcoming relationships.
top reason people do not go to church is because they are not welcomed
The same report also gives data about people in a two-mile radius from us who do not go to church. Do you know what the number one reason they give for why they do not belong to a church? It is that they did not feel welcomed. Also top of that list is that people do not go to church because they feel judged. Instead of feeling hospitality from God’s people, they feel judged by God’s people. They don’t reject church because they reject belief in God. They don’t reject the church because they don’t believe the Bible. They reject the church because they feel that church people have rejected them. They have not been shown hospitality.
39,344 people live in two miles of this church — 60% (24,000) are not connected to a church
Friends, this should be a wake-up call for those of us who are followers of Jesus—who are disciples. In this very same report of our two-mile radius the results measure statistics of how many people say they belong to a church and how many say they are not part of a church. According to the 2020 US census there are 39,344 people who live within two miles of this church. Of that, the data shows that 60% of those people in our two-mile radius are not connected with a church. Do the math. This means that just in the two miles around this church there are 24,000 people who are disconnected from the church family of God. And the number one reason they give for why they stay away from church is because they do not feel welcomed by God’s people. That’s 24,000 people in just two miles around us. If I could identity just one thing to focus on that would make all the difference in the world for the church right here right now, it would be hospitality. Friends, we absolutely need to be doing this and we need to be doing it well.
Abraham was looking
What can we learn about the faith practice of hospitality from Abraham here in Genesis? Step one, Abraham was looking. The passage starts out be telling us that it was Abraham who looked out and saw the three visitors. There is no indication from the story that these three foreigners called out or were in other ways trying to get Abraham’s attention. It was Abraham who took time to look around him and notice these visitors nearby.
Abraham went to them
Step two, Abraham went to them. He did not sit and wait for the visitors to approach him. The way the Bible tells it, Abraham hurried to approach them. It was priority and it was immediate. Abraham did not put it off until he finished scrolling through his instagram feed, or writing an email, or whatever he happened to be doing at the moment. He stopped whatever he was doing at that moment and immediately turned his full attention on these visitors.
Abraham offered an invitation
Step three, Abraham offered an invitation. It was an invitation that shows something in particular. Abraham assessed what the need was in that moment, and he offered what he could to meet that need. He observed that these men were travelers and were perhaps weary and dirty from their walking. So, he offers water for washing and a meal for nourishment.
Abraham gives his very best
Step four, Abraham gives his very best. He instructs his wife to use the finest flour for baking bread. He goes himself to the flock to select the very best calf. And in each instance, it is done immediately. Abraham does not hesitate for one moment to give his very best to serve the needs of these strangers.
Abraham stays in attendance
And step five, Abraham stays in attendance. Part of Abraham’s hospitality is his immediate presence. He stays right there with these visitors while they are being refreshed along their journey. Don’t miss this one, it is the most important part of hospitality. Abraham did not just provide for the need that he saw. If that is all Abraham does, then it would be an act of generosity, not an act of hospitality. But Abraham’s commitment to remaining present with these men sets it apart as an act of hospitality.
The exact specifics of what hospitality looks like may have changed in many ways in the thousands of years that have passed since the time of Abraham. But these five principles of hospitality are still exactly the same. Spend a few moments now thinking about how hospitality can show up in your own faith practice this week.
(1) be looking — step outside of my usual social circles
One, be looking. It takes a conscious choice to stop being hyper focused on just my own agenda so that I can be looking around and be aware of who it is around me that needs to be shown hospitality. The key ingredient here is to step outside of your usual social circles. I cannot emphasize that enough. It’s easy to be hospitable to the friends and family you already have. The key point of hospitality as a faith practice is to identify someone who is currently on the outside and approach them with the intend on bringing them to the inside. If all our hospitality efforts are spent just on insiders, then it does not count as a faith practice of hospitality. We must be willing to step outside our social circles into the world of other people in order for hospitality to really happen. That means intentionally looking outside of our own little world.
(2) go to them — take some steps into somebody else’s world to be there with them
Two, go to them. Hospitality does not wait for someone to come asking first. Hospitality does not wait for others to come to us. Hospitality is not just an open door willing to let other people come in and join along. No, hospitality goes to them in the places where they are. Hospitality means taking some steps into somebody else’s world to be there with them. Hospitality says let me come to you. Who is it that God is placing somewhere on the margins of your world apart from everyone else? Who can you approach and go to?
