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A faithful presence of love in the absences of our city.

Hospitality: A Story of Love

A story of love

This week’s sermon was one that stuck; on the page of my note pad, and then deep in my heart. Thinking that the vocation of hospitality is the greatest mission of the church helped me see so much context to the life and purpose of our congregation. Everything we do comes down to this! Seeking the lost, making room at the table, inviting people in, showing love in tangible ways, welcoming, praying over, serving, sharing the good news of the gospel--it all seems to fit under this umbrella of hospitality.

As I reflected over the sermon preparing to write this post, I could not decide which part stuck out to me the most vividly. God as a yearning host? The world as a desired guest? The church as a gathering servant? God has created us with the deep and good desire for significance; people long for purpose, to have agency, to be a part of a grand story...and I felt genuine excitement stir up as I listened to Justin’s sermon on Sunday. This is our story, church! It is a story of hospitality, and hospitality is a story of love.

Two Sundays ago Justin reminded us that perfect love drives out fear and that it is our call to extend that love into the world. This Sunday, as we unpacked hospitality, and love was intertwined in every part. Fear creates exclusive community, but love gives way to inclusive hospitality. At the beginning of the sermon Justin mentioned that the early church served as the first Hilton Suites. They were not concerned about who they were hosting, they just recognized that people had needs, especially weary travelers. Needs for a bed, for rest, for food, and then beyond that a deep need for community and love. In the process of meeting their physical needs, the church had the opportunity to show them the love of God as a yearning host. Their hospitality was a form of resistance against exclusivity. Rather than avoiding outsiders, they invited them in.

The way all of this fits together is almost just too beautiful to bear. No one could write a story like this except the author of all things. My longing to be a desired guest is deep--and that’s what God calls me. My longing to participate in a greater story is urgent--and that’s the work that God calls the church to. My tendency toward distraction and self-protection is strong--and so God shows himself to us as the ultimate host, our motivation at the center of it all. We are not aimlessly practicing hospitality for the sake of kindness and inclusivity. There are many in this world who have hospitality down to a fine art, but lack the transformational foundation of God’s love. We, chruch, are practicing hospitality because of the only love that can provide eternal security and significance.

This means when we bring cookies and make coffee on Sunday morning, when we are checking in toddlers to the nursery and making potty runs instead of hearing the sermon, when we are the last to leave the building after making sure all of the tables are put away...we can feel encouraged, not burdened, as part of a grand story and a great mission. It can be so easy to get caught up in the details of what must be done to host (speaking as the chief sinner here as I get lost in “administrative” tasks literally each week), but when we understand the context, the vision, and the call behind why we practice hospitality, even the most mundane tasks become beautiful.

 

~ Emily Leslie 

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