The last couple of weeks we’ve been talking about the practice of hospitality. First, we looked at the woman in Luke 7, and how she received Jesus hospitality, and this opened her up to host Jesus at Simon’s house. We talked about the necessity of our need to make room for Jesus, so we can make room for others. Then last week, we talked about making room for children, how that Jesus calls his disciples to make room for them, because they need to learn from kids, because kids show us how to live in God’s kingdom. Whether it is child like faith, their social status in the world, their humility to focus on insignificant tasks, or their neediness, children show us what it is like to live in dependence of our Father. This is why we make room for them, why we create safe places for them, and why we need them. So, how do we do this?  

Over the next few weeks, I want to talk practicing hospitality. I want to do this, because I think hospitality is the most important practice for being a faithful presence of Jesus’ love in the absences of lives in our world.  

Last night, we hosted the last City Group Connect.  To be sure, it wasn’t just Danette and I who hosted.  Our City Group families all acted as host. Angela McMillan had the brilliant idea to do a Mac and Cheese bar.  It was heaven.  Kara Myers helped execute the plan, which I didn’t obey in any sort of way.  Seven’s — SMH.  The Andersons and Williams brought lots of goodies, along with the Myers, McMillans and us.  Our goal was to make room for the church to gather and other guest perhaps, so they might connect and share life together.  I wanted to make some delicious food, open our home and serve people toward this end.  It really was fulfilling.  I manned doors and tried to be available to help.  This meant that my connection was different, and that isn’t always good.  It meant that things would get spilled and trash would overflow and toys might find their way into our fountain. But all of that is worth it for the hope that people might connect and be known, that conversation might happen about things like the enneagram or stories shared about how we made it to Albuquerque and how we are doing now that we are here.  Making room is worth it.  Hosting people around tables is worth it.  Having kids frolicking about is worth it.  People being the presence of Jesus in a home, so worth it.  

So I start here.  Hospitality is hard.  It can be a lot of work.  It takes many people to pull it off, but at the end of the day it is worth it.  Next week, I will talk about a Scruffy Hospitality, and how hospitality doesn’t have to be perfect.  If you tried the Mac and Cheese last night, you may doubt such claims.  Perfection was most likely had, especially if you had some of mine...Angela is mad right now.  But it doesn’t have to be.  But it is always worth the cost.  So let’s practice making room. 

~Justin Edgar