(3) offer an invitation — bless someone else in the place where they are by inviting to share from my own blessings
Three, offer an invitation. In hospitality we do our very best to put ourselves into the shoes of others and figure out if there might be any needs. How can I bless someone else in the place where they are by offering and providing something from my own blessings? Maybe it is just time to be a listening ear. Our world is filled with loneliness and isolation. Often, just showing up as a listening friend is the most and the best we can offer in hospitality. What is it you have that can be offered to someone else in hospitality?
(4) give your best — show someone else that they are worthy of my time and worthy of the best I can share
Four, give your best. I am amazed at just how much of what comes into the Goodwill donation center ends up going straight to a dumpster instead of into the Goodwill store. Maybe people have good intentions when they donate old items to Goodwill, but there seems to be an awful lot that is just junk. Hospitality does not offer the scraps or the leftovers; it gives the very best. Hospitality communicates to someone else that you are worthy of my time and worthy of the best I can offer. What are the blessings you have which can be offered as the best of God’s blessings to you?
(5) be present — provide undivided attention towards another person without an agenda of my own
Five, be present. We cannot skip this one. Steps one through four without step five would be a fine example of generosity, but falls short of being hospitality. Hospitality requires our presence with other people. And there is more to being present than just physical proximity. It is entirely possible to be physically with other people but not really be present with them. To be present with someone else means I give that person my full and undivided attention. I like how Chick-fil-A has a phone box—or at least they used to, I don’t know if they still do. If you eat with a group of people at Chick-fil-A you can get an empty box that sits on your table. Everyone at the table is supposed to put their cell phones in the box and leave them there while you eat your meal. And then after everyone eats, I think you all get a free small ice cream or something like that. I cannot be fully present with you if at the same time I’m flipping through my phone. Hospitality means being fully present with someone else.
hospitality creates space in our lives for people on the outside to become enfolded on the inside
hospitality is the act of making space for guests, visitors, or strangers, and extending to them the privilege of family
What does all of this add up to? What is it that hospitality does? What is its goal? In sum, hospitality creates space in our lives for people on the outside to become enfolded on the inside, and intentionally pulls those people in giving them a place to belong. I like how our booklet phrases a definition. Hospitality is the act of making space for guests, visitors, or strangers, and extending to them the privilege of family. It seems in our world we often like to place qualifiers on this statement; maybe without meaning to. Our world often puts qualifiers such as, if you look like us and act like us, you can be extended the privilege of family. That’s not hospitality. Or if you value what we value and behave by our expectations, you can be extended the privilege of family. That’s not hospitality. Or if you pass the test and show you are good enough, you can be extended the privilege of family. That’s not hospitality.
the gospel is a story of hospitality
The only reason you and I are in this place today is because the gospel is a story of hospitality. God looked and saw his broken creation and chose not to ignore doing anything about our sin. Jesus did not wait for us to come to him. Rather, Jesus is the one who comes to us. He is the one who enters into our world alongside of us. Jesus offers an invitation to come and follow him. Jesus knows our needs and he comes to us in our moment of need. Jesus offers his very best. He gives himself completely on the cross for us because he loves each one of us. There are no conditions to be met or tests to pass in order to receive the grace and forgiveness of God. God comes and embraces us as his very own just the way we are because now we are covered in the righteousness of Christ given to us at the cross.
we receive hospitality from God and are raised up in Christ to echo that same hospitality into this world which God loves so much
And God is present. The Holy Spirit is given to the church so that the Spirit of God may abide in us and with us. You are never hidden from his sight. You are never beyond is grasp. At the close of every worship service I recite the blessing from Numbers 6. It is a blessing that mentions the face of God several times. I have noted this before, and it is a good reminder. It is the Hebrew word peni which can mean either “face” or “presence.” The image is the kind of presence that is face-to-face. A close and faithful presence of undivided attention. That is how God reveals himself to be present with us. You see, the gospel is a story of hospitality. It is God’s hospitality to you and me. And we, as followers of Jesus, receive this hospitality from God and are raised up in Christ to echo that same hospitality into this world which God loves so much.