An Invitation to Practice Hospitality
For Meditation
When we think about spiritual practices, we often think about praying, fasting and meditating in the word of God. However, we don’t often think about hospitality as a spiritual practice. It may be because hospitality involves eating, resting and sleeping, and we don’t usually reflect on these in the same spiritual way as fasting, worshiping and praying.
In Isaiah 7:6–7, God is telling us about new ways of fasting, and surprisingly we find hospitality as one of these new ways!
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”
We see here that hospitality both through feeding the hungry and providing shelter for the stranger is a spiritual practice. This Sunday we are going to look at the spirituality of hospitality by answering these questions:
Why should we practice hospitality?
What hinders us from practicing hospitality?
How can we practice hospitality?
Who should we practice hospitality with?
1 Peter 4:7-11
7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Luke 11:5-8
5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.