Humility and Hospitality

Me

Early upon our arrival to Kentucky in 2019 I had learned that one of the classed I could take at the seminary would take me out of the country and into Africa in Uganda. Of course, I wanted to do it. But, I was quickly feeling down because we had very little money, and this class was going to cost a lot extra. At first I shot down the idea, but luckily for me Larissa said, “If God wants you to go, He’ll provide a way.” And, sure enough, through the generosity of friends and family members I was able to raise enough money to go.

Going to Uganda was quite a bit of a culture shock for me. For the first time in my life I really was the “other” person. Everywhere I walked I was stared at, I didn’t know the language of the people around me at all, and everything I was trying to buy cost me more money. Not only all of that, but as an adult I was in the most condensed place I had ever been, outside of NYC as a teenager that is.

On one of the days in Uganda we travelled to an area called Jinja. There we connected with a local pastor whose church didn’t speak english. They spoke either Swahili, Luganden, or another tribal language. Either way, as someone who only spoke English, it was hard to connect with the people through words. I felt out of place, like I was different, and everywhere I and my friends went we were stared at.

Well, despite all of that I was treated in a way that was both humbling and honoring at the same time. First, on Saturday evening the pastor and his family invited us into their home for dinner. It was a small, cramped, and hot house. Despite that though, it was comforting. We talked about ministry, God, and the state that Uganda was in. We were served first, given extras, and allowed to sit on couch and chair while the pastor, his wife, and their children all happily sat on the floor.

When we went to church in the morning I walked into the small building and sat in the back on one of the hard plastic chairs. Almost immediately myself and a few others students were ushered out of our seats and right to the very front. They saved the closest and most comfortable seats for us. There was no arguing, so we sat.

In those two brief exchanges, one in the pastor’s home and one in the church, I, as an outsider who couldn’t even speak the language, was shown love, compassion, honor, and hospitality. And, not once was there an expectation that I would give something in return, become a member of their church, or even return ever again. They just…did it.

When I think back to that story I begin to wonder if I have the same humility and hospitality as those Ugandans did. And, frankly, I can’t say “yes” as quickly as I’d like to. Sure, I consider myself a hospitable person, but not always to the people who need hospitality and care. And, as ironic as it is to say out loud, I’d like to think of myself as a pretty humble person, but not always.

We

Is it possible that there are a few of us, if not many, who are not as humble and hospitable as we may think we are? Sure, we are quick to host friends and family for dinner, but when’s the last time we invited a stranger into our homes and offered a warm meal or even a bed to them?

When we look at our church and all that we do for the community are we doing it out of love for them and hospitality, or with secondary motives and hidden agendas?

These are questions we ought to ask ourselves when we strive to provide for others. Am I doing this for them, or am I doing this for me?

God

Hospitality and humility are two rather important subjects in Scripture, and we certainly saw that earlier as we read through Hebrews and Luke. In our Luke text we are told about Jesus who is at the home of the leader of the Pharisees on the sabbath day. While there he had already set the tone of the evening by healing a man on the Sabbath and putting a few of the Pharisees and experts in the law in their place.

Now, Jesus observes guests taking places of honor, likely near the head of the table where the leader of the Pharisees would have been. Jesus moves into teaching again, this time with a parable. He discusses seats at a wedding banquet and how it is better to sit in a lower seat and to be raised up later. He ends that section of the parable by saying, “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Or, in other words, “the first shall be last, and the last shall be first.”

He then changes his focus from the guests and other people to the person who had invited him, likely the head Pharisee. He says here that one should not invite his friends and brother and rich neighbors over for a meal, mainly because they’ll repay your hospitality with hospitality. It’s a selfish motive when we do this. Instead, Jesus says, “invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.” Why? Why invite those people to a meal? Jesus says, “because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

In this parable we see Jesus cutting through to the heart of the issue. He saw that the Pharisee who had invited him there also invited many important and prominent people who longed to be at the head of the table, who sought honor and power. The host invited them there for his own gain, to get something out of them being there. He expressed the ugly face of generosity, one which binds and offers gifts with strings attached. As Jesus points out, a host who expects something in return on his or her favor will not offer service or food to those who cannot repay. Jesus, through this parable, instructs the Pharisees, and us today, to invite to our tables those with no property or place in society.

When addressing the host himself, Jesus makes it clear that the synagogue, and the church today, are to be committed to the care of the poor and disabled. While he isn’t instructing the head to fix the problems of the poor and disabled he does instruct the host to do what? Invite them to dinner.

This is a New Testament understanding of hospitality. That word, hospitality, is translated to literally mean, “love of a stranger.” Look back to what we read in Hebrews 13 this morning, at verses 1-2.

