Hospitality. Does it still exist today in this “all about me” world? We live in a culture where our goals have turned into getting what we want when we want it, finding that 15 minutes of fame and serving ourselves. I’m guilty of all of the above.
The Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines hospitality as “the act or practice of receiving and entertaining strangers or guests without reward, or with kind and generous liberality.”
In a recent conversation with some friends, we were discussing the power of community and whether or not there was still a need for hospitality.
My heart has been in an odd place lately, struggling through some broken relationships, feeling lonely in some of my recent trials. I’ve grieved broken friendships, quarrels with family, and the fact that I can’t always make everything right. I’ve questioned the motives of others and struggled through forgiveness.
Who is really for me? I’ve asked myself that question several times.
But then I looked around the room and I saw the definition come to life again. I was quickly reminded of the power of community.
There sat Tim in his Celebrate Recovery t-shirt, grizzly beard and backwards baseball cap, laughing about who knows what, and I was reminded of the “entertaining guests without reward” part of the hospitality definition. On Tuesday nights he picks up Caleb and they hang out. A man redeemed from the life of drug dealing takes hours out of his evening to walk the love of Christ into a 15-year old boy desperate to know that all men in his life aren’t bad.
Mitchell the preacher man sits next to him doing his best to corral us all together to get back to the original topic we were discussing. It’s nearly impossible. I think of the day he showed up at my doorstep when my dog was hit by a car and killed, and without question, he scooped him up and buried him for me. I think of the day he and his wife Rebecca sat on my couch and called me out for refusing to get out of my pajamas while living in a pool of self-pity. Good news: I finally got up and took a shower making the rest of the world very happy.
I smile at Sheena who showed up at my door a few weeks ago for Peppermint tea and gave me a Chicago Cubs ornament. We sat at the kitchen table and talked about life and prayed. And I think of the day her die-hard Cubs fan husband Kyle gave up his ticket to the game to cheer me up from an aching heart.
Our conversation is interrupted by Cari’s contagious laughter and I’m reminded of the beauty of old relationships. “I used to change your diapers,” she constantly reminds me. Then I went years without seeing her, but moving back to my hometown, it’s like we were never apart. And this particular morning I open a gift from her – a new coat – a gift from God after just having a conversation with another friend days earlier that my coat was getting a little worn.
Then I start to tell the story of the woman who contacted me the day before wanting to buy Caleb Christmas presents, giving us both a Christmas we’ll never forget, showing this amazing boy just how much he is loved by God. I share the news, reminded of how amazing our God is and Marcie slides the box of tissues over because she knows me too well. She knows the water works are about to turn on.
I think of the heater Marcie let me borrow to get through the freezing winter. I think of the day I cut my finger and she showed up with a box of band-aids while she laughed at my dramatic effort not to pass out. And again, I think of the day she walked out into the middle of the street without an ounce of hesitation and picked up Zeke and wrapped him in a towel, then knelt down by my side and prayed over me.
I beg Rebecca to let me touch her pregnant tummy and she refuses, threatening my very life with the look in her eyes if I even think about it. But I’m reminded of the time she let me borrow her car for a week when mine wasn’t working. She saw a need and offered without an ounce of hesitation.
Then there’s Tony and Marge, with their hearts full of love and compassion for others. Tony, my annoying brother in Christ, would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. I think of the night Caleb was struggling, and there was Tony at our doorstep, to love Caleb with truth and grace. He wasn’t there as the “small town cop.” He was there as a friend and a man with a concerned heart for a kid who needed loved. And that’s what he did, loved with words and a bear hug.
And Marge… what can I say? A woman whose words are so full of wisdom that I need to write them down when she speaks. I think of the day she sat in the doctor’s office with me as I tried to process the word “stroke”, and the night she showed up at the ER to pray over me.
I’m smiling… reminded that hospitality is alive and well… reminded of the amazing people I get to do life with and I’ve only been able to mention a few. The messy, beautiful, heartbreaking, crazy, real, vulnerable, raw power of community is alive, and I call them friends. Friends who serve without seeking a reward.
Healing happens in community. We’re not meant to do life alone. We’re not meant to sit in isolation and deal with our struggles ourselves. Is there a time to sit quiet with God alone and allow Him to heal us? Yes, but more often than not, He heals us through others. He surrounds us with a small community of people who are for us, who love us, who call us out on our crap when we’re making poor decisions, and who shows up at our doorstep when life is hard.
What a beautiful reminder that life isn’t about us. It’s not about our 15 minutes of fame. It’s not about how many selfies we can take. It’s about community, serving, healing, living selfless.
And it all comes back to Jesus, the greatest example of hospitality we could ever have. The greatest leader of community we could ever know.
Go serve someone today. I dare you…
[ctt template=”5″ link=”MrZfN” via=”yes” ]Healing happens in community. [/ctt]