Open Up

Hospitality: Option or Obligation?

Ever wonder where we get the term “Hospitality Industry”

There was a time when hotels and motels didn’t exist

When people didn’t travel much

But as travel increased, so did the need to have somewhere to stay

Up until that point (and still largely for most of history), people didn’t stay in pay-n-stay lodging places - but rather the homes of others - most often strangers!

About the only time we typically stay in other people’s homes is when we visit family and friends (people we know), or on mission trips

I think, too, the hospitality industry used to be referred to as the “service industry”, but “service” is perhaps a little too demeaning - “hospitality” sounds nicer

Hospitality is a nice sounding word

Makes us think of cozy homes with fireplaces, warm drinks, and good conversation

Or big churches with big budgets that make sure that everyone feels welcome and has a place

Or the kindness of friends and family for “letting us stay with them”

But we also tend to think of it as optional - just like the “hospitality industry”, we can choose to extend or receive hospitality or not

But that’s not the way it has always been

Author of the book Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition, Christine Pohl, notes that the change in meaning of hospitality over time has stripped the term of “its moral dimension”

She goes on to say:

“hospitality is a nice extra if we have the time or the resources, but we rarely view it as a spiritual obligation or as a dynamic expression of vibrant Christianity”

In Ancient societies, Pohl notes, people depended on others’ hospitality

To extend hospitality was a moral question

But the real key (and we’ll get to this later in the series) is that hospitality is extended to strangers

An unwillingness to welcome the stranger was a sign of moral depravity

A willingness to welcome the stranger was a sign of moral strength and character

As we begin our series on Biblical Hospitality this morning, we will look at one such example: Abraham

We will go about our series by asking the “5 W” Questions about Biblical hospitality

What is it? Why do we do it? To whom do we extend it? How do we do it? When and where do we do it?

This morning, we hope to have a clearer picture of WHAT it is from Abraham’s example

Our working definition for Biblical hospitality is

Opening our hearts, our homes, and our hands to the stranger in order to bless them as God through Christ has blessed us (repeat)

Opening Our Hearts

The first part of opening our hearts is opening our eyes to see

One possibility in this story is Abraham is dozing and thinks the visitors had been waiting a while

Standing a little ways off like this was the ancient equivalent to ‘knocking’ (since tents don’t have doors)

Even if he wasn’t dozing, we are led to believe that their appearance surprised him

Abraham notices these visitors and immediately goes to them (he runs)

ANE hospitality demanded that he offer them food and shelter

The practice was a way to

Determine friend from foe

Or to turn foe into friend

(The opposite being true that friend can become foe with inhospitable treatment)

Hence “If I have found favor in your eyes ...” (v. 3)

Opening our eyes to see means having an awareness - looking for opportunities to extend hospitality

The second part of opening our hearts is opening ourselves to vulnerability

Travel in the ANE was not only uncommon, but also extremely dangerous

If the elements didn’t get you, the criminals might

And just as Abraham knew nothing of these visitors - if they be friend or foe

Simply approaching them is an act of vulnerability - he is exposing himself to potential threats or attack

I feel like I may have used this illustration before, so forgive me if I have, at the same time it does bear repeating when we think about our own concept of ‘hospitality’

1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Hospitality and Entertaining

The following differentiation between “hospitality” and “entertaining” was made by Karen Mains in Open Heart, Open Home (Elgin, Ill.: Cook, 1976):

Entertaining says, “I want to impress you with my home, my clever decorating, my cooking.” Hospitality, seeking to minister, says, “This home is a gift from my Master. I use it as He desires.” Hospitality aims to serve.

Entertaining puts things before people. “As soon as I get the house finished, the living room decorated, my housecleaning done—then I will start inviting people. Hospitality puts people first. “No furniture—we’ll eat on the floor!” “The decorating may never get done—you come anyway.” “The house is a mess—but you are friends—come home with us.”

Entertaining subtly declares, “This home is mine, an expression of my personality. Look, please, and admire.” Hospitality whispers, “What is mine is yours.”685

Inviting someone into our lives is risky business, even today

And many of us would rather protect ourselves

By entertaining rather than being hospitable

Or by not being willing to open up at all

Make no mistake, this is no easy thing

It is a double-edged sword - you could invite someone in, and they could hurt you

By judging you

By betraying you

But it is helpful to be reminded that these fears and potential realities are nothing new

We worry if someone will say something mean behind our backs

People in Abraham’s day worried if these guests would slaughter them in their sleep or rob them

Before we can even begin to practice Biblical hospitality, we need to be willing to open ourselves - to open our hearts

Then comes the next step:

