By Jin Hee Han
Our 2013 summer issue is packed with blessings that center around the theme of hospitality. Authors for this issue come from many different backgrounds, but their contributions come together to make a chorus that calls attention to the centrality of hospitality in our faith walk. They help us to feel the warmth that hospitality generates, and their testimonies are a telltale sign that hospitality continues to be the mainstay of our communal life.
Read the full story »Some years ago, my wife and I had the privilege of traveling through Israel, just the two of us. During our trip, we experienced the delightful, unexpected pleasure of being received into the homes of both Jews and Palestinians. Each instance began with a conversation with a stranger, after which the stranger invited us into his home for a meal. During our visit, our Orthodox Jewish host explained his intense distrust of Palestinians; our new Muslim Palestinian friend spoke of the problems caused by the Jewish State of Israel. Nevertheless, while the two parties shared mutual distrust, both exhibited admirable hospitality. Neither host felt that there was anything remarkable about inviting total strangers to dinner, but my wife and I, as American Christians, were deeply humbled. What will it take for Christians to develop this kind of attention to the stranger?
by Matilda G. Chase
Travel in the ancient mid-east was treacherous and so when strange travelers showed up in a community, they were welcomed, given food, water, and foot washing as a way of providing hospitality, and also for protection of the host. Once travelers were offered food and rest, they were less likely to attack or steal from the host’s community.
by Farrell Graves
Both American and Japanese hospitality assume that there is a distance that must be bridged, the only difference being from which shore the bridge is to be built. In Christian hospitality, there is nothing to bridge since it starts with mutual identification.
by Christopher Carter
Our understanding of hospitality is rooted within the experiences of our childhood home, our respective ethnic and geographic cultures…guided by our religious and/or philosophical perspectives.
by Kang-Yup Na
From the very first act of God’s creation of heaven and earth (Genesis 1.1) to the eschatological vision of the new heaven and earth (Revelation 21.1), hospitality…illuminates every canonical book toward spiritual insight and nourishment…the conceptual world of the word ‘hospitality’ embraces the entirety of Christian theology, piety, and mission.
by Amy Bell Finiki
In her travels overseas, the author learned experientially about hospitality: “It is in how we are treated, how we want to be treated, and how we treat others that is the truth of genuine hospitality.” Hers is a tale of adventure and discovery.
by Austin Park
The author digs into the bible to show how hospitality is a core principle for Jesus, and he poses some intriguing questions about Jesus’ behavior in this unusual tale of Jesus’ first miracle.
by Brandt L. Montgomery
Jesus wants us to do what is right instead of constantly worrying about always being right. He asks that we be welcoming to others just as He is welcoming to us.
by Elaine Chan
Sometimes the opportunity to be hospitable to a stranger may seem like too much trouble, imprudent, or even dangerous, but Hebrews 13.2 tells us “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
by Robert LaRochelle
While falling attendance is a problem for many churches, the answer as to how to stop that trend may lie in how newcomers perceive the congregation—not by having a welcoming committee of a few select members, but by extending genuine hospitality by everyone to everyone.
By Remington Slone
This lectionary guide covers Sundays from May 3 through July 28, 2013.
Collected by Darla Turlington
These quotations, on the general topic of Hospitality, were selected from both Testaments of the Bible as well as a variety of authors, and speakers; they may be useful to pastors, theologians, seminary students, and others in their sermon preparation, research, writings, or reflections.
by Neal D. Presa
Dem Dry Bones: Preaching, Death, and Hope by Luke A. Powery (Fortress Press, 2012)
What Not to Say: Avoiding the Common Mistakes That Can Sink Your Sermon by John C. Holbert and Alyce M. McKenzie (Westminster John Knox Press, 2011)
By Remington Slone
This lectionary guide covers Sundays from May 3 through July 28, 2013.
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