Hebrews 13:1–2 NRSV

1 Let mutual love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Hospitality is not having our friends over on a Friday evening, but welcoming those who are in position to host us in return. And, while sending food is a nice touch, notice how Jesus doesn’t finish by saying, “make sure to send over your best casserole.” Instead, the host and the guest sit at the table together. This act cements equality, fellowship, and the breaking of bread together. The whole point being that no person is a “project,” someone to be fixed or repaired. They are simple to be a guest at our tables.

You

My question for you this morning is this, “how have you been a gracious host lately?” Have you invited someone new over for a meal? Have you sought out a new visitor in the church and offered to take them out to lunch or dinner to get to know them? Have you searched your community for someone in need and offered not only assistance, but compassion and friendship?

If you’re anything like me you probably think about doing that, maybe even quite often. But, when it comes to taking action you likely shy away, either because it’s uncomfortable or because you feel as though you have no time. Truthfully, something that we all need to hear is this, God never tells us to think about doing it. He doesn’t say, “If you’re comfortable or ready invite ‘those people’ over.” Instead he says, “invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.”

In the times of Jesus the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind were left as beggars on the street. People whose choices or circumstances led them to being in a place of shame and despair. A place where they had nothing. While today being crippled or blind doesn’t necessarily limit one and make them someone who can’t repay kindness and generosity, there are a multitude of people around us who are in that state of inability to pay back these acts of kindness and hospitality.

In your own lives, look at the company you frequent. Those who are in your home the most, or whose homes you are in the most. If it is people like you, your friends or your family, I would challenge you today to start shifting that a little. Invite some different people over, be on the lookout for people you know who may be in need or in hard times and share with them the fellowship of meal at the table. Don’t be like the Pharisee who only had important and prominent people at this table, be the host that humbles themselves and is exalted by Christ.

We

Now, we’ve looked at our own personal lives, we’re going to analyze that throughout the week and begin to address it step by step, but there is another area where this discussion has great importance. It’s here, this church. This family of believers. In what ways are we being gracious hosts and humble guests, and in what ways are we being greedy hosts and self-important guests?

As we continue to keep our eyes forward, looking at those in need, we must always remember this parable from Jesus. As Christ’s church, are we inviting those in who have no way to repay our graciousness? Are we looking out into our community for what people are needing and offering a solution without the requirement or expectation of being repaid?

In essence, we as the church act as hosts to the people around us. Those who know Christ, and those who have yet to find and submit to Him. We search for ways in which we can help our community without the expectation of repayment.

I was a student at Mansfield University and also serving two churches my final year of college. I remember going to a meeting of local churches and pastors one time to discuss ministry opportunities for the college students. One of the pastors, and a few of their people, stood up and said, “why are we going to waste all of this time and money on people who will neither join our church nor tithe on Sundays?”

This question came from a place of fear, fear that the time and money invested into something like this would yield no financial or obvious immediate gain. In the business world, that question was legitimate and made sense. However, the church is not a business. We are not here to turn a profit and keep our investors happy. We are here to be the hands and the feet of Jesus.

That church who responded that way missed out on investing not only into the lives of young people who were at a time in their lives where they needed Christ more than anything, but they went completely against the lesson of Jesus’ that we read this morning.

This isn’t to say that we as the church need to be negligent with our resources. In fact, we must be good stewards of our money and resources. But, the motivation for any and all of our decisions as a church must not be “what will get from it,” but instead, “is this the most Christ-like thing we can do for people in need.”

This may look like offering free meals to our community, offering ways for low-income families to enjoy time together, or even providing opportunities for health screenings for the community. What are we doing church to invite to the table those who cannot repay us? What are we doing to bring the church to people who are in need?

When I think back to my time in Uganda I don’t recall a single moment where the church I visited or the pastor who fed us required anything from us. They didn’t ask me to join them, to move there, to tithe. They didn’t expect that I would stick around and fix something for them, help move things around, or even to play with the children. They simply wanted to treat me as an honored guest and give to me with no expectation of a return.

I pray that all that we do and all that we say as the Church of Jesus Christ do this very thing. Out of a place of humility, offer those who cannot repay something they need. Whether it’s food, clothing, a warm place to stay, an event to enjoy as a family, or whatever it may be...

Part of us becoming the most Christ-like church in Dillsburg is being a church filled with radically hospitable people. It means being a church with hospitality to those on the outside with no expectations. Hospitality isn’t something that we just do when people come into the church, it’s something we offer everyday.

So, brothers and sisters, how are you in your own lives being humble and hospitable to those in need? And, how are we, as Christ’s church, being humble and hospitable to those in need?

I pray that we can all shatter our Pharisaical hearts, that we can break away from selfish ambitions, however they look, and truly be the selfless, humble, Christ-like people that we are called to be.

Who in our lives are the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind who need a seat at our tables? Who in our community are the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind who need a church who gives graciously and without expectation?

Remember these words from our Lord, Jesus Christ...

“For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted…invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. You will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”