Opening Our Homes

Not only does Abraham implore the visitors to stay

But he opens his home to them by offering rest and provision

We might miss it in a cursory reading of the text, but a lot happens very quickly here

These 3 visitors show up around noon

Abraham asks them to stay, and offers them “a morsel of bread and some water”

Then we read of a whole lot of hurrying and running on Abraham’s part

Read v. 6-7

We begin to see (more on this in a little bit) that Abraham is providing more than “a morsel of bread and some water”

So one thing we need to observe here is that Abraham was not really ready to host

And at the same time he was always at the ready

Because you never knew who was going to pass by and when

Another side observation I’d like to make: who is the one hosting? Abraham - the “man of the house”

Which was (and still is), quite typical in Middle Eastern culture

Yes, he asks Sarah to bake bread, but even Abraham’s “[standing] under a tree” while his guests ate shows a willingness and readiness to serve on his part

As hospitality evolved over the centuries, it become more and more the woman’s responsibility, but this is not as God intended things

This is a bit of an aside, but it is important: when God makes Eve, she is called a “helper suitable”, which literally means co-equal and complementary helper

They each have strengths and roles, and they lean into those even as they host people in their homes

Ok, enough of that, back to Abraham

The hospitality that Abraham extended to his mystery guests is held up as an example for future generations

As many commentators note, the whole history of God and his people is God extending hospitality to us

By opening his “home” and welcoming us in

Hence, hospitality figures very prominently in the life of Jesus and in the life of the early church

Acts 2:42–47 NIV

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Yes they “met in the temple courts” for broader fellowship and learning

But they also “broke bread together in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts”

There are two observations to be made here:

Firstly, distinctly Christian (or Biblical) hospitality is extended in the name of Jesus

Secondly, the meals are really important, because it symbolizes the removal of barriers

The Lord’s Supper is far more significant than perhaps we realize

It’s one thing to invite people into our hearts and our homes, and another still to feed them

Which is an act of ...

Opening Our Hands

Let’s get back to what Abraham offers and what he provides for his guests

He offers “a morsel of bread and some water”

What he provides is far more

Meat was saved for only the most special of occasions

The amount of bread he asks Sarah to bake could feed an army (literally, less than that amount was used to bake for David and his army later in the Bible)

Not only this, but it was their “finest flour”

A whole calf for three guests is far more than they could eat

And to top it off he provides some yogurt and milk

In other words, Abraham offers a snack, but provides a feast fit for a king

[Aside: does he know he’s actually serving THE King? Not clear, but the story seems to suggest not - that only becomes clear as the story unfolds]

This was actually common practice in that culture: provide more than what you offer

But what do we learn from this about Biblical hospitality?

Not only is it opening ourselves up in an act of vulnerability

And opening our homes up in an act of courtesy

But it is opening up our hands in an act of generosity

“What’s mine is yours”

I think if we’re honest and compare our own hospitality to the likes of Abraham and others

We will find that we are not as generous with others as Christ has been with us

Simple illustration: how many kids like to share their favourite toy with a friend?

How many of us would invite a stranger into our home and serve them

Our best wine, our best steaks, home-made bread, and a fancy dessert?

We might do that if King Charles were coming for dinner, but not “some random off the street”

Which, when we take this story at face value, is exactly what these three men are!

But “opening our hands” also has a double meaning

Not only is it extending generosity to others

It is a willingness and openness to be blessed in the act of hospitality

Not that we expect something in return as the ancient Greeks did (and many others in that culture)

Jesus is quite clear in his parable of the Banquet (more on that later in the series)

that the point of Biblical hospitality is extending it to those who cannot repay

Just as we cannot repay Christ for all he has done for us

But rather, the act of Biblical hospitality is in itself a blessing to both the server and the served

Because relationships are built

Because barriers are removed

Because in these acts we encounter Christ (think also of Jesus in the parable of the sheep and goats)

Hebrews 13:2 NIV

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

Thus, we open our hands to receive just as much as to give

And receive Abraham and Sarah do: God reiterates the promise of a son, and actually puts a timeline on it: one year

This is not to say that Abraham’s hospitality was rewarded with the promise

Rather, if he had not been hospitable, this conversation may not have happened

So Biblical hospitality at its root is an openness

An openness of our hearts to see where God is at work and to allow him to use us

An openness of our homes to invite ‘strangers’ in and show them the love of Christ

An openness of our hands to share what Christ has given us and receive the blessings that only He can give through it

Questions for Reflection

How have you typically understood “hospitality” and how has that idea been challenged or affirmed today?

What is preventing you from opening your heart, home, and hands to practice Biblical hospitality?

How can you start living out Biblical hospitality today?